This perspective highlights the critical role of region-specific gut microbial distribution across intestinal segments (e.g., duodenum, colon) in regulating host metabolism and immunity, challenging traditional fecal-centric approaches. It emphasizes bile acid metabolism and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) in metabolic diseases like diabetes, proposing targeted interventions such as duodenal mucosal resection and probiotics to restore microbial niches. The study underscores AI-driven strategies for precision therapies addressing spatial microbial dynamics, offering novel pathways for disease therapeutics

A Japanese superconducting quantum computer, designed and built with homegrown components and software, went live on July 28th at The University of Osaka’s Center for Quantum Information and Quantum Biology (QIQB). This achievement signifies Japan's technological prowess in quantum computing, demonstrating the nation's capacity to design, manufacture, and integrate a complete quantum system. Visitors to Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan will have the opportunity to interact with this cutting-edge technology through a dedicated exhibit.

To a hawk an airport can look like the perfect place to settle down. The layout provides ample open space, perches, and nice habitat for a variety of prey species. However, congregations of birds, especially big birds, poses a safety issue for aircraft. A new study focused on Cooper’s Hawks (Accipiter cooperii), published in the Journal of Raptor Research, found that removing a hawk from an airfield and taking it somewhere else, called translocation, can serve as a method for reducing this risk. Researchers also showed that the age and sex of individual hawks as well as the distance moved were all factors that impacted hawk return rates to the airport of origin. Management teams have a higher chance of reducing incidence of raptor-aircraft collisions, without needing to resort to lethal methods, if they incorporate species-specific research like this into their programs. Regarding the safety of the flying public and raptor conservation both, this matters.

In medicine and biotechnology, the ability to evolve proteins with new or improved functions is crucial, but current methods are often slow and laborious. Now, Scripps Research scientists have developed a synthetic biology platform that accelerates evolution itself—enabling researchers to evolve proteins with useful, new properties thousands of times faster than nature.

The Barcelona CryoZoo, a pioneering animal cell biobank dedicated to preserving biodiversity, has been awarded a prestigious grant from the international conservation nonprofit Revive & Restore. This funding will enable researchers at UPF and EMBL Barcelona to advance stem cell reprogramming techniques for wild and endangered species, using AI to tailor gene combinations for each species. The project aims to derive induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from evolutionarily distant animals, such as giraffes and dolphins, without disturbing living individuals. With over 2,000 samples already preserved, CryoZoo is reinforcing its global role in conservation biology and molecular biodiversity research.

Salk Institute scientists identified dozens of potential microproteins involved in fat cell biology in a mouse model and, in the process, validated the use of CRISPR genetic screening as an effective tool for finding microproteins in all cell types. The new fat cell microproteins may be targets for future therapeutics that treat obesity and other metabolic disorders.