A universal tool for tracking cell-to-cell interactions

One of the fundamental goals of basic biology is understanding how diverse cell types work in concert to form tissues, organs, and organ systems. Recent efforts to catalog the different cell types in every tissue in our bodies ...

Study reveals how cells keep telomerase in check

The natural ends of chromosomes appear alarmingly like broken DNA, much as a snapped spaghetti strand is difficult to distinguish from its intact counterparts. Yet every cell in our bodies must have a way of differentiating ...

How fruit flies control the brain's 'steering wheel'

When we walk down the street, we have an internal sense of which way we are heading from looking at street signals and physical landmarks and also a sense of where we'd like to go. But how does the brain coordinate between ...

How bacteria recognize viral invasion and activate immune defenses

There's no organism on Earth that lives free of threat—including bacteria. Predatory viruses known as phages are among their most dire foes, infiltrating their cells to replicate and take over. Bacteria have evolved an ...

How the antioxidant glutathione keeps mitochondria healthy

If a delivery person leaves a package on your front step without pinging you, you likely won't know it's there. A hungry cell awaiting refuel is in a similar position. It has to be alerted to the presence of nutrients outside ...

New algorithm cleans microbiome data with unprecedented efficiency

None of us are born with a fully functioning immune system, and the first few months of life are crucial for establishing strong lifelong defenses. Better understanding how germs influence the development of human immunology ...

Behind the formation and protection of microtubules

Cellular life hinges on a network of hollow cables called microtubules dynamically lengthening and shortening according to the needs of the moment. During cell division, for instance, these cables latch onto chromosomes and ...

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