The risk of developing blood cancer increases with age. The finding that a molecule from gut bacteria plays a part points to new ways to intervene.

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a growing health threat, but its evolution outside laboratory settings is poorly understood. Bacteria living in the human gut are now found to evolve persistent resistance after brief exposure to antibiotics, and factors that promote this evolution have been identified, highlighting the gut as a potential hotspot for this process.

The genetic bases of the seven pairs of contrasting traits in the garden pea that were described by the ‘father of genetics’, Gregor Mendel, have long puzzled scientists. The discovery of the genetic variants underlying these traits sheds light on the ‘inherited factors’ that Mendel proposed and how they shape biological differences.

Immune cells boost stress-linked fear responses by communicating with brain cells. One way that psychedelics lessen such fear is by modulating this interaction.