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A team of 22 researchers from nine countries – led by the Centre for Palaeogenetics (CPG) – has sequenced ancient DNA from the remains of three different mammoth species excavated in the Siberian permafrost. This is the oldest DNA to have been sequenced in the history of science. The study findings are published in the journal Nature.

Backed by a £33.6 million UK government investment, the first-of-its-kind study for this virus will involve establishing the smallest amount of virus needed to cause infection, which will give doctors greater understanding of COVID-19 and help support the pandemic response by aiding vaccine and treatment development.

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University provide perspective on the FRESH 3D bioprinting approach, which prevents the distortion of bioinks by printing within a yield-stress support bath that holds the bioinks in place until they are cured.

Using starfish oocytes as a model system, LMU physicists have explained how robust protein patterns can emerge in the face of drastic changes in cell shape.

Changes in the activity of five genes may play a critical role in determining whether a person will suffer from Lewy body dementia.

Scientists present evidence that hospital wastewater, containing elevated levels of antibiotics, rapidly kills antibiotic-sensitive bacteria, while multi-resistant bacteria continue to grow. Hospital sewers may therefore provide conditions that promote the evolution of new forms of antibiotic resistance.

Scientists have taken a close look at predatory bacteria, which feed on other bacteria. Predator-prey relationships between bacteria could provide ideas for new antibacterial strategies.

Last year, researchers showed that a major genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19 is inherited from Neandertals. Now the same researchers find that Neandertals also contributed a protective variant. Half of all people outside Africa carry a Neandertal gene variant that reduces the risk of needing intensive care for COVID-19 by 20 percent.

Human health and ecosystems could be affected by microbes including cyanobacteria and algae that hitch rides in clouds and enter soil, lakes, oceans and other environments when it rains, according to a recent study.

A research team has paved the way for the development of highly-sensitive tests for all known coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2 variants. These tests are being designed to enable the differentiation between the immune response caused by infection and vaccination.