EurekAlert! News by Subject: Biology

Biology

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 29-May-2026 11:15 ET (29-May-2026 15:15 GMT/UTC)

4-Feb-2026

What's the ROI on R&D in aging? New simulation tool, silverlingings.bio, explores geroscience's impact on US GDP growth and individual health

American Federation for Aging Research
Reports and Proceedings

The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) is pleased to announce the release of silverlinings.bio, an interactive report and simulation tool developed by AFAR Scholar-in-Residence Raiany Romanni-Klein, PhD. At silverlinings.bio, users can input their own timelines and assumptions for specific scientific breakthroughs in aging biology, then see the ROI in terms of US lives saved & GDP growth.

Funder: American Federation for Aging Research, Amaranth Foundation, Methuselah Foundation

4-Feb-2026

Scientists ID potential treatment for deadliest brain cancer

University of Virginia Health System
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists have identified a molecule that blocks the gene responsible for glioblastoma, raising hopes that the molecule could become a much-needed new treatment.

Funder: Ben and Catherine Ivy Foundation

4-Feb-2026

Pigs and grizzlies, not monkeys, hold clues to youthful human skin

Washington State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The secret to youthful appearance and repairing scars may lie in a microscopic skin structure humans share with pigs and grizzly bears — but, surprisingly, not monkeys. While it had been thought these ridge and valley-like skin microstructures — called rete ridges — form during fetal growth, researchers at Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine found they actually develop shortly after birth and identified a key molecular signal that drives their development.

Journal: Nature

4-Feb-2026

Oysters play unexpected role in protecting blue crabs from disease

Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New research by scientists from William & Mary's Batten School & VIMS shows that oyster filter feeding can significantly reduce the spread of a common blue crab parasite.

Journal: Ecology

4-Feb-2026

New line of bovine embryonic stem cells shows promise for lab-grown meat, biomedical applications

University of Connecticut
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers in UConn's College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources have developed a novel line of bovine embryonic stem cells, which have significant potential for a variety of new innovations, from lab-grown meat to models for human tissue replacement.

This work, led by Xiuchun “Cindy” Tian, professor of biotechnology in the Department of Animal Science, and her former and current graduate students Yue Su, Jiaxi Liu, and Ruifeng Zhao, was published in Stem Cells.

Journal: Stem Cells

4-Feb-2026

Windows into the past: Genetic analysis of Deep Maniot Greeks reveals a unique genetic time capsule in the Balkans

University of Oxford
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new genetic study has revealed that the people of Deep Mani, who inhabit one of the remotest regions of mainland Greece, represent one of the most genetically distinctive populations in Europe, shaped by more than a millennium of isolation. The findings, published today (4 February) in Communications Biology, reveal that many lineages can be traced back to the Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman period of Greece.

Journal: Communications Biology

4-Feb-2026

Sugar molecules point to a new weapon against drug-resistant bacteria

University of Sydney
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers have developed a powerful new way to target deadly, drug-resistant bacteria by designing antibodies that recognise a sugar found only on bacterial cells – an advance that could underpin a new generation of immunotherapies for multidrug resistant hospital-acquired infections.

Journal: Nature Chemical Biology
Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council, Australian Research Council, National Institutes of Health, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Victorian State Government

4-Feb-2026

Generating popcorn-like fragrant tomato using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing

KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers in China and Australia generated the first extraordinary aromatic tomato plants by simultaneously mutating both SlBADH1 and SlBADH2 genes in tomato varieties using CRISPR/Cas9.

Journal: Journal of Integrative Agriculture
Funder: National Natural Science Foundation of China, Zhejiang Provincial “Three Rural Areas and Nine Parties” Agricultural Science and Technology Collaboration Program, China, China Postdoctoral Foundation

4-Feb-2026

Stacking the genetic deck: How some plant hybrids beat the odds

Osaka Metropolitan University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers discovered hybrid combinations capable of overcoming hybrid lethality and producing numerous offspring using tobacco.

Journal: Frontiers in Plant Science
Funder: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science