The transition from sprawling (reptile-like) to more upright (parasagittal) posture and locomotion was a transformative event in mammalian evolution. A study published June 24^th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Dr. Robert Brocklehurst and Professor Stephanie Pierce at Harvard University, USA and colleagues suggests that parasagittal posture evolved via an indirect, dynamic, and radiating process.

A trade-off between tooth size and jaw mobility has restricted fish evolution, Nick Peoples at the University of California Davis, US, and colleagues report June 24^th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology.

Has your skin ever felt tight and dry after coming out of the ocean? You’re not just imagining it. Scientists from Binghamton University, State University of New York have confirmed what beachgoers have felt for years – saltwater dries out your skin – and why it happens. 

Health research inspired by the remarkable regeneration of animals like axolotls or starfish asks how future therapeutics could promote the regrowth of hard-to-heal tissues, limbs, or even entire organs. A new study in Science Advances is a step toward clarifying a less visible, yet vital, corollary—how regeneration comes to a successful close when a tissue has healed.

A new study from the Cellular Ageing and Senescence laboratory (www.rallislab.org) at Queen Mary University of London’s Centre for Molecular Cell Biology, reveals how caffeine —the world’s most popular neuroactive compound—might do more than just wake you up. The study in the journal Microbial Cell [link] shows how caffeine could play a role in slowing down the ageing process at a cellular level.