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

Biology

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 18-Sep-2025 15:12 ET (18-Sep-2025 19:12 GMT/UTC)

Thorny skates come in snack and party sizes. After a century of guessing, scientists now know why.

Florida Museum of Natural History
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Thorny skates come in two distinct sizes along the Atlantic Coast of North America, but no one could figure out why. Then their numbers began to plummet, and it became imperative for scientists to understand whether their sizes had anything to do with it. Now we have a key part of the answer.

Journal: Nature Communications
Funder: Pew Charitable Trusts

When did human language emerge?

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Humans’ unique language capacity was present at least 135,000 years ago, according to a survey of genomic evidence. As such, language might have entered social use 100,000 years ago.

Journal: Frontiers in Psychology

Small molecules, big role: snoRNAs in gene regulation

Eötvös Loránd University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) are non-coding RNA molecules whose role in gene regulation and their association with certain diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or colorectal cancer, has only recently become known. The Fish Genetics Research Group of the Department of Genetics at ELTE has investigated in detail the temporal expression of snoRNAs in the genome of zebrafish, an important genetic model organism, and has also created an online database (snoDanio) for their interactive visualization.

Journal: NAR Genomics and Bioinformatics

Geographic access to cancer care and treatment and outcomes of early-stage non–small cell lung cancer

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: In this cohort study, geographic access to cancer care was associated with guideline-recommended treatment for early-stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and outcomes, particularly in socially marginalized patients, underscoring the importance of ensuring appropriate geographic allocations of cancer care resources and addressing travel barriers to health care to improve NSCLC treatment, prognosis, and equity.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

Breast cancer treatments linked to accelerated aging in survivors

Impact Journals LLC
Peer-Reviewed Publication

BUFFALO, NY — March 18, 2025 — A new research paper was published by Aging (Aging-US) on March 7, 2025, titled “Accelerated aging associated with cancer characteristics and treatments among breast cancer survivors.”

Journal: Aging-US

Virginia Tech study finds unique brain changes linked to witnessing trauma

Virginia Tech
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers discovered distinct molecular differences in how the brain processes directly experienced versus witnessed trauma — a finding that could lead to more targeted treatments for PTSD.

Journal: PLOS One

New artificial intelligence tool accelerates disease treatments

University of Virginia Health System
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers have created an AI tool to accelerate the development of new disease treatments and demonstrated its potential by identifying an existing drug with the potential to prevent deadly heart failure.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences