Understanding how the efficacy of some widely used drugs—such as antidiabetics, chemotherapies, or bronchodilators—could depend on the patient's sex helped, in the long term, to reduce the risk of adverse effects.

“With this work, we opened the door to a precision medicine that no longer assumed that what worked for men necessarily worked for women.”

Researchers from the Faculty of Sciences University of Lisbon collaborated on an international study that, for the first time, characterized the sounds emitted by the flying gurnard.

This study highlights an underwater world of sounds that can provide deeper insights into how marine ecosystems work.

E-cigarettes are attracting growing numbers of users, including teenagers, yet their health effects remain poorly understood. Researchers at Kyushu University found that e-cigarette vapor—regardless of nicotine content—released carcinogens, such as formaldehyde, and disrupted gut microbiome stability in zebrafish, reducing certain beneficial bacteria while increasing xenobiotic degradation-associated microbes. Exposed fish also showed impaired behavioral responses. The findings raise concerns about inadequately disclosed e-cigarette ingredients and highlight the need for greater transparency and evidence-based regulation.

New research from the Marine Biological Laboratory examines how a species of frog evolved a unique genetic system for determining sex. Published in PLOS Genetics, the study traces the evolutionary origins of the gene dm-w, which directs female development in Xenopus laevis frogs and descends from dmrt1, a gene involved in sexual differentiation in humans and many other vertebrates. By comparing gene function across species and sexes, the researchers show that duplicated versions of dmrt1 followed different evolutionary paths in males and females. This divergence allowed one gene copy to become nonessential in females, ultimately enabling the emergence of dm-w as a new master switch for sex determination. The work highlights how genetic function can shift dramatically depending on biological context and underscores the role of genetic “tipping points” in evolutionary change.

A team of researchers at Penn State including Joseph Najem, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, Dor Tillinger, doctoral candidate of mechanical engineering and Wonbae Lee, doctoral candidate of engineering science and mechanics, used a state-of-the-art fabrication method to layer multiple types of hydrogels in a specific pattern that mimics the ionic processes electric eels use to generate electrical bursts. Their approach produces power sources with higher power densities than other hydrogel-based designs, while remaining flexible, support-free, environmentally stable and biologically compatible.

Scientists at IOCB Prague are uncovering new details of gene transcription. They have identified a previously unknown molecular mechanism by which the transcription of genetic information from deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) into ribonucleic acid (RNA) can be initiated. The researchers focused on a specific class of molecules known as alarmones, which are found in cells across a wide range of organisms and whose levels often increase under conditions of cellular stress. The results were published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature Chemical Biology.

A surface capable of responding to chemical signals generated by microorganisms and automatically producing biocidal substances – this is not a futuristic vision, but a description of how the B-STING silica nanocomposite works. The new material, developed at the Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences in Cracow, acts as a nanofactory of reactive oxygen species, activating itself only when necessary.

Researchers led by the University of Vienna and Liège University Hospital Centre have identified genetic variants associated with a rare inherited growth disorder in two prehistoric individuals who lived more than 12,000 years ago. Using ancient DNA analysis and modern clinical genetics, they diagnosed the condition in a mother and daughter buried together in southern Italy. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the study shows that paleogenomics can now reconstruct ancient population history and diagnose rare genetic diseases in prehistoric individuals.