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Fuente: earth.com Published by Andrei Ionescu (Earth.com staff writer) in earth.com on 20 March 2026 Birch tar has long appeared at Neanderthal sites as a black, sticky residue – usually explained as a kind of prehistoric glue used to hold tools together. However, that simple picture may be missing something important. A new study from the  University of Cologne  and the  University of Oxford   suggests the same substance that helped Neanderthals build their tools may also have helped them treat wounds . When researchers recreated birch tar using ancient methods, they found it could slow the growth of bacteria linked to infection . The findings don’t prove Neanderthals practiced medicine . But they add to a growing body of evidence that these early humans were more than skilled hunters – they may also have been practical caregivers , using the materials around them to manage injury and disease. Read more

Brain Activity Reveals How Well We Mentally Size Up Others Originally published by Univeristät Zürich on 9 March 2026 Humans often adapt their behavior to that of other people with lightning speed. A new study by the University of Zurich reveals what brain networks govern social mentalization and adaptatio n, making it possible to predict how flexibly one person reacts to others . The findings of the study could provide new approaches to gaining a better understanding of social disabilities such as autism spectrum disorder or borderline personality disorder . In the interaction with other people, we constantly assess what they think and intend. A new study by the University of Zurich (UZH) shows which brain networks are involved. (Image: iStock / DrAfter123) How quickly do we perceive whether a person we are interacting with is clever or predictable ? Be it in a game, a conversation or a negotiation, we constantly infer what others are thinking and size up their intentions , a...

Originally written by  University of New Mexico   and published in phys.or  on March 17, 2026 Edited by  Lisa Lock , reviewed by  Robert Egan Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain  Networks exist in both nature —such as biological systems like food webs and gene regulatory networks— and in engineered systems as seen in power grids. Though natural and engineered systems share an overarching goal —providing a mechanism for interacting components to transmit information— one system appears to have a clear advantage, according to f indings published recently by a University of New Mexico-led team . In this case, the team found that nature does its best when it comes to networks. New study compares natural and man-made networks "The Frequency Response of Networks as Open Systems,"  published  in  Nature Communications , was authored by former UNM graduate student Amirhossein Nazerian , now at Colorado State University; Malbor Asilani, Florid...

Proteins assume complex 3D shapes even faster than does DNA , which is a simpler molecule. Originally wri tten By  Katherine Bourzac and published in Nature on 9 March 2026 It can take less than a microsecond for proteins (artist’s impression) to fold into their 3D shapes. Credit: Christoph Burgstedt/Science Photo Library Scientists say they have made some of the first direct measurements of how long it takes an individual, ordinary protein to fold . The results were surprising: they found no relationship between a protein’s sequence or size and how long it takes to  fold into its 3D shape . And proteins seem to fold more efficiently than do other biomolecules, such as DNA — despite proteins having a more complex set of ingredients. The work was published today in  Physical Review Letters 1 . Read more

Originally published by Marc Zimmer ,  The Conversation , on March 1, 2026 edited by  Lisa Lock , reviewed by  Alexander Pol Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Fruit flies, mice , zebrafish , yeast , and the tiny worm  C. elegans  are  model organisms  that have carried modern biology on their backs. Scientists did not choose them for their charisma. They were chosen because their similarities illuminate biological principles across many species. Their biology is simple enough for researchers to master yet deep enough to keep  delivering new insights centuries later . But biologists don't have a common reference point for a vast area of the field:  proteins, the cell's doers . Proteins catalyze chemical reactions, give cells their structure, and help them communicate with each other. Most organisms use tens of thousands of protein types, and each can be mutated , modified , and measured in different ways and in countless environments...

Published in phys.org by  University of Waterloo on February 24, 2026 edited by  Sadie Harley , reviewed by  Robert Egan Under a low magnification of 1.9X, this image depicts a close-up view of a Petri dish culture plate that contained a medium of egg yolk agar, which was inoculated with Clostridium sporogenes bacteria. These organisms gave rise to these colonies after a 48 hour incubation period. Zones of opacity were noted beneath these colonies. Credit: CDC, Public Domain A research team led by the University of Waterloo is developing a novel tool to treat cancer by engineering hungry bacteria to literally eat tumors from the inside out . "Bacteria spores enter the tumor, finding an environment where there are lots of nutrients and no oxygen , which this organism prefers, and so it starts eating those nutrients and growing in size," said Dr. Marc Aucoin, a chemical engineering professor at Waterloo. "So, we are now colonizing that central space , and the bacter...

Organoids developed from human stem cells modeled spinal cord injuries, providing a powerful in vitro tool to evaluate regenerative therapies for CNS injuries. Original written by Sneha Khedkar and published on The Nutshell section of The Scientist on Feb 13, 2026 Despite being the most common cause of permanent disability, there are few effective treatments for spinal cord injuries. A new organoid model now offers a platform to test regenerative therapies, potentially accelerating the development of new therapies.  Image credit:© iStock.com, Charday Penn Injuries in the central nervous system (CNS) —such as those in the spinal cord—trigger glial scar formation, which inhibits nerve regeneration from healthy neurons surrounding the damage. This results in impaired motor, sensory, or autonomic functions . Despite such spinal cord injuries being the l eading cause of death and permanent disability and affecting up to 500,000 people globally each year , effective therapies ...

Originally published by Penn State in SciTech Daily on February 9, 2026 Scientists studying asteroid Bennu have discovered that key amino acids may have formed in icy, radiation-rich environments rather than warm water . The findings suggest life’s basic ingredients can arise in far more extreme corners of space than previously thought. (A view of eight sample trays containing the final material from asteroid Bennu.) Credit: NASA/Erika Blumenfeld & Joseph Aebersold Tiny grains of dust from asteroid Bennu are reshaping how scientists think life’s ingredients formed in space. Scientists previously identified amino acids, the essential components of life, inside 4.6-billion-year-old rocks collected from the asteroid Bennu. These samples were brought back to Earth in 2023 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission. While the discovery confirmed that life’s basic ingredients exist beyond Earth, how those molecules formed in space remained unclear. New research led by scie...

Penn State researchers developed a programmable hydrogel skin that morphs shape and encrypts information on demand. Originally written by  Neetika Walter for Interesting Engineering, on February 05, 2026 The team encoded the Mona Lisa into the smart skin using their halftone-based printing method . Researchers at Penn State have developed a new fabrication method that allows a programmable “smart synthetic skin” to change its appearance, texture, and shape while also hiding or revealing information on demand . The material is made from hydrogel , a water-rich, gel-like substance, and is produced using a technique the team describes as 4D printing . Unlike traditional synthetic materials with fixed properties, the smart skin can dynamically respond to external stimuli such as heat, solvents, or mechanical stress. The approach allows a single sheet of material to perform multiple functions at once , including adaptive camouflage , information encryption and decry...

Novel artificial lungs could help keep people whose lungs no longer function alive long enough to get an organ transplant Originally written by  Jackie Flynn Mogensen  edited by  Claire Cameron for Scientific American on January 29, 2026 New lungs ( left ) that were transplanted into a patient after he was kept alive with artificial lungs are seen next to his old lungs ( right ). Northwestern Medicine In 2023 thoracic surgeon Ankit Bharat was working at Northwestern Memorial Hospital when he was drafted to help a 33-year-old influenza patient who was on the verge of death . Bharat recalls that the man had developed a secondary infection from one of the “most dreaded bugs” in the hospital,  Pseudomonas ,  and had been put on a ventilator . The patient’s lungs were filling with fluid and pus, his kidneys were failing, and his heart was “barely” working, Bharat says. “He was actively dying.” Then the patient’s heart stopped. “We got him back—but it was ...

Targeting specific cells in the vagus nerve reduced heart damage in mice Originally written by Alessio Cozzolino for  ScienceNews on January 27, 2026 Nerve pathways linking the heart and brain play a key role in inflammation and the body’s response to cardiac injury . In mice , blocking signals along these nerves and reducing inflammation in connected neurons improved heart function and healing. SectoR_2010/iStock/Getty Images Plus After a heart attack , the heart “talks” to the brain. And that conversation may make recovery worse. Shutting down nerve cells that send messages from injured heart cells to the brain boosted the heart’s ability to pump and decreased scarring, experiments in mice show. Targeting inflammation in a part of the nervous system where those “damage” messages wind up also improved heart function and tissue repair, scientists report January 27 in Cell . Read more

Volatile organic compounds in the breath reflect gut microbiome changes, offering a quick and non-invasive way to detect biomarkers of diseases like asthma in children. Originally written by Stephanie DeMarco, PhD, for The Nutshell section of The Scientist, on January 22, 2026 I n the depths of the human colon, gut microbes help keep the body healthy by aiding digestion and producing vital metabolites . Disruptions to this bustling microbial community are associated with diseases including asthma and serious infections in  preterm infants . However, quickly identifying the gut microbiome changes that can lead to these conditions in a hospital is not feasible with current methods . “One of the key barriers to integrating our knowledge of the microbiome into clinical care is the time it takes to analyze the data on the microbiome ,” said  Ariel Hernandez-Leyva , an MD/PhD student in gut microbiome researcher  Andrew Kau ’s group at Washington University School of...

Originally published by University of Queensland on January 22, 2026 edited by Lisa Lock , reviewed by Robert Egan University of Queensland researchers say the discovery of a new stress reduction role for a naturally occurring molecule in the body could lead to new drugs and treatment for metabolic disorders and aging .     Proposed model of miR-71 cell-autonomous and cell-non-autonomous dampening of mitochondrial stress responses. Credit: Nature Communications ( 2025 ). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-67198-2 Professor Steven Zuryn, a molecular geneticist from UQ's Queensland Brain Institute , was part of a team that found that very small RNA molecules , called microRNAs , bind to genes and prevent them from being over-activated . MicroRNAs were discovered in C. elegans about 30 years ago and have since been shown to be important in human health and disease . This initial discovery led to the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine . Read more l   ...

Originally written by Matt Wood, University of Chicago , on January 20, 2026   and published in phys.org edited by Stephanie Baum , reviewed by Robert Egan Light is a universal stimulus that influences all living things. Cycles of light and dark help set the biological clocks for organisms ranging from single-celled bacteria to human beings. Some bacteria use photosynthesis to convert sunlight into energy just like plants, but other bacteria sense light for less well-known functions.   Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an antibiotic-resistant bacterium that is known to cause difficult to treat infections in hospitalized patients. Credit: Centers for Disease Control In 2019, Sampriti Mukherjee, Ph.D., and her team at the University of Chicago discovered that far-red light, part of the light spectrum near the infrared range, prevents the formation of biofilms by the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa . Biofilms form when communities of bacteria cluster together and att...