#currentbiology — Public Fediverse posts

this week's feature in #CurrentBiology is about the rise and fall of #languageDiversity I also put in a bit about early #writing systems and how #protoElamite mysteriously disappeared.

https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2026/09/languages-rise-and-fall.html

#science #scienceWriter #humans #anthropology #languages #linguistics

4-Sep-2026
Not a cheetah: #AncientDNA reveals the surprising #Arctic life of extinct North American cat
New #paleogenomics research by UC Santa Cruz reveals how the so-called #AmericanCheetah adapted to harsh Arctic conditions by preying on fish

research in #CurrentBiology

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1142183

#science #ecology #carnivores #felines #bigCats

this week's feature in #CurrentBiology is about the latest #artificialCells vs progress in #RNAworld research. https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2026/08/dont-create-evolve.html
#science #originOfLife #astrobiology #RNA

this week's feature in #CurrentBiology is about counting #insects. Just how many #species are there, and how on Earth does one arrive at a reasonable estimate for that number? Also: new species discoveries, population declines. https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2026/08/how-many-insects-are-there.html
#science #ecology #evolution #environment #arthropods #invertebrates

this week's feature in #CurrentBiology has cute #penguins and #seals as well as a dose of #climateCatastrophe. https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2026/07/antarctic-in-danger.html

#science #antarctic #environment #conservation

today's feature in #CurrentBiology is about #caveLions and other missing #megafauna of the #Pleistocene. Blog entry contains magic link for free access:

https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2026/07/missing-megafauna.html

#science #ecology #animals #evolution #genome

this week's feature in #CurrentBiology is about the less celebrated #microbiomes of nose, skin and vagina. Blog entry contains magic link for free access (50 days). https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2026/06/our-less-famous-microbiomes.html

#science #ecology #health #humans #microbes

this week's feature in #CurrentBiology is about preventing #pandemics in the light of the recent #hantavirus outbreak and ongoing #ebola epidemic. https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2026/06/preventing-pandemics.html

#science #publicHealth

this week's feature in #CurrentBiology is about forgotten #forests - from the ones of Doggerland now under the North Sea to the ones we're currently forgetting to save from #deforestation.
https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2026/05/a-forest-under-sea.html

#science #ecology #conservation #plants #climateCatastrophe

the stars of this week's feature in #CurrentBiology are more than 400 cuddly #koalas! It's all about #conservation #genomics, also covering eg #SnowLeopards, #SeaSnails, #lemurs https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2026/04/survival-secrets-of-koalas.html

#science #genome

this week's feature in #CurrentBiology is about the #safety (or lack thereof) of #AI #technology. Contains some rather depressing findings. https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2026/04/the-aipocalypse-starts-here.html #science

Insect navigation: Lunar lunacy tamed by an ant
Eric J. Warrant
Unlike the sun, the #moon is a notoriously fickle visual cue for #navigation. However, a nocturnal ant has now been found to use the moon for navigation during night-long foraging trips, compensating for its movement across the sky to maintain navigational accuracy.

Dispatch in #CurrentBiology

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(26)00157-0

#science #ants #insects

Last year's feature on the impact of the trump regime on global #publicHealth is now in the open archives: https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/03/moving-backwards-and-breaking-things.html #science #currentBiology #WHO #health #policy

RE: https://mastodon.social/@sflorg/116131363356930077

Eyes, as light-sensing organs of the #lens #eye type, have #evolved independently multiple times in the animal kingdom. But what did a representative of the early #vertebrate lineage look like? According to G. Kafetzis et al. (2026), a worm-like #ancestor possessed #medianeyes bring #homologous to the modern #pinealgland of the #brain. Published in #CurrentBiology. #evolution

© this text #StefanFWirth March 2026

#Reference
G. Kafetzis et al. (2026),
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.12.028

For some reason the posts in my slow thread don't bridge to bluesky, although the post at the top did. So I just have to toot today's #CurrentBiology feature again: https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2026/02/plants-recycling-metals.html #science #ecology #metals #recycling #phytomining #resources #nickel #gold #rareEarthElements

RE: https://biologists.social/@jekely/115926352021625708

#Tooluse in #bovids so far was underestimated until a recent #scientific #study highlighted Austrian #cow #Veronika and her #flexible #purposeful self-#scrarching tool handling. Indicating that further studies might show similar potentials also in other #Bovidae taxa.
The authors A. J. Osuna-Mascaró & Alice M.I. Auersperg (2026) published their findings in #CurrentBiology.
© This text #StefanFWirth Berlin 2026

Reference:

A. J. Osuna-Mascaró & Alice M.I. Auersperg (2026)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.11.059

yesterday's feature in #CurrentBiology is on the #urbanEcology of feeding #birds and #squirrels; blog entry contains magic link for free access: https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-urban-ecology-of-feeding-birds-and.html #science #ecology

New study reveals a primate brain circuit that keeps motivation going even under threat, via a key striatopallidal pathway 🧠⚙️ Read more in Current Biology: https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(25)01688-4 #neuroscience #motivation #brainresearch #CurrentBiology

my features published in #CurrentBiology this year, issue 1: Revisiting the #conservation of #sharks and #rays pegged to the recent #CITES meeting that ramped up their protection. https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2026/01/stopping-shark-trade.html #science #marineBiology

The (slow) thread collecting all my features published in #CurrentBiology in 2026 starts here. #ProseAndPassion #Science #ScienceWriter #ScienceJournalism #biology #ecology The old thread for 2025 is here: https://mastodon.social/@proseandpassion/113782468349225978

the last #CurrentBiology feature of the year is on #recovery of species after #extinction threat. https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/12/i-needed-cheering-up-after-covering-30.html #science #ecology #conservation

my features published in #CurrentBiology this year, issue 24: After that climate feature, I needed something more soothing, so I wrote about species recovering after avoiding #extinction.

https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/12/i-needed-cheering-up-after-covering-30.html

#science #ecology #conservation #rewilding

this week's feature in #CurrentBiology is about the recent #Lancet report on the #health impact of the #climateCatastrophe: https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/12/30-years-of-climate-failure.html

#science #environment #publicHealth

my features published in #CurrentBiology this year, issue 23: Venting my rage about the #climateCatastrophe by writing about the #Lancet report on its #health effects.

https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/12/30-years-of-climate-failure.html #science #environment #Belem #cop30

this week's feature in #CurrentBiology is about how #ancientDNA revealed the power of #prehistoric #women https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/11/prehistoric-women-ruled.html

#science #archaeology #matriarchy #matrilinear #genome

my features published in #CurrentBiology this year, issue 22: #Prehistoric #women are getting some recognition at last:

https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/11/prehistoric-women-ruled.html
#science #genome #ancientDNA #archaeology #genealogy #society #matriarchy