In a new study published in Science, researchers from the Model-Based Evolutionary Genomics Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) and their international collaborators have constructed a detailed timeline for bacterial evolution and oxygen adaptation. Their findings suggest some bacteria could use trace oxygen long before evolving the ability to produce it through photosynthesis. 

Drastic declines in biodiversity due to human activities present risks to understanding animal behaviors such as tool use, according to researchers from the University of Victoria and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Shrinking animal populations make the study of these behaviors increasingly difficult, underscoring the urgency of targeted conservation efforts and inclusive conservation strategies. Action is needed not only for research, but also to respect our shared cultural heritage with animal species.

A powerful new software platform called the Playbook Workflow Builder is set to transform biomedical research by allowing scientists to conduct complex and customized data analyses without advanced programming skills. An article that describes the new platform was published in the April 3 online issue of the journal PLOS Computational Biology.

Developed by a multi-institutional team that was led by Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai investigators as part of the National Institutes of Health Common Fund Data Ecosystem (CFDE) program, researchers from across the United States developed the web-based platform that enables scientists to analyze and visualize their own data independently through an intuitive, interactive interface.

Bonobos – our closest living relatives – create complex and meaningful combinations of calls resembling the word combinations of humans. This study, conducted by researchers at the University of Zurich and Harvard University, challenges long-held assumptions about what makes human communication unique and suggests that key aspects of language are evolutionary ancient.

A new study published in the Journal of Vertebrate Biology by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, conducted by researchers from MARE, reveals new insights into the reproductive biology of the sheatfish, also known as the European catfish, in the Tagus River. Carried out as part of the LIFE-PREDATOR project (https://lifepredator.eu/), this study is the first to analyze the reproductive biology of the catfish populations in the Iberian Peninsula and one of the few conducted within its invasion area.

USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of Keck Medicine of USC, has opened Keck Medicine of USC – Newport Beach Radiation Oncology and Imaging, a state-of-the-art radiation oncology and imaging center, at 4590 MacArthur Blvd. in Newport Beach.