Fossilized feces help bring prehistoric worlds to life — in molecular detail

Image Credit: Courtesy of Curtin University

An international research team led by Curtin University has used prehistoric feces to better understand how molecular fossilization works, offering a new window into what ancient animals ate, the world they lived in and what happened after they died.

Published in the journal Geobiology and funded by the ARC Laureate Fellowship program, the study examined 300-million-year-old fossilized droppings, or ‘coprolites’, mostly from the Mazon Creek fossil site in the United States.

The coprolites were already known to contain cholesterol derivatives, which is strong evidence of a meat-based diet, but the new research explored how those delicate molecular traces were preserved and survived the ravages of time.

Usually, soft tissues are fossilized due to phosphate minerals, but the study found molecules were preserved thanks to tiny grains of iron carbonate scattered throughout the fossil, acting like microscopic time capsules.

Sugary drinks may increase risk of metastasis in advanced colorectal cancer

Jihye Yun, Ph.D.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of University of Texas
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Preclinical study provides first direct evidence linking colorectal cancer metastasis to the glucose-fructose blend found in sugar-sweetened beverages

Metastasis is the leading cause of death among patients with colorectal cancer

The combination of glucose and fructose, found in most sodas and fruit juices, activates the SORD enzyme, fueling cancer cell migration and metastasis

Study suggests cutting back on sugary drinks could help slow cancer progression in patients with colorectal cancer and points to possible new treatment targets

A new study from researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center shows that the glucose-fructose mix found in sugary drinks directly fuels metastasis in preclinical models of advanced colorectal cancer. The study was published today in Nature Metabolism.

Clownfish and Anemones Are Disappearing Because of Climate Change

A Red Sea clownfish (Amphiprion bicinctus) peers out of a bleached sea anemone (Radianthus magnifica) during a record-breaking heat wave in 2023.
Photo Credit: © Morgan Bennett-Smith

Scientific Frontline: "At a Glance" Summary

• Main Discovery: Extreme marine heat waves in the Red Sea have disrupted the mutualistic bond between clownfish and sea anemones, resulting in a near-total collapse of local clownfish populations.
• Methodology: Scientists monitored specific reef sites in the central Saudi Arabian Red Sea from 2022 to 2024, tracking the health and survival of Amphiprion bicinctus and Radianthus magnifica during a record-breaking 2023 heat wave, while conducting complementary laboratory experiments to analyze behavioral changes and biological mechanisms post-bleaching.
• Key Data: During the study period, researchers documented a mortality rate of 94 to 100 percent for clownfish and 66 to 94 percent for anemones, with the bleaching event persisting for approximately six months.
• Significance: This collapse challenges the long-held hypothesis that the Red Sea functions as a "thermal refuge" for marine life, demonstrating that even organisms adapted to high temperatures are exceeding their thermal thresholds due to accelerating climate change.
• Future Application: These findings will guide global conservation assessments and restoration strategies for coral reef mutualisms, with ongoing comparative research extending to populations in Papua New Guinea to understand broader evolutionary impacts.
• Branch of Science: Marine Biology and Evolutionary Ecology
• Additional Detail: Laboratory analysis suggests the high mortality stems from bleached anemones providing inadequate camouflage and reduced defense capabilities, leaving clownfish vulnerable to predation and increased intraspecific conflict.

Possible breakthrough in the development of effective biomaterials

Professor Dr. Shikha Dhiman from the Department of Chemistry of JGU
Photo Credit: © Ankit Sakhuja

When model cell membranes bind to biomaterials, it is not the binding strength but the speed of the receptors in the membranes that is crucial

Many hopes rested on so-called tissue engineering: With the help of stem cells, skin and other organs could be grown, thereby enabling better wound healing and better transplants. Although some of this is already a reality, the level expected around 20 years ago has not yet been achieved because the stem cells do not always bind to the required host material as they should in theory. An international research team led by chemist Professor Shikha Dhiman from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) has now found the reason for this: "Whether an interaction between model cell membrane and matrix material occurs depends not only on the strength of the interaction but also on the speed at which the binding partner molecules move. The understanding of this interaction that we have now gained is crucial for the development of effective biomaterials," says Dhiman. The team's results were recently published in the renowned scientific journal PNAS.

Decoding the selfish gene, from evolutionary cheaters to disease control

Malaysian stalk-eyed fly (Teleopsis dalmanni).
Photo Credit: Paul Richards

New research is shining a light on one of genetics’ enduring puzzles - how the workings of the so-called “selfish gene” could be harnessed to control harmful insect populations.

Scientists from the University of Sheffield have uncovered how to potentially control harmful insect populations by studying a "selfish gene" that manipulates inheritance

The new research focuses on meiotic drive, a process where a selfish gene gives itself a better chance of being passed on to the next generation, disrupting the normal 50/50 inheritance pattern

By studying the Malaysian stalk-eyed fly, researchers discovered that a selfish gene can damage rival sperm carrying a Y chromosome, leading to a population with far more females than males

Understanding this genetic mechanism could provide a new way to control insects that spread disease and cause food shortages by causing their populations to become unsustainably female-biased

Light-powered motor fits inside a strand of hair

The second gear from the right has an optical metamaterial that react to laserlight and makes the gear move. All gears are made in silica directly on a chip. Each gear is about 0.016 mm in diameter.
Photo Credit: Gan Wang

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have made light-powered gears on a micrometer scale. This paves the way for the smallest on-chip motors in history, which can fit inside a strand of hair.

Gears are everywhere – from clocks and cars to robots and wind turbines. For more than 30 years, researchers have been trying to create even smaller gears in order to construct micro-engines. But progress stalled at 0.1 millimeters, as it was not possible to build the drive trains needed to make them move any smaller.

Researchers from Gothenburg University, among others, have now broken through this barrier by ditching traditional mechanical drive trains and instead using laser light to set the gears in motion directly.

Wolf protection downgrade highlights need for adaptive conservation frameworks

The protected category means greater flexibility in managing wolf populations
Photo Credit: Marcel Langthim

Scientific Frontline: "At a Glance" Summary

• Main Discovery: The European Parliament's decision to downgrade wolf status from "strictly protected" to "protected" exposes the rigidity of current conservation frameworks and demands a transition to adaptive management systems suited for recovered species.
• Methodology: A collaborative study by the University of York and Stockholm Resilience Centre analyzed the policy shift and recommended a four-pillar approach—clear targets, adaptive tools, fair cost redistribution, and enhanced dialogue—published in Conservation Letters.
• Key Data: Wolf populations in Europe surged by 58% over a single decade, marking a significant recovery alongside increases in brown bear, lynx, and wolverine numbers.
• Significance: This legislative change sets a historic precedent for downlisting species in the EU, shifting focus from extinction prevention to managing coexistence and potential conflicts in human-dominated landscapes.
• Future Application: The proposed framework calls for standardized "favorable conservation status" metrics, zoning strategies to manage conflict areas, and improved cross-border monitoring systems involving local stakeholders.
• Branch of Science: Conservation Science and Environmental Policy
• Additional Detail: Experts warn that successful coexistence depends on "social legitimacy," requiring that conservation burdens are not disproportionately placed on rural communities and that management is coordinated across national borders.

Shining a light on germs

Microbe hunters: Empa researchers Paula Bürgisser and Giacomo Reina from the Nanomaterials in Health laboratory in St. Gallen.
Photo Credit: Empa

Light on – bacteria dead. Disinfecting surfaces could be as simple as that. To turn this idea into a weapon against antibiotic-resistant germs, Empa researchers are developing a coating whose germicidal effect can be activated by infrared light. The plastic coating is also skin-friendly and environmentally friendly. A first application is currently being implemented for dentistry.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria and emerging viruses are a rapidly increasing threat to the global healthcare system. Around 5 million deaths each year are linked to antibiotic-resistant germs, and more than 20 million people died during the COVID-19 virus pandemic. Empa researchers are therefore working on new, urgently needed strategies to combat such pathogens. One of the goals is to prevent the spread of resistant pathogens and novel viruses with smart materials and technologies.

Surfaces that come into constant contact with infectious agents, such as door handles in hospitals or equipment and infrastructure in operating theaters, are a particularly suitable area of application for such materials. An interdisciplinary team from three Empa laboratories, together with the Czech Palacký University in Olomouc, has now developed an environmentally friendly and biocompatible metal-free surface coating that reliably kills germs. The highlight: The effect can be reactivated again and again by exposing it to light.

Researchers Uncover a Major Shift in U.S. Landscape: ‘Wild’ Disturbances Are Overtaking Human-directed Changes

Disturbances like hurricanes and fires reshape the landscape and play vital roles in Earth’s systems, therefore, understanding what drives these kinds of disturbances is important for projecting what changes may be ahead.
Photo Credit: Malachi Brooks

If it feels like headlines reporting 100 or 1,000-year floods and mega fires seem more frequent these days, it’s not your imagination.

A project led by researchers from UConn’s Global Environmental Remote Sensing (GERS) Lab has yielded surprising insights into land disturbances and disasters in the United States since the late 1980s, including a shift in what drives those disturbances, and how they are increasing with frightening intensity and frequency. Their findings are published in Nature Geoscience.

The research is the result of a decade-long project to perform a CONterminous United States (CONUS)-wide disturbance agent classification and mapping project, explains GERS Director and Associate Professor in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources (CAHNR) Zhe Zhu. The ambitious project involved the careful analysis of Landsat satellite data spanning more than 40 years.

Disturbances like hurricanes and fires reshape the landscape and play vital roles in Earth’s systems; therefore, understanding what drives these kinds of disturbances is important for projecting what changes may be ahead.

Cosmic glass found only in Australia reveals ancient asteroid impact

The newly discovered tektites or ‘cosmic glass’.
Photo Credit: Et al. ‘Earth and Planetary Science Letters’

Curtin researchers have helped uncover evidence of a mysterious giant asteroid impact, hidden not in a crater but in tiny pieces of glass found only in Australia.

The discovery centers on rare tektites, which are natural glasses created when a space rock slams into Earth, melting surface material and hurling it hundreds or even thousands of kilometers. The newly discovered type of tektites has so far been found exclusively in an area mainly within South Australia.

Co-author Professor Fred Jourdan, from Curtin’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said finding a new tektite field is like opening a fresh chapter in Earth’s violent geological past.

“These glasses are unique to Australia and have recorded an ancient impact event we did not even know about,” Professor Jourdan said.