A fossil bird named Plumadraco-- "feathered dragon"-- has some of the longest tail feathers ever found in a fossil bird. Its fancy feathers indicate that it was part of the long tradition, which continues to today, of birds evolving elaborate decorations to impress mates.

A recently discovered extinct bird from the early Cretaceous Period (approximately 121 million years ago) may have waggled its long tail feathers to attract mates, according to a study published May 27, 2026 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Alexander Clark of the University of Chicago, US, and colleagues.

Well-preserved archaeological bone samples have different microbial communities than heavily degraded bone samples, providing a new understanding of how microbes contribute to bone degradation, according to a study published May 27, 2026 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Damla Kaptan from the University of Stavanger, Norway, and colleagues. This study combines detailed analyses of archaeological bone degradation with analyses of microbiome diversity, providing new insights into how microbes may contribute to long-term bone preservation and decay.

A recently discovered extinct bird from the early Cretaceous Period (approximately 121 million years ago) may have waggled its long tail feathers to attract mates, according to a study published May 27, 2026 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Alexander Clark of the University of Chicago, US, and colleagues.

Project RattleCam, a collaboration between Cal Poly and Dickinson College, recently launched its third livestream installation at an undisclosed, remote location in Pennsylvania on May 18. The new channel, now live through early fall, operates 24 hours a day, with night-vision cameras capable of capturing the activities of snakes and other creatures that enter into the frame of the camera lens after dark. Viewers now are able to observe the animals on YouTube as part of a community science project. The researchers also have developed 8-day curriculum that helps elementary school students teach children about ecology using Project RattleCam.

Salk Fellow Talmo Pereira, who designs AI-based tools to study movement in fields ranging from neuroscience to plant biology, joins the faculty as assistant professor. Julie Law, who studies how epigenetics influences human and plant health, has been promoted from associate professor to full professor.

A reconstructed protein interactome for the Last Eukaryotic Common Ancesor led researchers to identify hundreds of ancient genes that appear to be associated with human diseases. Follow-up experiments confirmed three of these gene-disease associations. The work could potentially lead to new targets for treating a host of other diseases.

Just in time for May, a research team led by Dirk Hoffmeister and Sebastian Dörner published a revised model of muscarine biosynthesis in Angewandte Chemie International Edition. The findings from this study could help improve the detection and treatment of mushroom poisoning.