#currentbiology — Public Fediverse posts

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

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 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 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 (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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What can algae tell us about plant evolution?

The development of land plants is deeply tied to their ancestors: simple green algae that lived hundreds of millions of years ago. This includes a group that can still be found today - Coleochaetophyceae - freshwater algae that form branching, disc-shaped structures resembling some of the building blocks of plants’ bodies.

Researchers looked at DNA and data from fossil evidence to figure out when and how this alga developed this structure: https://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/3240.html?id=7960

Research in #CurrentBiology: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.08.046

What can algae tell us about plant evolution?

The development of land plants is deeply tied to their ancestors: simple green algae that lived hundreds of millions of years ago. This includes a group that can still be found today - Coleochaetophyceae - freshwater algae that form branching, disc-shaped structures resembling some of the building blocks of plants’ bodies.

Researchers looked at DNA and data from fossil evidence to figure out when and how this alga developed this structure: https://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/3240.html?id=7960

Research in #CurrentBiology: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.08.046

today's feature in #CurrentBiology is all about #ants. https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/11/ants-in-anthropocene.html

#science #ecology #insects #conservation #Fiji

today's feature in #CurrentBiology is all about #ants. https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/11/ants-in-anthropocene.html

#science #ecology #insects #conservation #Fiji

my features published in #CurrentBiology this year, issue 21: Declining #ant #biodiversity on #Fiji islands may be warning for the world.

https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/11/ants-in-anthropocene.html

#science #ecology #conservation #ecosystems #insects #ants

my features published in #CurrentBiology this year, issue 21: Declining #ant #biodiversity on #Fiji islands may be warning for the world.

https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/11/ants-in-anthropocene.html

#science #ecology #conservation #ecosystems #insects #ants

24-Oct-2025
#ancientDNA from #Napoleon’s 1812 army identifies the #pathogens likely responsible for the army’s demise during their retreat from #Russia

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1102129

#science #genome #medicine #history #CurrentBiology

24-Oct-2025
#ancientDNA from #Napoleon’s 1812 army identifies the #pathogens likely responsible for the army’s demise during their retreat from #Russia

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1102129

#science #genome #medicine #history #CurrentBiology

this week's feature in #CurrentBiology is about the second phase of the #EarthBiogenomeProject and how it needs to build capacity in the #GlobalSouth where most of the #biodiversity is. https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/10/sequencing-all-species.html #science #ecology #conservation #genome

this week's feature in #CurrentBiology is about the second phase of the #EarthBiogenomeProject and how it needs to build capacity in the #GlobalSouth where most of the #biodiversity is. https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/10/sequencing-all-species.html #science #ecology #conservation #genome

my features published in #CurrentBiology this year, issue 20: The #EarthBiogenomeProject aiming to sequence #genome s of all #eukaryotes due to scale up and enter phase 2: https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/10/sequencing-all-species.html #science #biodiversity #ecology #conservation

my features published in #CurrentBiology this year, issue 20: The #EarthBiogenomeProject aiming to sequence #genome s of all #eukaryotes due to scale up and enter phase 2: https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/10/sequencing-all-species.html #science #biodiversity #ecology #conservation

I do have a feature in today's issue of #CurrentBiology but the magic link hasn't shown up yet. Suspect it may have been hit by the AWS outage, although the issue as such is online https://www.cell.com/current-biology/current (special on brain-body interaction but my feature is unrelated to that).

I do have a feature in today's issue of #CurrentBiology but the magic link hasn't shown up yet. Suspect it may have been hit by the AWS outage, although the issue as such is online https://www.cell.com/current-biology/current (special on brain-body interaction but my feature is unrelated to that).

Yesterday's feature in #CurrentBiology is about #Denisovans. Exciting stuff is happening in that field as several #ossils including the #Harbin skull have been identified as Denisovan with molecular methods. https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/10/a-denisovan-skull.html
#science #palaeoanthropology

my features published in #CurrentBiology this year, issue 19: A #Denisovan skull identified this year reveals the face of our close relatives (comparable to #Neanderthals). https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/10/a-denisovan-skull.html #science #anthropology #fossils #humans #genome #palaeoanthropology #china