Researchers from the Centre for Palaeogenetics have managed to analyse the genome from a 14,400-year-old woolly rhinoceros, recovered from a tissue sample found preserved inside the stomach of an ancient wolf. The study, published in Genome Biology and Evolution, shows that woolly rhinos remained genetically healthy until the end of the last Ice Age. The species therefore probably died out due to a rapid collapse of the population, rather than a slow demographic decline.

A new study reports first-time use of artificial intelligence for genetic circuit design.

A new MIT study finds that somatostatin-expressing neurons follow a unique trajectory when forming connections in the brain’s visual cortex that may help establish the conditions needed for sensory experience to refine circuits.

For decades, scientists have been counting annual growth rings—similar to tree rings—inside fossilized leg bones of Tyrannosaurus rex to estimate how old the giant carnivores were when they died and how quickly they grew to adulthood. The best estimates from previous studies were that T. rex typically stopped growing at around age 25.

Male birds flexibly coordinate syllable duration and tone when matching rival songs 

Using a mouse model of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, researchers found that early, chronic cannabidiol treatment normalized emotional behavior, reduced alcohol motivation, and modulated key brain biomarkers linked to addiction.

Published in Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, this study addresses the most common preventable cause of neurodevelopmental disability, for which no approved treatment currently exists. It shows that CBD reverses gut microbiota dysbiosis and restores gut–brain communication.