Bone healing, an intricate process involving multiple cell populations, relies not only on existing bone-forming cells but also on dormant progenitor cells outside the skeleton. A study published in Bone Research reveals that fibroadipogenic progenitors (FAPs) in skeletal muscle become bone-forming cells after injury, contributing to fracture repair and abnormal bone growth. The findings identify these cells as promising therapeutic targets for enhancing fracture healing while preventing unwanted bone formation.  

Scientists from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador officially described Pristimantis milpe, an abundant and widely distributed species that had been confused with another species for over a century. To solve the mystery, researchers reviewed specimens collected in Ecuador during the 19th century and preserved at the Natural History Museum in London.

Salk scientists use DNA origami technique to build dye-cycling ORBIT, a method for tracking protein-DNA interactions for hours at single base-pair resolution. Using dye-cycling ORBIT, the team measured the rotation of RNA polymerase during DNA transcription. The method will allow scientists to study molecular movements that were previously impossible to see or study, adding a new dimension to life science research.

Fossil shark scales from Panama’s Caribbean and Pacific coasts show that the two seas never held the same number of sharks, and that borrowing a conservation target from one ocean could be wrong by an order of magnitude.

How many sharks should a coral reef have? It sounds like a simple question, but almost nowhere on Earth is there a pristine, untouched reef. So there is no yardstick against which to measure shark decline or recovery.

A new study by Bournemouth University (BU) has discovered that faster recovery of osprey populations relies on a small number of ospreys who, unlike most, prefer to nest away from others of the same species. These birds have been referred to as ‘pioneering pairs’ and could be the secret to helping conservationists increase their population spread. 

Some of Earth’s oldest living organisms may be right beneath our feet: not ancient trees or coral reefs but fungi. Yet despite their ubiquity and importance, scientists still don’t know how long most fungi can live—or even how to define their age. 

In an opinion paper publishing in the Cell Press journal Trends in Microbiology on August 13, researchers examine why fungal longevity remains so difficult to study. To investigate the long-overlooked biological mystery, the team recommends leveraging new technologies such as “fungi-on-a-chip” and conducting long-term lab experiments with genetic tracking.