How did life begin on Earth? Can plants adapt to a changing climate? What can the rhythmic abilities of aquatic mammals reveal about the evolution of communication?
These are just some of the questions explored in HFSP Science Digest #5, the latest edition of HFSPO's annual publication showcasing the diversity and ambition of HFSP-supported research.
From the molecular machinery of cells to animal behavior, evolutionary biology, and the complex interactions between organisms and their environments, the new edition brings together research outcomes, emerging scientific directions, and in-depth stories about the scientists pushing the boundaries of knowledge.
Exploring life sciences across disciplines and scales
The section Research Outcomes and Horizons takes readers through six thematic areas, featuring projects that have recently completed their HFSP support.
The featured projects combine fish biology and robotics to investigate collective behavior, examine the neural circuits involved in memory and decision-making, and explore the complex relationships between different species. Other projects investigate plant evolution and development, cell-to-cell communication, and the molecular machinery that keeps living cells functioning.
Looking towards the future, The Path of Discovery introduces the newly awarded HFSP research projects, offering a thematic overview of the scientific questions and interdisciplinary approaches that will guide their investigations.
Science as it happens
Three in-depth features take readers into ongoing scientific investigations, exploring how plants respond to environmental change, the mating behaviors of mosquitoes and their implications for disease transmission, and how RNA may have emerged on the early Earth.
The Digest also features interviews with two Ukrainian scientists supported through the Scientists for Scientists (S4S) initiative, sharing their experiences of continuing scientific research amid the challenges of war.
Behind the discoveries
The final section offers an in-depth look at research by HFSP awardees who presented their work at the latest HFSP Awardees Meeting in Geneva.
Three stories investigate the rhythmic abilities of aquatic mammals and what they may reveal about the evolution of vocal communication, how algal blooms sustain themselves, and how microorganisms may produce oxygen in environments without sunlight.
Connecting the frontiers of science
Across its 30 articles, HFSP Science Digest #5 reflects a central challenge for the future of life sciences: understanding how biological systems function and interact across different scales, from molecules and cells to organisms and ecosystems. As explored in the opening essay, Where are the Scientific Frontiers?, addressing increasingly complex scientific questions requires connecting disciplines, technologies, and ways of thinking. Now in its fifth edition, the annual publication illustrates how HFSP's commitment to bold, interdisciplinary, and international collaboration continues to open new paths to discovery.
Read the full publication and discover all 30 articles: The HFSP Science Digest #5