A recently discovered extinct bird from the early Cretaceous Period (approximately 121 million years ago) may have waggled its long tail feathers to attract mates, according to a study published May 27, 2026 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Alexander Clark of the University of Chicago, US, and colleagues.

Project RattleCam, a collaboration between Cal Poly and Dickinson College, recently launched its third livestream installation at an undisclosed, remote location in Pennsylvania on May 18. The new channel, now live through early fall, operates 24 hours a day, with night-vision cameras capable of capturing the activities of snakes and other creatures that enter into the frame of the camera lens after dark. Viewers now are able to observe the animals on YouTube as part of a community science project. The researchers also have developed 8-day curriculum that helps elementary school students teach children about ecology using Project RattleCam.

Salk Fellow Talmo Pereira, who designs AI-based tools to study movement in fields ranging from neuroscience to plant biology, joins the faculty as assistant professor. Julie Law, who studies how epigenetics influences human and plant health, has been promoted from associate professor to full professor.

A reconstructed protein interactome for the Last Eukaryotic Common Ancesor led researchers to identify hundreds of ancient genes that appear to be associated with human diseases. Follow-up experiments confirmed three of these gene-disease associations. The work could potentially lead to new targets for treating a host of other diseases.

Just in time for May, a research team led by Dirk Hoffmeister and Sebastian Dörner published a revised model of muscarine biosynthesis in Angewandte Chemie International Edition. The findings from this study could help improve the detection and treatment of mushroom poisoning.

A study led by researchers at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC) has identified the Sirtuin 7 (SIRT7) protein as a new essential factor in maintaining the genome stability of male germ cells over time. The study, conducted with mice, is published in the journal Nature Communications. Researchers from Rutgers University (USA) have also participated.

Led by University of Tartu researchers, the largest and most comprehensive study to date has been completed on how genetic differences between individuals influence metabolism.

Researchers find surprising links which show that Neandertal ancestry influences our immune system today in ways more nuanced than previously recognised. 

Ascidians, also known as sea squirts, are the evolutionary link between vertebrates and invertebrates, making them valuable subjects of biological studies. For the first time, researchers at Ruhr University Bochum have detected pronounced autofluorescence in Halocynthia papillosa, one of over 3,000 species. Furthermore, the study provides comprehensive insights into the anatomy of this sea squirt. The study demonstrated the potential of modern, multimodal imaging—from light and confocal microscopy to MRT and high-resolution synchrotron tomography, which facilitates three-dimensional imaging of even low-contrast tissues. The study was published in the journal Communications Biology on April 22, 2026.