A new scientific study has confirmed the accidental capture of a juvenile white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) within the Spanish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), providing rare evidence of the species' persistent presence in the Mediterranean. The findings, published in Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria, contextualize this 2023 encounter within 160 years of regional records and highlight the urgent need for conservation of this iconic species.

Longevity science may be entering a conceptual turning point. Instead of searching for a single “anti-aging” intervention, researchers are increasingly asking a different question: What if aging is not a defect, but a progressive loss of coordination between biological systems?

Current Genomics is now accepting submissions. This journal publishes high-impact research across genome science, including systems biology, computational genomics, epigenetics, and precision medicine. Plant genomics is also covered.

Hypertension in the lungs is a relatively rare but very serious disease that is usually fatal within two years if left untreated. Current therapies can slow down its progression, but no cure exists. Research teams from Bochum and Bonn are shedding light on the underlying mechanisms of the disease, and have discovered a previously unrecognized factor in its development: the protein beta arrestin 1. The teams have shown that this protein plays an important role in transporting signaling molecules involved in regulating blood vessel diameter. The researchers report their findings in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) from February 9, 2026.

This 307-million-year-old fossil was one of the earliest known land-dwelling vertebrates that evolved the ability to eat plants.

The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists today announced the Finalists for the 2026 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the United Kingdom. The Awards recognise scientific advances by UK researchers across Life Sciences, Chemical Sciences, and Physical Sciences & Engineering. Now in its ninth year, each Blavatnik Awards Laureate will receive an unrestricted £100,000 (US$135,000) prize, while the remaining six Finalists will be awarded £30,000 (US$40,400) each. 

This year’s Finalists include:

 

Chemical Sciences Finalists

Michael J. Booth, PhD – University College London (UCL)

Mathew H. Horrocks, PhD – The University of Edinburgh

Maxie M. Roessler, DPhil – Imperial College London

 

Life Sciences Finalists

Nicholas R. Casewell, PhD – Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Thi Hoang Duong (Kelly) Nguyen, PhD – MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology

Pontus Skoglund, PhD – The Francis Crick Institute

 

Physical Sciences & Engineering Finalists

Radha Boya, PhD – The University of Manchester

Paola Pinilla, PhD – University College London (UCL)

Iestyn Woolway, PhD – Bangor University

 

Professor Jongmin Kim’s research team at POSTECH develops ‘SUPER’ platform, significantly enhancing the performance and stability of gene regulatory devices.