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Molecular & Computational biology news
Fins, fingers and toes: A new take on repeating body parts and how they come to be
As biologists know, nature can take its sweet time explaining itself. Andrew Gillis, associate scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), has been investigating how the paired fins of fishes evolved for nearly 20 ...
Evolution
2 hours ago
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Precision work prior to cell division: How enzymes optimize DNA structure
Before a cell can divide, it has to precisely duplicate its entire genetic information. However, the DNA in the cell exists as part of a DNA-protein complex known as chromatin. For this purpose, the DNA is wrapped around ...
Cell & Microbiology
3 hours ago
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Atomic-level simulations reveal rotational mechanism behind a critical biomolecular motor
The way a key cellular motor works at an atomic level has been uncovered by simulations conducted by RIKEN biophysicists. This finding, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provides important ...
Cell & Microbiology
4 hours ago
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Accuracy test for protein language models shines light into AI 'black box'
AI language models, used to generate human-like text to power chatbots and create content, are also revolutionizing biology by treating complex biological data like a language. Language models are increasingly used, for example, ...
Molecular & Computational biology
4 hours ago
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Social roles are neither predetermined nor set in stone, study in mice suggests
In animal societies as in human ones, some individuals regularly produce resources while others appropriate them. Contrary to what evolutionary theories had previously suggested, these social roles do not depend solely on ...
Ecology
4 hours ago
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Free software lets laptops simulate how aging evolves under selection
Why do some species live for only weeks while others survive for centuries? Researchers at the Leibniz Institute on Aging—Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI) in Jena have developed AEGIS, a freely available software tool that enables ...
Evolution
5 hours ago
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One of cholera's great enemies is found in the human gut
Cholera-causing bacteria are locked in an evolutionary arms race with a viral nemesis, according to a new genomic study. Researchers have found that, in the Ganges Delta, cholera bacteria rapidly gain and lose special armor ...
Cell & Microbiology
5 hours ago
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Nature's photocopiers caught 'doodling'—scientists say it could revolutionize how DNA is written
New research has discovered that the molecular machines responsible for copying our DNA have a surprising hidden talent—an ability to create entirely new and highly sophisticated DNA sequences from scratch. The study, led ...
Biotechnology
9 hours ago
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Targeting the tiniest divide: Research reveals potential vulnerability in bacterial reproduction
A Université de Montréal study has found a previously unknown mechanism in bacterial reproduction that could be attacked by future antibiotics. Bacteria reproduce by dividing into two: they form a wall, or septum, between ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 31, 2026
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Study reveals mechanisms underlying oxygen-tolerant energy conversion in a marine photosynthetic bacterium
Photosynthetic bacteria do not release oxygen during photosynthesis but can convert solar energy into chemical energy with remarkably high efficiency. They also utilize near-infrared light—wavelengths unused by plants—and ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 31, 2026
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Viruses 'eavesdrop' on each other—but it can backfire
University of Exeter scientists studied chemical communication by phages (viruses that infect bacteria). The phages assessed in the study have two choices when they enter a cell: lie dormant or kill the cell and release new ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 31, 2026
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Into the fungal unknown: New tool maps fungal gene functions without reference genomes
While RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) has become a standard tool for profiling which genes are active in an organism, determining the actual biological functions of those genes in fungi remains a significant technical challenge. ...
Ecology
Mar 31, 2026
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De-alcoholization tech can help fix bushfire faults in wine
New research has found technology that removes alcohol from wine can be combined with traditional remediation techniques to mitigate smoke taint, minimizing its impact on wine's sensory elements.
Molecular & Computational biology
Mar 31, 2026
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Light switch for life: Controlling molecular droplets with UV
Biomolecular condensates are tiny, droplet-like structures made up of molecules that help organize key processes in living organisms. Because they are so small and constantly changing, it has been difficult for scientists ...
Biotechnology
Mar 30, 2026
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Protein complex protects central RNA quality control from disruption
A research team led by Professor Dr. Niels Gehring from the Institute for Genetics has shown that the coordinated interaction of three proteins plays a central role in nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD). NMD is a mechanism ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Mar 30, 2026
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Study uncovers internal cell 'trade winds' that drive movement and repair
Scientists at Oregon Health & Science University have uncovered a previously unknown system of internal "trade winds" that help cells rapidly move essential proteins to the front of the cell, reshaping how researchers understand ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 30, 2026
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Cells under stress: How a chemotherapy drug damages RNA
The integrity of DNA and RNA is essential for every cell. DNA contains the genetic information for proteins, while RNA serves as a working copy of individual genes and is required for the synthesis of proteins. Unlike DNA ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 30, 2026
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Cornerstone model of evolutionary biology built on math flaw, study argues
New research is significantly revising a widely cited evolutionary model, the Inhibitory Cascade Mode (ICM). Benjamin Auerbach, professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tennessee, ...
Evolution
Mar 30, 2026
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Why cells stick differently: New clues could inform skin and inflammatory disease research
Scientists led by Sergey Troyanovsky, Ph.D., professor of Dermatology and of Cell and Developmental Biology, have uncovered new intracellular mechanisms promoting cell-cell adhesion, a process disrupted in a variety of skin ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 30, 2026
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Limits of protein evolution could reshape ideas about early life
The number of known proteins is infinitely small in comparison to the universe of possible proteins, which could in theory be realized. Yet these known proteins are the only major training ground for future protein design. ...
Evolution
Mar 30, 2026
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More news
Scientists solve 40-year-old biological mystery behind sleeping sickness
Binding to RNA is not enough—changing its shape is what makes a drug work, study reveals
Bacteria invent another way to turn on genes
New enzyme atlas rewrites decades of biology research
Unraveling the secrets of telomerase, an enzyme linked to aging and cancer
Designing proteins by their motion, not just their shape
New technique reveals body-wide cellular processes
Why cells respond 'incorrectly' in old age
DNA shape explains crucial gene-therapy challenges
RNA-guided CRISPR system activates gene expression
Other news
Stretching metals can tune catalysis: A new method predicts energy shifts
Superconductivity switched on in material once thought only magnetic
Why subduction zones act as the Earth's 'gold kitchens'
Ghost bat dialects emerge across colonies, study suggests
How the body senses cold has been a mystery—until now
Eight amino acids may explain salamanders' reduced cold sensitivity
Mammal cloning cannot be endless: Mouse line fails at generation 58
A color-changing phosphor can encode information
