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Biology

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 18-Dec-2025 18:11 ET (18-Dec-2025 23:11 GMT/UTC)

Observing synapses in action

Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A team of Berlin-based researchers led by Jana Kroll and Christian Rosenmund has captured the fleeting moment a nerve cell releases its neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft. Their microscopic images and description of the process are published in “Nature Communications.”

Journal: Nature Communications

AIBS announces winners of 2025 Faces of Biology Photo Contest

American Institute of Biological Sciences
Grant and Award Announcement

Four winners have been selected in the 2025 Faces of Biology Photo Contest, sponsored by the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) and the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB).

Funder: American Institute of Biological Sciences, Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology

Europe’s food ecolabels based on life cycle assessment need a common language

Aarhus University

Ecolabels are meant to make green choices easy – but often create confusion. Different methods and designs form a patchwork, shows new research from Aarhus University, calling for common standards.

Journal: Sustainable Production and Consumption

Tyrosinase drives hydroquinone-induced exogenous ochronosis: not HGD inhibition

Fujita Health University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Exogenous ochronosis is a rare but serious skin condition characterized by bluish-black pigmentation, linked to long-term hydroquinone use for treating hyperpigmentation. It was previously believed to stem from inhibition of homogentisate dioxygenase, an enzyme absent in human skin. A new international study reveals that instead, hydroquinone is metabolized by tyrosinase into reactive compounds that accumulate in the dermis, causing ochronosis. This insight highlights the need for safer, true tyrosinase inhibitors in treatment.

Journal: British Journal of Dermatology

Breakthrough: Now we can detect specific DNA with a phone

Aarhus University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A Danish research group has designed proteins that search for specific DNA sequences and produce light if they find them. A light that a phone's camera easily captures.

Journal: Nature Communications

An enzyme neutralizes pathogens by cleaving a bacterial toxin

Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute -
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team at Leibniz-HKI describes a new enzyme in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition that renders the highly toxic molecule malleicyprol harmless. Malleicyprol is considered an important virulence factor of Burkholderia bacteria, which cause, among other things, the dangerous tropical disease melioidosis. The discovery opens up new avenues for strategies against antibiotic-resistant pathogens.

Journal: Angewandte Chemie International Edition
Funder: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Germany's Excellence Strategy-EXC 2051

Data bias reduces reliability of AI models predicting antimicrobial resistance

Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Experts are increasingly turning to machine learning to predict antibiotic resistance in pathogens. With its help, resistance mechanisms can be identified based on a pathogen’s genetics. However, the results should be viewed with caution: Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg have shown that the models are often less reliable than assumed. Their findings were published in the journal PLOS Biology. They contribute to the development of more reliable tools for predicting and combating antibiotic resistance.

Journal: PLOS Biology

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