Lead Story
Scientists discover two new snail species in Montenegro's threatened Komarnica Canyon
A citizen-science expedition team, including Leiden evolutionary biologist Menno Schilthuizen, described two new snail species, Cochlostoma komarnica and Cochlostoma dobrido, in a study published September 24 in the Biodiversity Data Journal. The tiny snails, with conical shells around 6mm long and a door-like disk that seals the shell, were found grazing limestone rocks in northwestern Montenegro; one lives in the Komarnica Canyon, where a proposed hydropower reservoir threatens the habitat, strengthening the case for its protection before its biodiversity is fully understood.
Read more →Lead Story
Scientists discover two new snail species in Montenegro's threatened Komarnica Canyon
A citizen-science expedition team, including Leiden evolutionary biologist Menno Schilthuizen, described two new snail species, Cochlostoma komarnica and Cochlostoma dobrido, in a study published September 24 in the Biodiversity Data Journal. The tiny snails, with conical shells around 6mm long and a door-like disk that seals the shell, were found grazing limestone rocks in northwestern Montenegro; one lives in the Komarnica Canyon, where a proposed hydropower reservoir threatens the habitat, strengthening the case for its protection before its biodiversity is fully understood.
Topical 'zombie cell' drug dramatically speeds wound healing in aged skin
Researchers reported in the journal Aging that a topical version of the senolytic drug navitoclax (ABT-263), which clears aging 'senescent' cells that accumulate and slow repair, helped older mice heal wounds significantly faster: 80% of treated mice had fully healed wounds by day 24, versus 56% of untreated mice. The treatment reactivated repair pathways for inflammation, collagen production and blood vessel growth, and because it stayed localized to the skin rather than spreading through the bloodstream, it avoided the systemic side effects of earlier senolytic approaches.
Read more →Topical 'zombie cell' drug dramatically speeds wound healing in aged skin
Researchers reported in the journal Aging that a topical version of the senolytic drug navitoclax (ABT-263), which clears aging 'senescent' cells that accumulate and slow repair, helped older mice heal wounds significantly faster: 80% of treated mice had fully healed wounds by day 24, versus 56% of untreated mice. The treatment reactivated repair pathways for inflammation, collagen production and blood vessel growth, and because it stayed localized to the skin rather than spreading through the bloodstream, it avoided the systemic side effects of earlier senolytic approaches.
Experimental drug CS18 shows early promise at overcoming cancer treatment resistance
Baylor College of Medicine researchers published findings in Science Advances on an experimental small molecule, CS18, that disrupts a master regulatory protein called TopBP1, dismantling defenses that let hard-to-treat cancer cells survive therapy. Combining CS18 with existing drugs such as PARP inhibitors or osimertinib killed cancer cells more effectively than either alone, and notably restored sensitivity in lung cancer cells that had already become resistant to osimertinib, with animal models showing reduced tumor growth and no major signs of toxicity.
Read more →Experimental drug CS18 shows early promise at overcoming cancer treatment resistance
Baylor College of Medicine researchers published findings in Science Advances on an experimental small molecule, CS18, that disrupts a master regulatory protein called TopBP1, dismantling defenses that let hard-to-treat cancer cells survive therapy. Combining CS18 with existing drugs such as PARP inhibitors or osimertinib killed cancer cells more effectively than either alone, and notably restored sensitivity in lung cancer cells that had already become resistant to osimertinib, with animal models showing reduced tumor growth and no major signs of toxicity.
Amateur astronomer's search for a campsite leads to discovery of 390-million-year-old crater
Joel Lapointe noticed an unusual circular feature on satellite maps in 2024 while scouting a campsite near Lake Marsal in Quebec's remote Cote-Nord region, and his inquiry to researchers led French scientists to identify it as a possible impact structure. An October 2025 expedition confirmed shatter cones and impact melt rock proving the 25-kilometer-wide structure, since named Uhackatik after consultation with the Innu Council of Ekuanitshit, was blasted into Earth roughly 390 million years ago; NASA Earth Observatory featured the find as an Image of the Day.
Read more →Amateur astronomer's search for a campsite leads to discovery of 390-million-year-old crater
Joel Lapointe noticed an unusual circular feature on satellite maps in 2024 while scouting a campsite near Lake Marsal in Quebec's remote Cote-Nord region, and his inquiry to researchers led French scientists to identify it as a possible impact structure. An October 2025 expedition confirmed shatter cones and impact melt rock proving the 25-kilometer-wide structure, since named Uhackatik after consultation with the Innu Council of Ekuanitshit, was blasted into Earth roughly 390 million years ago; NASA Earth Observatory featured the find as an Image of the Day.
World Gorilla Day marks mountain gorillas' rare comeback, with twin births in Virunga
World Gorilla Day on September 24 brought renewed attention to one of conservation's biggest success stories: mountain gorillas are now the only great ape population increasing in the wild, up to roughly 1,063 individuals from fewer than 250 in the 1970s, a recovery that has seen their IUCN status improved from Critically Endangered to Endangered. In Democratic Republic of Congo's Virunga National Park, rangers now monitor about 265 gorillas across 11 families daily and recorded more than 380 individuals in recent counts, up from 286 in the last comprehensive census, and celebrated the births of two sets of gorilla twins this year.
Read more →World Gorilla Day marks mountain gorillas' rare comeback, with twin births in Virunga
World Gorilla Day on September 24 brought renewed attention to one of conservation's biggest success stories: mountain gorillas are now the only great ape population increasing in the wild, up to roughly 1,063 individuals from fewer than 250 in the 1970s, a recovery that has seen their IUCN status improved from Critically Endangered to Endangered. In Democratic Republic of Congo's Virunga National Park, rangers now monitor about 265 gorillas across 11 families daily and recorded more than 380 individuals in recent counts, up from 286 in the last comprehensive census, and celebrated the births of two sets of gorilla twins this year.