How a fly's brain calculates its position in space

Navigation doesn't always go as planned—a lesson that flies learn the hard way, when a strong headwind shunts them backward in defiance of their forward-beating wings. Fish swimming upriver, crabs scuttling sideways, and ...

Scientists discover how mitochondria import antioxidants

Many of the processes that keep us alive also put us at risk. The energy-producing chemical reactions in our cells, for example, also produce free radicals—unstable molecules that steal electrons from other molecules. When ...

Linker histones tune the length and shape of chromosomes

Human life hinges on the ability of our cells to cram six feet of DNA into a 10-micron nucleus—equivalent to fitting a mile of string inside one green pea. But stuffing genes into cramped quarters is only half the battle. ...

Study reveals how ribosomes are assembled in human cells

All cells need ribosomes to make the proteins necessary for life. These multi-component molecular machines build complex proteins by stitching building blocks together according to instructions encoded in the cell's messenger ...

The physics behind a water bear's lumbering gait

Plump and ponderous, tardigrades earned the nickname "water bears" when scientists first observed the 0.02-inch-long animals' distinctive lumbering gaits in the 18th century. Their dumpy plod, however, raises the question ...

Lonely flies, like many humans, eat more and sleep less

COVID-19 lockdowns scrambled sleep schedules and stretched waistlines. One culprit may be social isolation itself. Scientists have found that lone fruit flies quarantined in test tubes sleep too little and eat too much after ...

Study reveals how smell receptors work

All senses must reckon with the richness of the world, but nothing matches the challenge faced by the olfactory system that underlies our sense of smell. We need only three receptors in our eyes to sense all the colors of ...

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