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Cell & Microbiology news
Life with one less: Engineered bacteria break the 20-amino-acid rule
One of life's many mysteries is how it ended up choosing only a set of 20 amino acids to build proteins for its wide catalog of organisms, from single-celled bacteria to behemoth whales. From a chemical standpoint, many of ...
Nutrient imbalance may drive coral disease more than heat stress
Scientists led by the University of Southampton have revealed that an imbalance of nutrients in seawater can cause coral disease—possibly to a greater extent than that from heat stress of warming oceans. New research conducted ...
Ecology
8 hours ago
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Antibiotic-resistant bacteria turn up in six lakes, with urban waters hit hardest
A team of scientists from Berlin analyzed water and sediment samples from six water bodies in Berlin and the adjacent federal states of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, as well as the inflow and outflow of a ...
Ecology
19 hours ago
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The Big Bang of plant life: Discovery sheds light on how cells form walls
Cell walls are a crucial structure of plant life, protecting cells from damage, giving plants shape, and containing energy-rich nutrients. And yet the process of how the walls begin to form remains mysterious.
Plants & Animals
May 4, 2026
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Chromatin tracking reveals two motion modes that help control gene expression
Gene expression is controlled, in part, by the interactions between genes and regulatory elements located along the genome. Those interactions depend on the ability of chromatin—a mix of DNA and proteins—to move around within ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 4, 2026
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Speed 'training' prepares bacteria for complex tasks, like munching plastics
Millions of tons of plastic waste accumulate in landfills and oceans every year. One promising response is to engineer microbes to break the plastic down into useful chemical building blocks. However, teaching a bacterium ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 4, 2026
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Rising temperatures could be driving up antibiotic resistance in soil, 11-year study finds
Every year, millions suffer, and thousands lose their lives to infections that were once easily treatable with the right dose of medication. The drugs are the same; human physiology is the same; the only difference is that ...
How a newly discovered organelle could help reduce cow methane emissions
When cows burp, they send a substantial amount of methane gas into the air, which makes them a leading contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. According to research published in the journal Science, a newly discovered hydrogen-producing ...
Stealth switch in tuberculosis enzyme could open route to drug-resistant treatment
Recent research published in Communications Biology marks an advance in structural biology by enhancing understanding of protein regulation mechanisms in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), a global health threat. The team ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 1, 2026
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How photosynthetic bacteria pass light along: Two major energy pathways identified
RIKEN researchers have found out how light energy harvested by pigments besides chlorophyll is transferred to the molecular site where photosynthesis occurs in cyanobacteria. The work is published in the journal Plant and ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 1, 2026
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The way a cell fails to divide after copying its DNA can determine its fate
Cell division is one of the most fundamental and complex processes underpinning life. In human cells, thousands of molecules coordinate with one another in highly precise steps, all within a fraction of a second. But things ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 1, 2026
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How genetic information helps cells resist chaos and stay alive
A Moffitt Cancer Center researcher has introduced a new model that addresses one of biology's most fundamental questions: How does genetic information keep living systems organized and therefore alive?
Cell & Microbiology
May 1, 2026
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Human cell map uncovers 90,000 interactions among 4 million gene pairs
How do our genes determine our appearance and our susceptibility to disease? This question is central to biomedical research, and today we can sequence thousands of human genomes to identify these genes. However, genes work ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 30, 2026
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Light-activated protein illuminates when embryos can cope with disruptions to cell division
Cell division during the early stage of embryo development is a trade-off between speed and accuracy; the cells need to divide quickly to enable rapid growth, but it's important not to introduce errors that could be fatal ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 30, 2026
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Compound in ginger and turmeric may disarm drug-resistant bacteria
Every year, antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as staph, causes serious infections and outbreaks in hospitals and community settings, disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations, including ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 30, 2026
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Fungi utilize ancient antimicrobial proteins to attack hosts and their microbiomes, plant researchers discover
An international research team led by Cologne-based plant scientist Professor Dr. Bart Thomma from the Institute for Plant Sciences, the Collaborative Research Center MiBiNet and the CEPLAS Cluster of Excellence for Plant ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 30, 2026
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Captured mid-reaction, RNA polymerase reveals universal blueprint for gene transcription
The enzyme RNA polymerase (RNAP) carries out transcription, copying DNA into RNA. It's the first step in gene expression, and a process fundamental to all life. But the inner workings of this essential enzyme have long baffled ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 30, 2026
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Buried in soil, a 100-million-year-old bacterial toxin could reshape pest control and antibiotic discovery
In every backyard, park, and playground on Earth, the ground is teeming with a type of bacteria called Streptomyces—one of the most abundant organisms on the planet. While these dirt-dwelling microbes are known for producing ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 30, 2026
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AI classifier flags bird flu genomes more likely to spread in mammals
A research team from the LKS Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) has developed a machine-learning classifier capable of analyzing the genomes of influenza A viruses (IAVs) to accurately predict their ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 29, 2026
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Embryo epigenome follows universal physical rules, reshaping views of early cell fate
The development of an embryo is one of the most fundamental processes in biology. Early in this process, it is determined which cells will give rise to which tissues—controlled by epigenetic marks such as DNA methylation. ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 29, 2026
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More news
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Flipping the K⁺ switch: First potassium-gated ion channel discovered in animal
Handle with care: Mobile microgrippers pick up cells in a pinch
Zinc–redox crosstalk: A new key to cellular protein quality control
Bacterial defense system builds DNA in unexpected new way to stop viruses
Aligned cells may explain why some wounds heal faster than others
Light-based scans reveal how cells can be stable yet adaptable
Detailed DNA repair snapshots reveal how BRCA-linked cancer cells may survive
Atomic map reveals how Leptospira bacteria flip virulence switch inside hosts
How bacteria circumvent plants' immune system
AI-enhanced microscopy produces crisp, real-time video inside live cells
Fluorescent probe lights up centrioles and cilia in living cells across species
Other news
Understanding how lasers can rapidly magnetize fusion plasmas
New 'ecclesiastical' moth named after Pope Leo XIV
High-resolution imaging shines light on nanoscale nuclear organization
Extra sets of chromosomes may help aggressive tumor cells spread, study finds
Genomic tool untangles how microbes spread—even when they look almost identical
What if humans could regrow tissue? New study moves science closer
A molecular 'cork' reveals how cells control growth
Politicians are not ignoring you, statistical analysis suggests
