Biology
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Dr. Jacqueline Tabler – The Self-Organizing Bone Wave That Shapes Our Skulls
Most of us don’t give much thought to our skulls beyond their role in protecting our brains. But the way a skull forms in the womb is a remarkable feat of biology, and, as a new study shows, also a feat of physics.
Dr Leonie Tix | A New Way to Assess Frog Health for Ethical Animal-based Research
When most people picture lab animals, mice or rats usually come to mind. However, another animal plays a quiet yet crucial role in biological research: the South African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis. These frogs have the ability to produce thousands of eggs each year, which scientists use to study processes ranging from cell division to genetics. Despite their importance, there has long been a gap in one very basic area of frog care: how to easily and reliably assess their health based on their nutritional status. This is the problem that Dr Leonie Tix of RWTH Aachen University and her collaborators set out to solve.
Dr Ursula Vincent | Detecting Trace Antibiotics in Livestock Feed to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance
Antibiotic resistance is one of the most urgent public health threats today, and animal farming plays a significant role. For decades, livestock in the EU were routinely given medicated feed containing low doses of antibiotics – not to treat infections but to prevent them. This preventative daily dosing greatly contributed to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. To combat this, the EU first introduced new rules in 2006 where antibiotics in feed can only be used with a veterinary prescription to treat diagnosed infections. Since May of 2025, the cross-contamination of antibiotics from medicated feed to non-medicated feed has also become strictly regulated. Even with these regulations, non-medicated feed can still become contaminated.
Dr Luis A. Rubio | Exploring the Gut-Healing Potential of Plant Proteins
Inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, are serious conditions marked by chronic inflammation in the digestive tract, causing pain, diarrhoea, and reduced quality of life. There is an urgent need for new therapies that reduce inflammation and avoid the negative effects of long-term medication use. Research led by Dr Luis A. Rubio at the Estación Experimental del Zadín in Spain explored whether extracts from legumes such as peas might offer a gentler, food-based alternative – as a treatment or preventative therapy for these conditions.
Dr. Hubert Untersteiner | A Smart and Safe Method to Assess Pesticide Risks to Aquatic Life
Imagine rivers and lakes, vital for life, threatened by invisible dangers: pesticides. How do we accurately assess their risk to aquatic ecosystems without endless, costly, and ethically challenging animal tests? Scientists are increasingly finding answers in powerful computer models. A new study carried out by Dr. Hubert Untersteiner and colleagues from the University of Ulster shows how combining two types of computer-modelling tools can improve predictions of pesticide toxicity in aquatic environments. The two methods they combined are Quantitative Structure–Activity Relationship (or QSAR), and Species Sensitivity Distribution (or SSD).
Dr Michael Dillon | A Gamified Approach to Teaching at Plymouth University
In universities everywhere, there’s growing recognition that the traditional lecture model is no longer enough. As disciplines become more complex and interconnected, students need more than information – they need ways to engage actively with what they’re learning. This means moving beyond passive listening and note-taking, towards approaches that foster critical thinking and collaboration. At the University of Plymouth, a new teaching innovation is showing how gamified learning can encourage deeper understanding and student engagement.
Preventing Damage to Human Organs and Biological Samples During Cryopreservation
Cryopreservation is a technique allowing organs, whole organisms, tissues and cells to be preserved below 0°C for extended periods. Currently, organs are stored above 0°C, which limits their storage time to a few hours. Hence, it is difficult to successfully preserve organs for patients who need life-saving transplants. By bringing organs to temperatures below 0°C, their metabolism can be further lowered, and preservation times can be considerably lengthened. However, water contained in and around cells can form ice crystals, which damage cellular structures. This effect has severely limited the use of cryopreservation for organs and other biological samples. Scientists have recently developed innovative ways to prevent ice-crystal formation during cryopreservation.
Dr Jörg Enderlein | Building 3D Images of the Biomolecular World
Over the past two decades, advances in super-resolution microscopy have sparked a revolution in imaging: offering researchers clear glimpses of biological structures just a few nanometres in size. The ability to visualise 3D structures at this scale is critical for understanding how drugs interact with proteins, and how diseases such as cancer progress at a molecular level. As such, better 3D imaging tools could accelerate the development of new drugs, guide more targeted therapies, and deepen our understanding of fundamental cellular processes.
Prof. Diana Jaalouk | Cutting-Edge Cancer Tools: Editing Genes and Cleaning Up Proteins
Cancer continues to challenge scientists and doctors around the world, partly because every tumor is unique and doesn’t always respond well to one-size-fits-all treatments. But a new wave of personalized medicine, called precision oncology, is changing that. Researchers such as Prof. Diana Jaalouk and her colleagues at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon are investigating two exciting tools, CRISPR-Cas9 and PROTACs, that are giving doctors more accurate ways to treat cancer with fewer side effects.
Dr. Mark Dombrovski | From Molecules to Behaviours: Untangling the Principles of Brain Wiring
How does the brain translate what we see into what we do? Every action we take, from catching a ball to avoiding danger, relies on precise connections between neurons. Dr. Mark Dombrovski, previously at the University of California Los Angeles, and now at the University of Colorado Boulder, explores how these neural circuits form, linking the genetic and molecular building blocks of the brain to behaviours. At the heart of his research lies a fundamental question: How do neurons identify and connect with their correct partners to form precise circuits in the developing brain, where they are exposed to so many possible alternative options?
Dr Jacopo Iacovacci | Harnessing the Gut Microbiota to Predict Side Effects of Prostate Cancer Radiotherapy
Radiotherapy is a common and effective treatment for prostate cancer. However, the inevitable irradiation of healthy tissues surrounding the tumour often causes gastrointestinal side effects, such as diarrhoea, abdominal pain and rectal bleeding, which significantly affect patients’ quality of life.
Medical devices called endografts – consisting of a stent and a graft – can be used as internal scaffolds to stabilise the weakened artery walls. However, these devices can lead to problems, which many researchers and clinicians are striving to solve.
Dr Ricardo Rosales | From Smallpox to Cancer: How Vaccinia Viruses Are Revolutionizing Vaccine Development
Vaccines have long been celebrated for their ability to prevent diseases, but some are now being developed to treat existing conditions, such as cancer and viral infections. One promising approach is the use of vaccinia viruses, which were historically used to eradicate smallpox. These vaccines prompt an immune response that can eliminate threats, including cancer cells and cells infected by viruses.
Dr. Ricardo Rosales and his colleagues at VIROLAB are at the forefront of this field, leading innovative research into two vaccinia viruses: MVA and GAB-1.
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