A collaborative team led by Ana Boskovic and Jamie Hackett at EMBL Rome explored how different paternal preconception environments influence embryonic development. Their findings revealed that:

- An imbalanced paternal gut microbiome or altered diet disrupts the expression of key genes involved in extra-embryonic tissue development or growth.

- Genetic background modulates these effects, indicating that a complex interaction between genetics and environmental influences underlies inheritance.

- Paternal age impacts offspring development at the earliest stages of embryogenesis.

University of Utah biologist Çağan Şekercioğlu’s magnum opus began 26 years ago as an effort to determine a particular statistic for bug-eating birds in tropical rainforests. BIRDBASE now helps identify species that are at greatest risk of extinction. 

In a lush revelation from the forest floor, a new study published in Carbon Research (as an Open Access Rapid Communication) shows that mosses, those quiet, green carpet-weavers beneath our feet—are climate champions in their own right. Led by Dr. Zhe Wang from the China-Croatia “Belt and Road” Joint Laboratory on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Shanghai Normal University, alongside Dr. Weikai Bao, also of the Chengdu Institute of Biology, this research flips the script on how we view forest carbon storage. Spoiler: mosses matter—big time.