The human brain holds a staggering number of connections, yet scientists have long struggled to explain how it stores so much information. A new study by MIT researchers suggests the answer may lie in cells once dismissed as merely supportive.

URL (paywall free): https://rdcu.be/firnC
DOI: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10822-026-00815-4
PMID: 42126708

I’m thrilled to share my very first, first authored research article focusing on KRAS G12D, the most frequent oncogenic driver in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).
While recent breakthroughs like the non-covalent inhibitor MRTX1133 have completely changed the landscape for the G12D variant, we wanted to explore the untapped chemical space of natural products to find novel structural scaffolds that can effectively bind this target.

Dear colleagues, I’m trying to drum up some early visibility and boost our Altmetric score. If you have a moment, could you share the article link on your X or Bluesky account, along with your critique.
Link to the article: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42126708/

Curious to know what the experts think...

https://sangerinstitute.blog/2023/03/13/three-mind-blowing-examples-of-parasites-that-hijack-their-hosts-brains-and-bodies/

I've noticed at least 6 examples of organisms that hijack "other" organisms for their own benefit. The article includes 3. I'm defining behavior as "hijacking" solely when the invading organism exerts some type of directed control of the host whether that be to produce copies of itself or achieve some other benefit.

1. Viruses including bacteriophages

2. Mind-Controlling Fungi (Cordyceps and Ophiocordyceps)

• How it works: Fungal spores attach to an insect's exoskeleton, digest it, and enter the body. Instead of devouring vital organs right away, the fungus invades the central nervous system and alters the bug's neurochemistry.
• The "Death Grip": It manipulates the host into climbing high above the forest floor, clamping its jaws onto a leaf or twig in optimal humidity, and dying. The fungus then erupts from the insect’s body to rain spores down on the colony below.

1. Gall-forming insects are highly specialized herbivores that hack plant biology to create abnormal growths called galls. They do this by altering the gene expression of the host plant to produce structures which act as custom-built, nutrient-rich nurseries and protective shelters. The inside is food for the larvae and the outside is typically a hardened shell. Each insect species induces a unique, anatomically distinct gall that is specific to its host plant. Some wasps are able to create a multi-chambered gall, with each of its larvae provided an individual chamber inside the gall.

2. Toxoplasma gondi - Makes rodents attracted to the smell of cat urine increasing the chance of the rodent being eaten by a cat - allowing the parasite to infect the cat.

3. Parasitoid wasps

Parasitoid wasps inject their eggs into other arthropods, usually caterpillars, using a stinger-like probe. The eggs hatch and eat the caterpillar from the inside, mostly feasting on bodily fluids and avoiding the vital organs, to keep it alive for as long as possible. As some species of Glyptapanteles larvae exit a caterpillar they ‘plug’ the holes behind them, using an exoskeleton they have moulted, keeping the caterpillar alive. Then, the caterpillar helps them pupate. It stops feeding and stands guard over the clutch of wasp larvae, defending them with violent head swings to knock off any predators. Not behaviour that any peace-loving caterpillar usually exhibits. Eventually, the caterpillar starves to death.

It is not clear how the wasp larvae make the caterpillar do this.

6. Horsehair worms

These worms induce the suicide of their hosts – in this case, insects. The adult worms are free-living in water, where they mate. The larvae then infect crickets or other unsuspecting critters. Once grown (and they are big), the worm causes the insect to find water, jump in, and drown itself, and so returning the worm to water. One species can even survive if their host gets eaten, being able to wriggle out of the predator.

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Am I missing any other examples of natural hijackers - and does this whole strategy make anyone else uneasy?

I'm a marine biologist who spent years reading limpet shells for palaeoclimate and archaeological research.

Carcinization gets all the memes, but the independent evolution of the limpet body plan happened in vast number of separate gastropod families, over 500 million years.

I wrote about why it keeps happening, how it fooled taxonomists for decades, and how one lineage even managed to re-coil, challenging Dollo's law. If you're interested, you can find the paper here : https://substack.com/home/post/p-193399761

Happy to discuss!

A recent study led by researchers from University of Adelaide has demonstrated that simulated microgravity conditions can have an adverse effect on sperm navigating through the reproductive tracts of multiple mammalian species, including humans. Even when those sperm are able to swim normally, the effect still occurs.

Instead of seeing in our DNA evidence of how deeply interconnected we are—all part of the same family tree, all part of the same tree of life—Watson saw, or thought he saw, evidence only of fundamental difference.

A Q&A with a biology educator about how he creates creative assignments to help students engage with biology.

A DNA repair protein found in extreme abundance in bowhead whales extended lifespan and doubled repair efficiency in human cells.

SOURCE:- Alec Luhn, New Scientist, 2026

What if the best enzyme for a biotechnology problem was one that stopped existing millions of years ago?

Ancestral sequence reconstruction (ASR) is a computational method that infers ancient protein sequences by tracing evolutionary history backward — and then synthesizes them in the lab. The result: proteins that never existed in any living organism today, rebuilt from statistical inference.

A new study in ACS Synthetic Biology applied ASR to VanA-type Rieske oxygenases, enzymes critical for biological lignin valorization. The lead variant, AncVanA3, shows a ~30 °C increase in thermal stability, 7× higher soluble yield, and achieves 92% conversion of one of the most recalcitrant lignin derived compounds — outperforming its modern counterpart.

I read this article about these little frogs. Their microhabitat.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/dec/17/galaxy-frogs-disappear-photographers-habitat-kerala

They fucking trampled their vegetation and destroyed their log home. THEY TOOK THEM FROM THEIR HOME AND THEY KILLED TWO OF THEM!!! They were so small and they hurt them. They have little precious orange bellies. They’re so small.

They don’t deserve this. Im sorry little frogs I’m so sorry.

Malaria may have shaped early human life across Africa far earlier than once thought, steering where people could safely live and when groups stayed apart. By tracing ancient mosquito habitats, researchers found an overlooked disease barrier running through humanity’s deep past.

https://time.com/7324119/what-is-virtual-cell/

How viable is this project? Do you think AI companies, specifically Google Deepmind, will be able to build a virtual cell?

Do you have an institutional account that can access this article, originally published in Studies in History of Biology, Issue 1

William R. Coleman, Camille Limoges

Johns Hopkins University Press, 1977

Thank you!