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

Biology

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 2-Jan-2026 02:11 ET (2-Jan-2026 07:11 GMT/UTC)

Could boosting this molecule slow pancreatic cancer progression?

Salk Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Salk Institute and the University of California San Diego have identified a unique sugar called HSAT (antithrombin-binding heparan sulfate) as a potential therapeutic target for slowing tumor progression and metastasis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, the most common pancreatic cancer. They also found that HSAT was detectable in cancer patients’ plasma, suggesting it may be a useful biomarker to help catch and track pancreatic cancer.

Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation

The origin of our digits

Université de Genève
Peer-Reviewed Publication

How did digits evolve? While it is clear that they derive from genetic programs already present in fish, their precise origin remained a matter of debate. An international team led by the University of Geneva (UNIGE) with EPFL, the Collège de France, and the universities of Harvard and Chicago has come up with an unexpected answer: digits may have evolved from the reuse of an ancient region of the genome, initially active in the formation of the fish cloaca rather than their fins. Published in Nature, this discovery reveals a major evolutionary strategy that consists of recycling what already exists rather than building something new.

Journal: Nature

Dr. Carl Nathan wins David and Beatrix Hamburg Award

Weill Cornell Medicine
Grant and Award Announcement

Dr. Carl F. Nathan, the R.A. Rees Pritchett Professor of Microbiology at Weill Cornell Medicine, has been awarded the David and Beatrix Hamburg Award for Advances in Biomedical Research and Clinical Medicine by the National Academy of Medicine.

New microscope captures large, high-resolution images of curved samples in single snapshot

Optica
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new microscope can acquire extremely large, high-resolution pictures of non-flat objects in a single snapshot, which could speed up research and medical diagnostics or improve quality inspection applications.

Journal: Optics Letters

Exercising in nature is superior to exercising in the city or at the gym

University of Copenhagen
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Exercising in green surroundings improves mood, reduces stress levels, and improves heart rate compared to exercising in the city or indoors. This is shown by new research from the University of Copenhagen. The study provides new insights that can be used to improve public health.

Journal: Psychology of Sport and Exercise

Penn Medicine joins national effort to digitally map the human body

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Grant and Award Announcement

Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania are joining a national collaboration to launch the Whole Person Physiome Research and Coordination Center (WPP-RCC), an initiative funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to create the first comprehensive digital map of the healthy human body. The effort will bring together leading experts in physiology, precision medicine, and computational biology to evolve our understanding of human health. The WPP-RCC is supported by 21 NIH institutes and offices as part of the NIH Whole Person Initiative and is overseen by The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.

Early bears were omnivores: Three-dimensional jaw analyses reveal diet

Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Special 3D morphological analyses of mandibles show that the extinct bear Ursus minimus, one of Europe’s oldest bear species, had a broad diet without specializing in insects - contrary to previous assumptions. This made it particularly adaptable to shifting food availability. SNSB zoologist Anneke van Heteren has now published the results of her study in the journal Boreas.

Journal: Boreas