https://phys.org/biology-news/molecular-computational/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news on molecular and Computational biology Bacteria and the viruses that infect them—known as phages—coexist in soils, oceans and living organisms. Scientists have long thought this coexistence reflects a microscopic version of an evolutionary arms race: As parasites and hosts continually adapt to one another, both evolve ways to survive. But a joint study by researchers at the University of Maryland and the University of Exeter shows different pathways to coexistence. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-scientists-migration-mechanism-enabling-bacteria.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 21 Oct 2026 14:00:52 EDT news711792422 A pilot study tested an electronic nose, called NOS.E, alongside human-remains detection dogs to see whether it could detect buried remains and help confirm dogs' signals. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-electronic-nose-police-dogs.html Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 21 Oct 2026 14:00:30 EDT news711801841 Whenever a cell divides, it has to split its chromosomes perfectly between two daughter cells, and even a single mistake can be disastrous. Now, researchers from Japan have found that one of the key structures that makes this possible takes a surprising shape: a hollow sphere. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-chromosome-anchors-hollow-shells-cell.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 21 Oct 2026 14:00:19 EDT news711712921 Viruses are sneaky intruders, hijacking the internal machinery of host cells and replicating out of sight. Understanding these dynamics is the first step to developing effective antiviral strategies that could stop infections, but scientists have largely been left in the dark because there are limited tools to study how viruses move in space and time inside live infected cells, according to Joyce Jose, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-tool-tracks-viral-rna-infected.html Biotechnology Wed, 21 Oct 2026 13:00:13 EDT news711800341 Scientists have proposed what they believe is the first method for detecting "mirror life"—a hypothetical form of life made from molecular building blocks that are the mirror image of those found naturally on Earth. Researchers at the University of Strathclyde and the Department of Chemistry at Durham University have outlined a new approach that could identify mirror organisms using molecules which emit left- and right-handed light. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-based-method-hypothetical-mirror-life.html Biotechnology Wed, 21 Oct 2026 12:00:14 EDT news711798483 Many structures in biology are bounded by membranes, but not all of them. Droplets of a liquid called a coacervate, which form when oppositely charged molecules come together in water, have attracted attention as models for membraneless compartments inside cells and for "protocells," hypothetical primitive cells that may have preceded modern ones. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-liquid-membranes-flex-easily-cell.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 21 Oct 2026 11:20:14 EDT news711795842 Moderately cold temperatures have proven to effectively extend lifespan and delay age-related decline in animals. However, how cold temperatures trigger these beneficial effects at the molecular level has remained largely unclear. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-newly-metabolic-pathway-cold-lifespan.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 21 Oct 2026 11:00:34 EDT news711734162 Earlier this year, an outbreak of Andes hantavirus on a cruise ship, which killed three passengers and sickened 13, highlighted the lack of approved vaccines or treatments for the virus. In a study published in Nature, scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and collaborators from Institut Pasteur and LSU Health Shreveport show how the virus recognizes its target on a human cell, a finding that could lead to effective therapies against Andes virus and other hantaviruses. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-scientists-reveal-deadly-andes-hantavirus.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 21 Oct 2026 11:00:15 EDT news711712681 In the early 1980s, scientists observed an anomaly. Embedded within cell membranes, they identified ion channels with extraordinarily high conductance. These so-called "BK" (Big K, or Big Potassium) channels had roughly 10 times the unitary conductance (i.e., conductance per individual channel molecule) of other potassium channels, enabling much more efficient, rapid transport of potassium ions. And while later structural characterization explained how this happened, no one could understand why. That is, until now. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-current-calcium-longstanding-ion-channel.html Evolution Wed, 21 Oct 2026 05:00:06 EDT news711713221 Every cell in the human body faces a chronic challenge: protecting its DNA. Whenever cells divide, their genetic material must be copied accurately. But DNA is continuously under attack, and when damage goes unrepaired, it can threaten genome stability and contribute to the progression of disease. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-unraveling-dna-cells-genetic-blueprint.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 20 Oct 2026 15:00:01 EDT news711716162 A research team led by distinguished professor Giuseppe Pezzotti at the Biomedical Engineering Center, Kansai Medical University (Japan), has demonstrated that differences in the molecular structures of viral RNA can be captured as "Raman barcodes," enabling the identification of 20 SARS-CoV-2 variants and subvariants. These findings are expected to contribute to the development of a rapid method for identifying newly emerging viral variants. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-raman-barcodes-distinguish-sars-cov.html Biotechnology Tue, 20 Oct 2026 13:40:27 EDT news711713502 In a new Nature Physics study, researchers found that fin regrowth in zebrafish is driven by a brief burst of growth signal at the fin tip, sized to the amount lost, which sets up gradients of Erk activity that guide the regrowth. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-regrowth-erk-gradients-zebrafish-fins.html Plants & Animals Tue, 20 Oct 2026 07:40:15 EDT news711626822 The fusion of two cells is a decisive event in the sexual reproduction of many organisms. In fungi, cells must not only bring their membranes together and merge them, but also locally open their protective cell wall. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-enzymes-locally-block-cell-wall.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 19 Oct 2026 17:00:08 EDT news711644461 New research from the University of St Andrews has shed light on the evolution of an important yet thus far poorly understood group of marine invertebrate animals—brachiopods. The work, published in Science Advances, presents the first comprehensive phylogenomic analysis of all five extant brachiopod orders and related lineages. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-oldest-animals-earth-common-wormlike.html Evolution Mon, 19 Oct 2026 13:00:07 EDT news711622357 Small snakes called dwarf reedsnakes can escape danger by rolling rapidly along the ground. Researchers investigated how they perform this unusual form of locomotion using multi-angle video analyses. The results show that the snakes use precisely coordinated body movements that keep their heads facing the direction of travel and at a relatively stable height, even as the posterior body undergoes large rotational movements. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-wheels-dwarf-reedsnakes-bodies-high.html Plants & Animals Mon, 19 Oct 2026 11:00:04 EDT news711359649 Paired appendages—the pectoral and pelvic fins of fishes and the forelimbs and hindlimbs of tetrapods—were a major innovation in vertebrate evolution. Their emergence greatly expanded the ways vertebrates could move through their environments and ultimately provided the developmental foundation for the evolution of limbs. Yet how the genetic system responsible for building paired appendages was assembled during evolution remains an unresolved question. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-ancient-hox-code-reveals-developmental.html Evolution Mon, 19 Oct 2026 10:00:22 EDT news711619981 Humans throughout history have invented a variety of ways to fight back against troublesome bacteria. But bacteria live in a dangerous world too. The human body and other bacteria-rich environments abound with bacteriophages, or viruses that prey upon bacteria. Phages can sometimes outnumber bacteria a hundredfold, yet the bacteria endure and even thrive. What gives? https://phys.org/news/2026-10-bacteria-survive-world-full-killer.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 19 Oct 2026 09:20:08 EDT news711618962 DNA is not randomly distributed within the nucleus but is packaged with proteins into chromatin, which is precisely folded into complex three-dimensional structures. However, scientists have not fully understood how this complex three-dimensional (3D) organization is regulated or how it changes over time. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-spatial-genomics-tool-range-dna.html Cell & Microbiology Sun, 18 Oct 2026 16:00:02 EDT news711209463 Scientists have discovered a gene that determines whether Japanese snails develop shells that are left- or right-coiling—with implications for understanding the underlying handedness of our own bodies. The researchers from the University of Nottingham and Tohoku University studied wild Euhadra snails in Japan to understand what makes one snail a mirror image of another. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-scientists-uncover-mystery-snail-shells.html Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 16 Oct 2026 19:40:10 EDT news711376501 Every time a tissue grows or renews itself, cells must divide inside an already crowded environment. That creates a fundamental problem that scientists have not fully understood: How does a tightly packed sheet of cells make room for two daughter cells when there was once only one? https://phys.org/news/2026-10-scientists-cell-division-cells-reshape.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 16 Oct 2026 18:20:01 EDT news711373576 Cortisol is a hormone that helps humans and many other animals regulate their energy use and respond to changing conditions. For a long time, sharks and rays were believed to rely on a different steroid hormone for these functions, without producing cortisol themselves. Now, a new study of North Pacific spiny dogfish, a species of small shark, challenges this view. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-spiny-dogfish-blood-hormone-thought.html Plants & Animals Fri, 16 Oct 2026 15:00:01 EDT news711365171 A protein complex known as DREAM that normally puts the brakes on genes may also be crucial for reproduction in plants, according to new research published in Science Advances. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-offspring-protein-complex-play-key.html Plants & Animals Fri, 16 Oct 2026 14:00:01 EDT news711300661 Changes in our genes affect health risks from heart disease to cancer, but how those genes are turned on and off is just as crucial to health. What's more, almost all genes occur as two copies—one from each parent—that aren't necessarily turned on and off in sync. When that differential gene regulation goes awry, it can cause serious health problems. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-machine-analysis-gene-reveals-dimension.html Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 16 Oct 2026 13:20:06 EDT news711366944 Proteases are naturally occurring enzymes that break down proteins into peptides and even single amino acids. They are useful in medicine and industrial processes, where they clean tissue, digest waste and help in the manufacture of everyday products. Now scientists have used artificial intelligence to design new versions from scratch. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-ai-molecular-scissors-protein.html Biotechnology Fri, 16 Oct 2026 12:40:06 EDT news711294937 As an embryo develops from a small cluster of stem cells, those once "blank slate" cells begin to take on more specialized roles like brain, liver or muscle cells and organize themselves into three-dimensional structures such as tissues and organs. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-ai-reveals-language-cell.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 16 Oct 2026 11:20:12 EDT news711364201 In a study of fingertip regeneration, a team led by JAX senior research scientist James Godwin found that some immune cells in mice can attack and kill cells needed to rebuild bone, while a subset of those same immune cells can protect the bone-making cells and allow regeneration to continue. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-immune-cells-play-opposing-roles.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 16 Oct 2026 11:00:05 EDT news711362122 Skeletal muscles grow and regenerate as individual precursor cells—called myoblasts—fuse into long fibers from which mature muscle fibers develop. How they coordinate this process and form functional muscles is not yet fully understood. A research team at the Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin (MPZPM) has now shown that mechanical stress influences the fusion of muscle cells. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-strength-mechanical-muscle.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 16 Oct 2026 09:40:02 EDT news711361801 Researchers at the University of Miami have identified a group of previously unknown viruses that bridge an evolutionary gap between viruses and cellular protein compartments, a discovery with implications for both biotechnology and scientists' understanding of the origins of life. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-newly-viruses-reveal-evolutionary-link.html Evolution Thu, 15 Oct 2026 19:40:10 EDT news711297722 Bacteriophages, or viruses that infect bacteria, have a fiendishly simple purpose in life: attach to a bacterial cell, inject their DNA and then use the host's genetic machinery to reproduce. In doing so, they may have evolved some of the most efficient gene-editing tools ever seen in nature. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-molecular-snapshots-reveal-viral-enzymes.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 15 Oct 2026 17:00:01 EDT news711293581 Somatic mutations, the DNA changes that occur as our bodies grow and age, not only hold an important key to cancer but are emerging as the seeds of a wide range of common, noncancerous diseases. The Somatic Mosaicism across Human Tissues (SMaHT) Network, a National Institutes of Health Common Fund initiative to catalog all the normal processes of somatic mutation, has published its first comprehensive benchmarking study in the journal Cell. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-dna-sequencing-methods-rare-mutations.html Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 15 Oct 2026 15:00:14 EDT news711292504