Swirling swarms of bacteria offer insights on turbulence

In the bacterial world, as in the larger one, beauty can be fleeting. When swimming together with just the right amount of vigor, masses of bacterial cells produce whirling, hypnotic patterns. Too much vigor, however, and ...

From the tiny testes of flies, new insight into how genes arise

In the battle of the sexes, males appear to have the innovative edge—from a genetic standpoint, at least. Scientists are finding that the testes are more than mere factories for sperm; these organs also serve as hotspots ...

Signals that make early stem cells identified

Stem cells work throughout our lives as a sort of handyman, repairing damaged tissues and renewing some normal ones, like the skin we shed. Scientists have come to understand much about how stem cells function when we are ...

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 ...

Scientists discover new mechanism involved in learning and memory

What happens inside neurons when we memorize a password or learn the cello? Some of our basic understanding about learning and memory comes from the study of conditions in which cognitive development is disrupted. For example, ...

New model suggests how the brain might stay in balance

(PhysOrg.com) -- Physicists have theorized for decades about how neural networks might be able to accomplish the incredibly complex calculations the human brain performs all the time. But simply stabilizing such a powerful ...

Virus-cutting enzyme helps bacteria remember a threat

Bacteria may not have brains, but they do have memories, at least when it comes to viruses that attack them. Many bacteria have a molecular immune system which allows these microbes to capture and retain pieces of viral DNA ...

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