Editors’ choice – Energetic costs of locomotion in bears

Polar bears were thought to use more energy when walking than other similarly sized animals. Now, in a unique experimental setup, Antony Pagano and co-workers measure the oxygen consumption of polar bears and grizzlies walking on a treadmill and show that they are as economic as other large animals.

Review – The effects of obesity on skeletal muscle contractile function

A new Review from Jason Tallis, Rob S. James and Frank Seebacher explores how obesity affects skeletal muscle function, thereby reducing mobility and quality of life and exacerbating the ageing process.

Featured article – Collapsing seal lungs protected by amazing anti-inflammatory blood serum

The lungs of seals might be expected to suffer damage as they collapse during deep descents and are then flooded with blood and oxygen when animals surface. This damage could also trigger a harmful inflammatory response. Yet, previous research has found no evidence that diving damages pulmonary function in seals. Now, Allyson Hindle and colleagues reveal that seal blood serum possesses anti-inflammatory properties that may protect their lungs while diving, with potential applications for the survival of organs used in life-saving transplant surgery.

Conversation – Simon Sponberg

“One of the underappreciated benefits of fellowships is the act of applying for them, because you have to write and articulate your ideas.”

In our latest early-career interview, we chat to Simon Sponberg, Assistant Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, USA. He shares the story of his career, beginning with how he combined a love of physics and biology by studying how geckos stick to walls.

preLights – Are Robofish accepted as a guppy conspecific?

Rasmus Ern highlights a preprint in which Jens Krause and colleagues use a magnet-controlled, 3D-printed fish replica to study social responsiveness in guppies.