For years, scientists were certain that two factors were involved in the assembly of active, highly infectious Zika viruses in human cells: a specific viral protein in its entirety and a turncoat human enzyme that assured ...
Modern tomatoes are a breeding success story. Generations of selection have made them bigger, firmer, more productive and easier to ship. But that progress came at a cost. Domestication and breeding reduced much of the crop's ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Sep 29, 2026
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Bacteriophages—or phages, for short—are viruses that kill bacteria, and scientists have been studying them for decades as a possible solution to antibiotic-resistant infections. But phages are notoriously picky eaters—a phage ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 23, 2026
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24
One of biology's fundamental questions is how our genes shape who we are. Adrian Serohijos and Stephen Michnick, professors in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine at Université de Montréal's Faculty of Medicine, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 28, 2026
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24
The Human Genome Project was launched in 1990, preceded by decades of breakthroughs in genetics. It eventually gave us a sequence of the human genome. Yet, while the physical rules behind the genome's organization remain ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 23, 2026
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Medical researchers, clinicians and pharmaceutical scientists often study small molecules called metabolites, which are produced in living cells through a variety of processes, including the breakdown of food, chemicals or ...
Biotechnology
Sep 25, 2026
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Viruses such as influenza A and dengue can hijack a cellular system that helps manage protein aggregates. Previous work by FMI emeritus group leader Patrick Matthias and his team showed that a small protein called ubiquitin ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 28, 2026
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According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 10 million people contract tuberculosis (TB) each year. It is one of the deadliest infectious diseases worldwide. Treatment is lengthy and typically involves a combination ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 23, 2026
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18
Across every cell in the body, molecules are constantly pulling, gripping and releasing under mechanical strain. That force often decides whether a drug sticks to its target, whether a cell holds its shape or whether a disease ...
Biotechnology
Sep 24, 2026
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16
In the world of carnivorous plants, Venus flytraps—with their showy, snapping reflexes—have long hogged the limelight. But plants have many creative bug-capture strategies, from slippery waxes to vibrating lids to bizarrely ...
Ecology
Sep 24, 2026
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