A local research study led by scientists from the A*STAR Genome Institute of Singapore (A*STAR GIS) has uncovered how the gut microbiome can influence gene activity in the liver by acting on short stretches of regulatory DNA that function like molecular “switches”. By testing the activity of more than 100,000 human DNA switches linked to liver biology and comparing results from both in vitro and in vivo approaches, the team identified which switches operate under real physiological conditions and how microbial signals can modify their activity. This provides a clearer biological basis for how gut microbes shape liver function, offering new avenues for precision diagnostics and targeted therapies for liver disease. The findings were published in Molecular Cell.

How do you preserve one of the world’s rarest animals when so few remain? Researchers created an unprecedented 3D digital archive of the vaquita — the world’s most endangered marine mammal. Using advanced CT and micro-CT imaging, the team captured the skeleton of a female porpoise from 1966, in extraordinary detail, from its overall anatomy to microscopic bone structures. Freely available online, the models provide a lasting resource for research, education and conservation, ensuring this critically endangered species on the verge of extinction can be studied for generations to come.

Advances in structural biology have allowed scientists to determine molecular structures with atomic‑level detail, sometimes yielding static snapshots that do not reflect the dynamism of proteins. However, these motions are often crucial for biological function. Researchers from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) together with international collaborators have now combined several methods to shed light on how proteins ‘breathe’ and how some experimental techniques freeze their motion. The findings—which could boost protein design approaches and improve AI-based structural prediction tools—were published in Nature Chemistry.

PS‑NPs/TPhP alter gut microbiota, impair gut structure and disturb oxidative, inflammatory, detoxifying metabolism via distinct pathways; their antagonistic co‑exposure disrupts lipid metabolism, clarifying gut‑liver-axis risks for salamanders.

Bee species that nest in plant stems appear to be at the greatest short-term risk from increasing temperatures due to climate change, while those that nest in the ground are more able to evade extreme heat, according to new research from Australian evolutionary ecologists.