Species specificity, as a biological process, refers to the selective interaction, compatibility, or functional activity of biological molecules, cells, or pathogens with organisms of particular species, arising from co-evolved structural and regulatory determinants. It encompasses mechanisms such as species-restricted receptor–ligand recognition, host-range determinants in pathogens, species-dependent expression or sequence variants of target proteins, and immune recognition constraints that limit cross-species functionality. Species specificity thus governs processes like host tropism, cross-species transmission barriers, xenogeneic incompatibilities, and the species-selective efficacy or toxicity of biomolecules, ultimately shaping interspecies boundaries in infection, signaling, and physiological regulation.
A study published in Cell Research advances a central idea in stem cell biology by identifying a checkpoint that controls the identity of many different types of stem cells across developmental stages. For nearly two decades, ...
Cell & Microbiology
8 hours ago
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Just because a female olive baboon has mated with a specific male doesn't mean he will be the father of her offspring. According to a new study published in PLOS Biology, mate selection continues long after copulation as ...
A plant uses a rare scent to guide its pollinator to male flowers first and to female flowers later, finds a study led by Kobe University. The work, appearing in Current Biology, uncovers a precise chemical system that not ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 6, 2026
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We are continually in an evolutionary arms race with bacteria. As we develop new antibiotics, they develop resistance, and so it goes on until some of our treatments no longer work. Superbugs and antimicrobial resistance ...
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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Like the males of many animal species, male Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies, a commonly studied lab animal, are aggressive toward one another and even fight when competing for resources such as food and females. Researchers ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 20, 2026
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Livestock breeders could soon have more tools to improve the health and quality of their animals, thanks to a recent study that sheds new light on regulatory elements in the sheep genome.
Molecular & Computational biology
Mar 16, 2026
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The tiny Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa) has always fascinated researchers because, according to the rules of evolution, it shouldn't have survived as a species, let alone thrive as a species for over 100,000 years. Using ...
A research team led by scientists at the Butantan Institute in São Paulo, Brazil, has completed the most extensive genetic sequencing of a jararaca viper to date. The focus of the study was the genome of the golden lancehead ...
Evolution
Mar 11, 2026
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When closely related species mate, their offspring sometimes survive but cannot reproduce. This pattern often affects males first, with hybrid males frequently failing to produce functional sperm even when hybrid females ...
Evolution
Mar 9, 2026
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