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Dr Yvonne Böttcher | How Different Types of Fat Shape Health and Disease
Our bodies store fat in different places. Subcutaneous fat sits just under the skin – this is the fat you can pinch. Visceral fat, by contrast, lies deeper in the abdomen and wraps around internal organs. Doctors have long observed that visceral fat is more strongly associated with conditions such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Research led by Yvonne Böttcher at the University of Oslo in Norway reveals a surprisingly complex picture that could help explain why some types of body fat are more strongly linked to disease.
Dr Rita Petracca | The Tiny Chemical Tag That Could Change How We Fight Disease
Proteins are the working parts of our cells, built from long chains of building blocks called amino acids. But once a protein is built, the body often isn’t finished with it: small chemical tags get attached afterwards, changing how the protein behaves, where it travels, and how long it survives. One such tag, discovered only in 2011 and still poorly understood, is the focus of a new paper by Rita Petracca and colleagues at Utrecht University. It’s called lysine crotonylation, or Kcr for short, and Petracca’s team argues that it deserves far more scientific attention than it has received.
Cockroach Milk: Understanding Nature’s Weirdest Superfood
It started, as good science often does, with someone noticing something weird. A decade before ‘cockroach milk’ made headlines, a researcher spotted odd, shiny crystals in the gut of a baby cockroach and assumed they were waste – crystals in guts usually are. He was wrong; they turned out to be… protein!
Dr Ádám Soós | Revealing the Secret Map Inside Birds That Guides Immune Cells
Deep inside a developing bird’s body, an unassuming organ is hard at work building a sophisticated immune system. Known as the bursa of Fabricius, it is where B cells – the immune cells responsible for producing antibodies – are born and trained. While scientists have long understood its importance, new research is revealing just how finely tuned and dynamic this environment really is. Recent work led by Ádám Soós and Emőke Szőcs at Semmelweis University offers a closer look at how B cells navigate this tiny but complex structure.
Stacking Bacillus Species for Better Performance
If you’re using a probiotic in your animal feed program and it only contains one specie of Bacillus, you may be leaving a lot of performance on the table. Bacillus is a genus of spore-forming bacteria that has proven to be a cornerstone of animal nutrition for decades, and for good reason. The spores are tough enough to survive the heat and pressure of feed pelleting, resist digestive acid, and arrive alive and active in the intestinal tract where the real work happens. Most other probiotic organisms simply can’t make that journey intact.
Dr. Steve Nordeen | A Plant-Inspired Breakthrough for Menopause Relief
Menopause can bring a range of symptoms, including vaginal pain, decreased sexual arousal and recurrent vaginal and urinary tract infections. While estrogen therapies can be very effective at relieving these problems, many people worry about the risks of steroid hormones circulating throughout the body. This has led scientists to search for treatments that work locally where they are needed, without broader side effects. Recent research is pointing to an unexpected source of inspiration: naturally occurring plant compounds.
Professor Kateryna Pierzynowska – Professor Stefan Pierzynowski | Uncovering the Feedback Loop that Could Rewrite Diabetes Science
The pancreas is best known for producing insulin, the hormone that keeps blood sugar in check. But a growing body of research suggests this organ has been hiding a secret – one that could reshape how we understand and treat type 2 diabetes. At the heart of this story is a digestive enzyme called amylase. Normally associated with breaking down starch, amylase is produced by the exocrine part of the pancreas – the side responsible for digestion, as distinct from the insulin-producing side. For decades, these two sides were studied almost in isolation. Kateryna Pierzynowska and Stefan Pierzynowski of Lund University have spent years arguing that this is a mistake.
Dr Brent Iverson | Why a Key COVID-19 Antiviral Is Still Working After Years of Use
When antiviral drugs are widely used, resistance usually follows. Viruses mutate, treatments lose strength, and scientists scramble to adapt. That pattern has been seen with influenza, HIV, and many other infections. When the anti-viral drug Paxlovid was rolled out globally to treat COVID-19, many experts expected that the virus would eventually evolve ways to evade it. But several years on, meaningful resistance has not taken hold. In two closely connected studies, Dr Brent Iverson and colleagues set out to understand why. Their findings suggest that the virus may be more constrained than many had assumed – and that those constraints are helping Paxlovid remain effective.
Dr. Jamie Rausch | Exploring How Fat Tissue Shapes Health Across a Lifetime
For decades, fat tissue was treated as little more than the body’s storage cupboard – a place where excess calories were tucked away for later use. But research from Dr. Jamie Rausch, Assistant Professor of Nursing at Indiana University, is helping to overturn that simplistic view. Fat, or adipose tissue, is now understood to be one of the body’s most active and influential biological systems, constantly sending chemical signals that shape metabolism, inflammation, and long-term health.
Prof. Christian Bär – Dr. Shambhabi Chatterjee | Rewinding the Clock on Lung Disease: A Potential New RNA Therapy for Pulmonary Fibrosis
Pulmonary fibrosis is a devastating disease in which lung tissue becomes scarred and stiff, making it harder to breathe. The outlook for patients remains poor, with many surviving only a few years after diagnosis. Current treatments can slow the damage, but they cannot reverse it. New research by the team of Prof. Christian Bär and Dr. Shambhabi Chatterjee of Hannover Medical School and their colleagues explore a promising alternative – one that works at the level of our cells’ biological ‘aging clock’.
IAPB – Seeds of Innovation: The Science Driving Sustainable Agriculture
Since its beginnings in 1963 as the International Association for Plant Tissue Culture, the International Association for Plant Biotechnology (IAPB) has helped shape the field of modern plant science. The IAPB brings together researchers and innovators from around the world. A major upcoming event is the IAPB 2026 Congress, taking place in Saskatoon, Canada, from July 26–30. Led by Dr. Pankaj Bhowmik, the organization’s 16th President, the Congress will welcome over 300 participants from more than 30 countries.
Rob Onyenwoke | How Vaping Can Make Your Lungs More Vulnerable to Infection
Electronic cigarettes have been marketed as a safer alternative to traditional tobacco, but a growing body of research is painting a more troubling picture. Two studies from North Carolina Central University, conducted by Rob Onyenwoke and colleagues, suggest that vaping doesn’t just harm the lungs on its own – it may also make them far more vulnerable when infection strikes.
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