What bats can teach us about the evolution of human speech

image of small fruit bat hanging upside down in the lab

In a paper in the journal Science, a team led by Professor Michael Yartsev’s lab identified the part of the brain in Egyptian fruit bats that controls vocalizations and found that it contains very similar neural wiring to the part of the human brain that controls speech.

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Rubinsky’s coral preservation work featured on PBS News

photograph of coral in the ocean, from the Smithsonian Institute

Professor Emeritus Boris Rubinsky’s isochoric vitrification method of preserving coral samples in suspended animation is part of recent emergency efforts to save dying coral reefs. The method is being used by the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

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The booming business of discovering your biological age

Conboy photo

Professor Irina Conboy and former student Alina Su have founded a new company, Generation Lab, offering an at-home molecular aging test that analyzes a person’s biological age by assessing “biological noise” in their system. The test evaluates an individual’s risk for top health conditions and the pace of aging across 19 systems in the body, which can help physicians see where interventions may be most needed and effective.

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Researchers make advances toward more effective IBD therapies

Photo of person with hand on stomach, drawing of digestive system superimposed on top. Image by iStock.

Researchers in Professor Phillip Messersmith’s lab have demonstrated that treatment with DPCA, an enzyme inhibitor molecule shown to trigger regeneration in mammals, can protect against and repair colon damage in a mouse model of colitis. This work suggests that short-term use of this small molecule drug could someday provide a restorative therapy for patients with IBD — and a path to remission.

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Rubinsky elected to NAI

head and shoulders photo of Rubinsky, outdoors, blurred background

Congratulations to Professor Boris Rubinsky, elected to the National Academy of Inventors. Rubinsky is known for developing a variety of new technologies in the fields of medicine and biomaterials, including a minimally invasive surgical technique called irreversible electroporation, work in cryopreservation, and the 3D printing of biomaterials.

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