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Discover new research from across the sciences and highlights from the world's longest-running journal archive.

09/01/2026

Researchers have created a new surface coating for polyetheretherketone, a material commonly used in orthopedic implants. The coating combines silver nanoparticles, which fight bacteria, with a calcium phosphate layer that encourages bone growth. This dual approach makes the implant surface both antibacterial and supportive of healing. Laboratory tests showed the coating reduced harmful bacteria by more than 90% while improving bone cell attachment and mineralization. The results suggest this strategy could lower infection risks and promote faster bone repair, offering safer and more effective implants for patients needing orthopaedic surgery.

Read the article in Interface:
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2025.0567

08/01/2026

Graphene-based self-powered sensors are emerging as a powerful solution for real-time health-monitoring and autonomous sensing systems. Owing to graphene’s exceptional electrical conductivity, flexibility and biocompatibility, these sensors can function without external power, drawing energy from mechanical, thermal or biochemical sources. Practical implementations in wearable electronics, implantable devices and smart environmental systems demonstrate the real-world impact of these innovations. The role of graphene-based materials extends beyond healthcare into robotics and soft electronics, where its properties support the development of self-powered, skin-like interfaces. As research continues to address scalability, long-term stability and miniaturization, graphene-based biosensors are expected to become central components in next-generation bioelectronic platforms.

Read the perspective article in Interface:
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2025.0479

07/01/2026

People sit among the most monogamous mammals alongside meerkats and beavers, according to a new study. Researchers analysed genetic data to compare the number of full and half siblings seen across more than 100 human societies with data from 34 mammal species. Despite considerable cross-cultural variation, the proportion of full (rather than half) siblings seen in humans (~65% on average) is similar to that seen in monogamous mammal species, and is consistently higher than in non-monogamous mammal species (~9% on average), including chimpanzees. These results are consistent with the characterisation of monogamy as the being the predominant human mating system.

Read the Washington Post article:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025/12/10/study-humans-mammals-monogamy

Read the research article in Proceedings B:
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article/292/2060/20252163/363965/Human-monogamy-in-mammalian-context

07/01/2026

Notes and Records has announced the 2026 Essay Award. The Royal Society's journal of the history of science, reports on current research and archival activities throughout the field of history of science, technology and medicine. The Essay Award is open to researchers in the history of science who have completed a postgraduate degree within the last five years. The previously unpublished essay of up to 8,000 words should be based on original research and it may relate to any aspect of the history of science, technology and medicine in any period. The winning entry is chosen using the journal's standard criteria for selection (i.e. excellence and interest to a wide audience) and will be published in the journal.

Find out more:
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsnr/essay-award

06/01/2026

Preclinical cancer research commonly relies on genetically identical lab animals, limiting its relevance to human patients and contributing to costly drug failures. A new study introduces an innovative mathematical framework that creates validated 'virtual clones' of lab mice from limited experimental data. Using lung cancer as an example, researchers successfully linked tumour growth to survival at an individual level, accurately predicting treatment outcomes. By capturing real-world biological variability, these virtual clones could significantly reduce reliance on animal testing, offering a faster, cheaper, and more predictive approach for screening new cancer therapies and identifying which patients are most likely to benefit.

Read the article in Interface:
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2025.0375

05/01/2026

Crop pests and diseases remain a significant obstacle to sustainable agriculture, necessitating innovative and eco-friendly detection solutions. A new study introduces PestReKNet-X, an advanced AI tool that helps farmers protect their harvests while reducing chemical use. Trained on over 100,000 images of 22 pest and disease types, it correctly identifies them in 95 out of 100 cases. Unlike many other systems, it also shows farmers why it made a decision, using easy-to-understand visual highlights. By giving clear explanations and measuring how confident it is in each result, PestReKNet-X offers a reliable and transparent way to support sustainable farming around the world.

Read the article in Royal Society Open Science:
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.250336

04/01/2026

Reflection of circularly polarized light by Chrysina beetles has been one of the ever-present themes in the study of structural colours in Nature. The study of the metallic-looking exocuticles of silvery, golden, red and green Chrysina species has produced detailed models of their specular reflective properties. Matt-green Green Chrysina beetles show left-handed circularly polarized light reflections produced by a helicoidal chitin-protein fibre structure, but, unlike reflections of the well-studied golden and silver species, their reflections look diffuse as a result of having an exocuticle with small craters that spread local specular reflections in many directions. At the micrometre scale, the curved reflective structure at the craters behaves as concave reflectors projecting real images above their surfaces, while the convex rims separating the craters form instead virtual images below. The result is an optical illusion where the real topography is inverted: the craters look like hills and the rims like valleys. Researchers have successfully modelled the resulting pattern of multi-coloured reflections, imagining the curved, helicoidal structure as a stack of wavelength-selective micro-reflectors. This spatially projected imaging interpretation becomes relevant for optical characterization studies of such structures at the microscale.

Read the article in Royal Society Open Science:
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.250653

03/01/2026

Fossilised melanosomes reveal colour patterning of a sauropod (long-necked) dinosaur. A new study investigates the fossilised scales of the dinosaur Diplodocus and marks the first instance of colour patterning found in a sauropod dinosaur. The scales are preserved 3-dimensionally as clay minerals with groupings of melanosomes (microscopic melanin bearing structures that are responsible for colour patterning). Disc-shaped objects, hypothesized to be a type of melanosome, are also found in the scales. Their bizarre shape makes it impossible to determine the true colour of the scales, though the results show juvenile sauropods could create more diverse melanosome shapes than previously thought, similar to modern birds and mammals.

Read the New Scientist article:
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2507698-dinosaurs-like-diplodocus-may-have-been-as-colourful-as-birds/

Read the research article in Royal Society Open Science:
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.251232

02/01/2026

A rare fossil from the world-famous Mazon Creek in Illinois reveals the first known case of algal infection in extinct horseshoe crabs. An exceptionally rare, 300-million-year-old specimen of Euproops danae shows unusual dimples across the exoskeleton. These abnormal structures are considered due to algae or parasites that infected the animal during life. Comparisons with modern horseshoe crabs suggest the infection occurred in a fully grown individual, marking a terminal stage of growth in the fossil animal. This discovery sheds new light on how ancient parasites interacted with their hosts, underscoring the scientific value of exceptional preservation sites.

Read the article in Biology Letters:
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0565

01/01/2026

Animals often fight over valuable resources like food, space, or mates, and their decisions to engage depend on how likely they are to win. Males of the fruit fly (Drosophila prolongata) engage in territorial contests, using their elongated forelegs as weapons to fend off rivals and secure access to females and food. Researchers used this highly aggressive fruit fly to examine how differences in body size and leg (weapon) size affect contest behaviour. They found that even when flies are genetically identical and raised in the same conditions, individuals still differ in their contest behaviour and adjust their aggression depending on their rival’s size. This shows that small environmental differences influencing body and weapon size can strongly shape how individuals behave and compete.

Read the article in Biology Letters:
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0519

Image credit: Tom Ratz

31/12/2025

Killer whales and humans share a trait that is otherwise rare in nature: a long female menopause. Whilst decades of field studies have revealed the important positive impact of a living menopausal grandmother in both humans and killer whales, the genes responsible for this trait remain elusive to science. In this 'thought experiment' researchers outline why the X-chromosome may play an important role in the evolution of menopause. They deduce this from the patterns of inheritance of the X-chromosome which result in granddaughters inheriting more of the paternal grandmother's X-chromosome, than other grand offspring. This could explain why grandmothers invest preferentially in their sons: to increase their genetic legacy.

Read the opinion piece in Biology Letters:
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0528

Image credit: Christopher Michel

30/12/2025

Why do sea turtles not nest every year? Many vertebrates breed every year, but some species only reproduce every two or more years (non-annual breeding). In sea turtles, non-annual breeding has been linked to their long migrations. However, a conundrum is that sea turtle populations with short migrations still tend to be non-annual breeders. Researchers solve this conundrum by showing that non-annual breeding in sea turtles is linked to high time and energy costs associated with mating and nesting, regardless of migration distance, and is favoured due to their generally high adult survival rates.

Read the article in Biology Letters:
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0594

Image credit: GretelW

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