biology

Researchers have unveiled a paper-thin swimming robot powered by living muscle cells rather than motors. The soft robot can navigate its way through a watery maze, showing how engineered biological tissue can be used to drive tiny machines. The work highlights progress in biohybrid robotics, where living cells give devices flexibility and responsiveness that conventional actuators cannot match.

Anthropic is facing questions over claims that its AI systems achieved a significant breakthrough in biology. CNET asked working scientists to assess the claim, and reactions appear divided, with experts urging caution about how such achievements should be interpreted and verified. The debate touches on a broader tension in AI research: how to evaluate dramatic capability claims when independent validation in complex scientific fields is slow and difficult.

A new study reports that people with internet addiction show signs of exhausted physiological stress systems, suggesting heavy compulsive internet use may wear down the body's stress response. The finding is drawing attention among health researchers and commentators, who say it adds biological evidence to concerns about excessive screen and online use affecting physical health, not just behaviour or mood.

Anthropic is facing pushback over a claimed biology breakthrough made using its Claude AI system, after a scientist said he had already achieved the same result. The dispute raises questions over whether the AI truly produced something novel or merely rediscovered existing work, a recurring issue in AI-assisted scientific claims.

National Guard units are conducting training exercises to prepare for chemical and biological threats. The teams are practicing detection, protection and response procedures for hazardous-material incidents. The training highlights the Guard's civil-support role in dealing with attacks or accidents involving dangerous agents, and it is drawing attention as a military capability relevant to domestic preparedness.

Anthropic says its biology lab has already found something big, according to a TechCrunch report. The company has not publicly detailed the nature of the finding, which is being linked to its AI-driven research efforts. Reaction online is limited so far, with readers largely debating what the announcement could involve and waiting for more concrete results from the lab.

Chemists report finding a crown-shaped sulfur ring inside mammalian cells, according to Chemical & Engineering News. The structure, an eight-membered sulfur ring, was reportedly observed directly in living cells, a rare detection given sulfur compounds' instability and difficulty of measurement. The finding could reshape understanding of sulfur chemistry in biology and how such molecules form and persist inside cells.

Researchers report a water-stable catalyst that can form carbon-carbon bonds in aqueous conditions, a step toward using this type of chemistry inside living cells. Such reactions previously required organic solvents, limiting biological applications. A catalyst that tolerates water could open the door to new bioorthogonal tools for labelling and manipulating molecules in living systems.

Researchers led by Dr. Jona Kayser at MPZPM report that physical processes in dense cell populations strongly influence the best timing of treatment cycles, with implications for both cancer therapy and antibiotics. Treatment resistance remains one of the central challenges in medicine, and the findings suggest that timing could be adjusted based on how tightly cells pack together rather than on biology alone. The work points to new ways of scheduling therapies to delay or avoid resistance.

A report from the Genesis Mission initiative examines how artificial intelligence is being applied to fusion energy research and biological design. The document highlights the role of AI and high-performance computing in accelerating scientific discovery in these fields. Details of the report's specific findings and the response from researchers have not yet been widely reported.

Estonia has announced a partnership with French AI biotech company Owkin to advance sovereign AI capabilities in biology and life sciences. The collaboration aims to strengthen Estonia's control over its biological data and AI infrastructure. Further details about the scope and funding of the agreement have not yet been made public.

A new commentary in Nature examines the growing intersection of synthetic biology and bioprocess engineering. The piece highlights how designed biological systems are increasingly being integrated into industrial-scale production, requiring closer collaboration between engineers who optimise manufacturing and biologists who build novel organisms. The discussion matters for sectors including pharmaceuticals, biofuels and sustainable materials, where scaling laboratory breakthroughs into viable commercial processes remains a key bottleneck.

Researchers suggest that soil biology could hold the key to more sustainable nitrogen use in Canadian winter wheat farming. The finding points to the potential of harnessing natural soil processes to reduce synthetic fertiliser inputs, a major cost and emissions source in agriculture. It is drawing attention among those following sustainable farming and crop science.

The US Department of Education has removed Biden-era gender identity expansions from Title IX regulations, narrowing federal sex discrimination protections in education to biological sex. The move reverses guidance that had extended Title IX coverage to gender identity and is expected to affect how schools handle policies on transgender students, sports participation, and facilities nationwide.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge report that measurable sex differences in attention can already be detected in newborn babies, suggesting the gap emerges far earlier in development than previously assumed. The finding is drawing attention online, where readers are debating whether the differences are biological in origin and what they imply about later cognitive development.

NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day for September 28, 2026 features unusual deposits on Mars that resemble coral reefs. The formations are not biological; scientists believe they were shaped by ancient water or wind processes, and studying them offers clues about how the planet's climate and surface changed over billions of years.

Researchers analysed 163 ant genomes spanning most living ant subfamilies to reconstruct the insects' evolutionary history over the past 100 million years. The study found periods of rapid species diversification coinciding with increased activity of transposable elements, mobile DNA sequences that move within the genome, suggesting these elements helped drive ant evolution.

New research suggests that analysing the biology of prostate cancer tumours can help doctors identify which patients are most likely to benefit from hormone therapy. The findings could support more personalised treatment decisions, allowing clinicians to target therapy at those most likely to respond rather than applying it universally. The report has drawn attention in medical news coverage.

Researchers publishing in Nature have used spatially resolved multiomics to map how the human meninges, the protective membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord, develop. The work traces cell lineages during development and links them to disease dynamics, offering a reference for understanding neurological disorders tied to meningeal biology. It is being discussed among researchers following developmental biology and single-cell genomics.