Measuring metabolites in algae one cell at a time

In the search for new sources of consumables, scientists have come to realize that life itself could be the solution. Metabolic engineers have altered the metabolism of living organisms to make new drugs, biodegradables and ...

Unlocking the metabolic secrets of the microbiome

The number of bacterial cells living in and on our bodies outnumbers our own cells ten to one. But the identity of all those bugs and just what exactly our relationship to all of them really is remains rather fuzzy. Now, ...

Chronic stress in elephants can affect long-term behavior

Stress is known to lead to short-term escape behavior, and new research on elephants in South Africa shows that it can also cause long-term escape behavior, affecting the extent that elephants use their habitat. The work ...

How habanero peppers respond to stress

Like people, plants have to cope with stress. The impact on humans is well catalogued, but less is known about how stressors—including high salinity and lack of nutrients—affect plants such as habaneros. Now, researchers ...

Solving the mystery behind how nutrients enter cells

For the nutrients that feed our cells to reach their destination, proteins embedded in the cell membrane often must shuttle what's needed across the threshold. When this system breaks down and metabolites fail to reach their ...

Secrets of a rice-killing fungal toxin

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Sciences (CSRS) have discovered the enzyme needed for synthesis of tenuazonic acid (TeA), a well-known toxin that is produced by multiple types of fungus and affects ...

page 11 from 19