EurekAlert! News by Subject: Biology - News by Subject: Biology

Biology

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 11-Jul-2025 12:10 ET (11-Jul-2025 16:10 GMT/UTC)

Bing Ren appointed Scientific Director and Chief Executive Officer of the New York Genome Center

New York Genome Center
Business Announcement

The New York Genome Center announces Bing Ren, PhD, as the New Scientific Director and CEO of the New York Genome Center and Professor in the Departments of Genetics and Development, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, and Systems Biology at Columbia University.

Four researchers honored by AAAS as Lifetime Fellows

University of Tennessee at Knoxville
Grant and Award Announcement

Four faculty members at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have been elected 2024 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Elected faculty are Professor Albrecht von Arnim of the Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology; Alison Buchan, the Carolyn W. Fite Professor and associate head of the Department of Microbiology; Research Professor Susan Kalisz of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; and Herbert College of Agriculture Dean and Professor David G. White.

We must not ignore eugenics in our genetics curriculum, says professor

Cell Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

To encourage scientists to speak up when people misuse science to serve political agendas, biology professor Mark Peifer of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill argues that eugenics should be included in college genetics curriculums. In an opinion paper publishing March 27 in the Cell Press journal Trends in Genetics, Peifer explains how he incorporated a discussion of eugenics into his molecular genetics course last year and why understanding the history of the field is critical for up-and-coming scientists.

Journal: Trends in Genetics

UTIA entomologist receives Insects 2024 Young Investigator Award

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture
Grant and Award Announcement

Kelsey Coffman, assistant professor in the University of Tennessee Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, has received the Insects 2024 Young Investigator Award. This award recognizes Coffman’s significant contributions to entomology and research on insect-virus interactions.

By 2100, more than 80% of amphibian species in and around the Pantanal will lose suitable habitat

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A study by Brazilian and Swiss researchers predicts that even in an optimistic greenhouse gas emissions scenario, 99% of the area of the Upper Paraguay River Basin will be lost.

Journal: Journal of Applied Ecology
Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

AI learns to ‘speak’ genetic ‘dialect’ for future SARS-CoV-2 mutation prediction

Florida Atlantic University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A powerful AI model called Deep Novel Mutation Search (DNMS) predicts virus mutations more accurately and efficiently than traditional, time-consuming lab experiments. Focused on the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, the model uses a specialized protein language model fine-tuned to understand the virus's specific “language.” DNMS can predict mutations that cause small, functional changes – crucial for viruses like SARS-CoV-2, which evolve through subtle adjustments to maintain function. This approach promises to enhance virus tracking and public health by predicting mutations more accurately and quickly.

Journal: Communications Biology
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation

Cartilage and bone development: three paths to skeleton formation

University of Basel
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In vertebrates, the skeleton of different regions of the body arises from different precursor cells. Researchers at the University of Basel have now discovered that these skeletal cells do not just differ in their developmental origin, but also in their gene regulation – which may be a key to the vertebrates’ evolutionary success story.

Journal: Nature Communications