What if the world's oceans are quietly entering a new ecological era? 🌊 Using AI to analyse 1.2 million satellite images, researchers at @usf.edu found floating algae are expanding across much of the global ocean, revealing changes that are only visible at planetary scale. #MarineBiology #Science

AI reveals a massive algae boom across the world’s oceans

An AI analysis of 1.2 million satellite images shows that floating algae blooms are spreading across the global ocean. The rapid growth of massive seaweed mats could reshape marine habitats while brin...

sciencedaily.com

Can the same diet protect one organ but increase cancer risk in another? 🥘 In mice, researchers found that a ketogenic diet had very noxious effects in the small intestine, different from the previously reported benefits in the large intestine, highlighting the complexity of metabolism. #Keto

EARA@eara.eu · last wk.

#KetoDiet leads to small #IntestineCancer in #mice 🐭 @mit.edu researchers found that mice genetically predisposed to intestinal cancer, fed a ketogenic diet, developed as many or more #tumours than mice on an obesity-inducing diet. Learn more: 🔗 shorturl.at/9AxQa

What if ageing doesn't remove one of our muscle repair signals, it just makes it less effective? 💪 Researchers identified a compound that helped protect and strengthen a key muscle regeneration signal, with promising early results in mice. #HealthyAgeing #MuscleBiology #Science

Scientists find compound that may help muscles stay strong as we age

Skeletal muscle is one of the first tissues to decline with age. This decline can lead to weakness, scarring, fat accumulation inside muscle and the loss of fast-twitch muscle fibers that are importan...

medicalxpress.com

Working with laboratory animals can be emotionally challenging 🧑‍🔬 A Nature article highlights practical advice for early-career researchers and reminds us that empathy isn't a weakness, it is part of responsible animal research. #AnimalResearch #ResearchCulture #MentalHealth

EARA@eara.eu · last wk.

A @nature.com article gathered advice from 3 #scientists for early-career #PhD students on managing the stress of working with #mice and other #ResearchAnimals – including tips on connecting with others, self-care and allowing for a range of feelings. Learn more: 🔗

What if access to nature was treated as part of healthcare? 🌳 A new paper argues that regular time in nature should be considered public health infrastructure, not just recreation, helping reduce anxiety, depression and burnout while improving wellbeing. An idea worth discussing. #MentalHealth

Nature-based mental health care is worth the investment, researchers say

A new study underlines the annual AU$7 trillion (US$5 trillion) value of nature in mental health benefits and is calling for urgent government action to expand access to nature as a frontline response...

medicalxpress.com

Great to host EARA–ICLAS webinar with speakers from Mauritius, Brazil, India, Japan and Canada. 🌍 Different contexts, different challenges, but a shared goal: building public trust through better communication, openness and transparency. Check it out: www.eara.eu/news/eara-ho... #AnimalResearch

There is something deeply ironic about this article. Published by PCRM — an organisation whose mission is to end animal research — it is an advocacy piece, not a balanced review of the evidence. It then uses science fiction to make its scientific case. 1/6

Some geckos naturally develop aggressive cancers that spread throughout the body. 🦎 By studying these spontaneous tumours, researchers identified genetic changes linked to cancer that are also relevant across other species, including humans. #CancerResearch #AnimalResearch #Science

Do fish and humans make sense of the world in the same way? 🐟🧠 Zebrafish and mammals use different brain regions to combine sensory information, but researchers found they follow the same basic strategy. 400+ million years of separate evolution. Different brains. Similar solution. #AnimalResearch

EARA@eara.eu · 3w ago

#Zebrafish and #humans use the same strategy to make sense of the world 🧠 Researchers in Norway @kavlintnu.bsky.social found that zebrafish combine sensory information like #mammals do, suggesting this brain function evolved independently in different species. Learn more: 🔗

Turns out, photographing weird creatures and uploading them to the internet can help solve evolutionary mysteries 📸 @inaturalist.bsky.social observations more than doubled known records of parental care in harvestmen arachnids, helping researchers reconstruct how maternal and paternal care evolved.

Spider-like creatures help uncover the surprising origins of fatherhood

Citizen scientists have helped researchers solve a long-standing mystery about how parental care evolved in harvestmen. Using photos and observations from iNaturalist, scientists more than doubled the...

sciencedaily.com

Do video games actually sharpen the brain? 🎮🧠 A meta-analysis of 133 studies suggests they might, with small but consistent cognitive benefits, especially for memory. Gaming won't make you a genius, but saving kingdoms or solving puzzles isn't such a bad workout for the brain. Back to my Zelda now 🧝

Video games might modestly sharpen your memory and other cognitive skills, review suggests

Because video games are a regular part of many people's everyday lives, researchers have spent a lot of time trying to determine whether they are beneficial or detrimental to brain health. A new study...

medicalxpress.com

Can one tiny genetic change help a virus jump from bats to humans? 🦇🦠 Researchers found that changing a single amino acid altered how a coronavirus interacted with the immune system, helping explain why some viruses stay in bats while others can infect people. Small change. Big consequences #Science

EARA@eara.eu · 4w ago

Single genetic change may help #bat #viruses infect #humans 🦇 Researchers at the @qbi-ucsf.bsky.socialand @icahnmountsinai.bsky.socialand found that changing one amino acid in a coronavirus protein altered how the virus interacted with bat and human immune systems. Learn more: 🔗 shorturl.at/RotZE

A great discussion yesterday at #FENS2026 on how patient engagement can strengthen neuroscience research. Patients don't just want to hear about science. They want to help shape it. Really pleased to share @eara.eu 's work on the Patient Discovery Project alongside researchers and patient advocates.

Emmanuel Procyk from EU-Simia is joining #BOARD26 to promote understanding of how animal research and other approaches complement each other. #BOARD #EARA #SCICOMM

Aayush Bagale from the Agriculture and Forestry University, Nepal is joining #BOARD26 to promote understanding of how animal research and other approaches complement each other. #BOARD #EARA #SCICOMM

#BOARD26 is starting now! BOARD – Be Open About Animal Research Day – is a global, 24-hour social media campaign that celebrates #openness by biomedical institutions across the world in communicating #AnimalResearch. Follow EARA on social media and use #BOARD26 to participate. #NAMs #research

Barcelona this week for #FENS2026! 🧠🇪🇸 Looking forward to discussing patient engagement, transparency and public trust in animal research, and to meeting colleagues from across Europe at the consortium booth 124. If you're at @fens.org ???, come and say hello! #Neuroscience #FENS2026

EARA@eara.eu · last mo.

Join us at @fens.org Forum 2026 🧠 EARA will be in Barcelona 6-10 July at Booth 124 Catch Kirk Leech (panelist, 6 July), Nuno Gonçalves & Inês Serrenho (speakers, 8 July) and Helena Pinheiro (poster, 8 July). And don't forget #BOARD26 is on 9 July Learn more: 🔗 shorturl.at/Ob59Z #FENS2026

Could a temporary "hibernation mode" protect the brain after a stroke? 🧠❄️ Researchers used two existing drugs to induce a hibernation-like state in mice and monkeys, reducing brain injury. A small human safety trial has already begun. An example of drug repurposing in translational research.

EARA@eara.eu · last mo.

Hibernation-like state reduces #BrainDamage in #mice and #monkeys after #stroke. Researchers in Capital Medical University found that the combination of 2 drugs induced a hibernation-like state that reduced brain injury after stroke in #mice and #RhesusMonkeys. Learn more: 🔗 shorturl.at/Alvwq

Why does scratching an itch feel so satisfying... if it only makes it worse? 🦟 Researchers found scratching activates immune pathways that increase inflammation and keep the itch going. It may even have evolved to help fight skin bacteria. Evolution isn't always about comfort. It's about survival.

Scratching that bug bite might feel good at first but science explains why it's a bad idea

You've likely heard it since childhood: Don't scratch that bug bite or rash, you'll make it worse. But why would something that feels so good be bad?

medicalxpress.com

Can a common vitamin help fight brain cancer? Researchers found that vitamin B3 helped activate immune cells against the most aggressive brain cancer (glioblastoma) in mice. This led to an early clinical trial, where the first patient outcomes look encouragingt with a promising translational future.

EARA@eara.eu · last mo.

Vitamin B3 slows brain cancer progression in mice and patients 🧠 EARA member @ucalgary.bsky.social found niacin can activate the #ImmuneSystem to attack glioblastoma cells in #mice. Combined with standard therapy, it reduced #TumourGrowth and prolonged #survival. Learn more: 🔗 shorturl.at/0UKoG

Can the brain get some of the benefits of sleep while awake? 😴🧠 Researchers induced sleep-like brain activity in awake mice and found they performed memory tasks as well as animals that had slept. Understanding what makes it restorative could open fascinating new avenues for brain health.

EARA@eara.eu · 2mo ago

Researchers induce effects of restorative sleep in awake #mice 🐭 Researchers @uwmadison.bsky.social used #optogenetics to consistently induce sleep-like brain activity in awake, sleep-deprived #mice mimicking restorative effects on #memory as actual sleep. 🔗 www.eara.eu/news/researc...

Beneath our feet lies an underground fungal network stretching an estimated 110 quadrillion kilometres 🍄🌍 These fungi help plants grow, move carbon into soils and support entire ecosystems, yet we rarely talk about them. But don’t worry, it’s nothing like The Last of Us… yet 👀

Beneath our feet lies a fungal superhighway stretching 68 quadrillion miles

Beneath our feet lies a vast hidden fungal superhighway that helps sustain much of life on Earth—and scientists have now mapped it for the first time. Researchers estimate that these underground netwo...

sciencedaily.com

How do we build trust in animal research in Ireland 🇮🇪? A theme at this week’s openness event was that transparency cannot be reactive, it must become part of institutional DNA. I also shared lessons from the Patient Discovery Project and why informed patient voices matter in scientific discussions.

EARA@eara.eu · last mo.

EARA and @tcddublin.bsky.social held its first in-person #OpennessEvent in #Ireland, bringing together over 100 registrants at the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute to discuss how communications about animal research can become more open and effective. Learn more: 🔗 www.eara.eu/news/eara-op...

🩸 Could a blood test predict lung cancer years before diagnosis? Researchers identified a 14-protein signature that effectively predicted increased lung cancer risk up to 5 years before detection! The bigger idea here is spotting disease risk before cancer even appears.

EARA@eara.eu · 2mo ago

Blood test may predict #LungCancer risk years before diagnosis Research using #human and #mice data has developed a #BloodTest that could detect lung cancer risk five years before diagnosis. Learn more: 🔗 www.eara.eu/news/blood-t... #AnimalResearch #HumanData #CancerResearch

Most TikToks about sunscreen are actually positive. ☀️ The problem is that the small number spreading misinformation receive far more likes, shares and comments. And surprisingly few videos mentioned skin cancer prevention. Online influence sometimes it's really about engagement.

Sunscreen misinformation attracts high engagement on TikTok, study finds

Sunscreen is overwhelmingly promoted in popular TikTok videos, but content containing health misinformation about sunscreen attracts disproportionately high audience engagement, according to a new stu...

medicalxpress.com

Bees were given a problem they'd never seen before: move a Styrofoam small ball and use it as a tool to reach food. 🐝 Most figured it out without being taught! Not human-like intelligence, but a fascinating example of how even tiny brains can generate flexible solutions to new challenges.

EARA@eara.eu · last mo.

#Bees solve complex problems using tools 🐝 A study from the University of Oulu found the first evidence of complex thinking in insects: #bumblebees solved a novel problem without any training, rolling a ball to reach a sugar reward. 23/30 succeeded using only #memory. Learn more: 🔗 shorturl.at/BkH8G

Can Europe phase out animal testing? 🇪🇺 The EU has published its roadmap towards replacing animal studies in chemical safety assessments. The key message: transition, yes. But only when alternative methods provide equivalent protection for people and the environment.

EARA@eara.eu · 2mo ago

The #EuropeanCommission has published its #Roadmap towards phasing out #AnimalTesting for #ChemicalSafety assessments. #Non-animal approaches must match current safety level as that of the currently established methods. New Steering Team operational in 2026. Read more: 🔗

Very excited to finally share this one 🇵🇹 #EARAConference2027 is coming to Lisbon on 4–5 November 2027. Two days (plus a previous afternoon of workshops) to discuss animal research, NAMs, and transparency when these conversations matter more than ever to shape public trust in science.

EARA@eara.eu · 2mo ago

#SaveTheDate | EARA Conference 2027 📍 #Lisbon, #Portugal 🗓️ Thursday 4 - Friday 5 November 2027 Hosted with NOVA Medical School and Universidade NOVA de Lisboa. More details coming soon. Learn more: 🔗 www.eara.eu/projects/ear... #EARAConference2027 #ScienceConference

Can an octopus use a mirror as a tool? 🐙🪞 Researchers found octopuses can learn to use mirrors to locate food hidden from view, a skill previously documented only in vertebrates. Every time we think we've reached the limit of octopus intelligence, they casually move the goalposts. #Science

Octopuses use mirrors to find food they cannot see

Octopuses may be even smarter than we thought. Researchers at Dartmouth found that octopuses can learn to use mirrors to locate food hidden behind them—a skill previously seen only in vertebrates like...

sciencedaily.com

How does a pigeon navigate in a cloud sky? Magnetic liver???? 🐦🧭 Scientists may have found part of the answer in an unexpected place: the liver. Iron-rich immune cells seem to help pigeons detect Earth's magnetic field and find their way home on cloudy days. Nature remains delightfully weird.

EARA@eara.eu · 2mo ago

Liver helps #HomingPigeons navigate Earth's magnetic field A study by the @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social & the @unibonn.bsky.social found that iron-rich liver macrophages are key to magnetic navigation in pigeons. Learn more: 🔗