Biology of our ancient ancestor takes shape

The recent discovery of a new lineage of microbes has overturned biologists' understanding of the evolution of complex life on Earth. Genomic studies of Asgard archaea revealed that they carry many genes previously thought ...

Biochemists zero in on key molecules that enable cells to crawl

Biochemists have made a discovery that sheds light on the molecular machinery that allows some cells, such as immune cells or even malignant cancer cells in humans, to wiggle their way through tissues like organs, skin or ...

Video captures cellular 'workhorses' in action

Scientists at Yale University and in Grenoble France have succeeded in creating a movie showing the breakup of actin filaments, the thread-like structures inside cells that are crucial to their movement, maintenance and division.

Imaging method highlights new role for cellular 'skeleton' protein

While your skeleton helps your body to move, fine skeleton-like filaments within your cells likewise help cellular structures to move. Now, Salk researchers have developed a new imaging method that lets them monitor a small ...

Muscle filaments make mechanical strain visible

Plastics-based materials have been in use for decades. But manufacturers are facing a serious hurdle in their quest for new developments: Substantial influences of the microscopic material structure on mechanical material ...

The filaments that structure DNA

They play a leading role not only in muscle cells: Actin filaments are one of the most abundant proteins in all mammalian cells. The filigree structures form an important part of the cytoskeleton and locomotor system. Cell ...

Axons' unexpected cytoskeleton structure

(Phys.org)—The plasma membranes that give cells their shapes are typically upheld by linear meshworks of the protein actin. In contrast, Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists have now discovered that periodic ring-shaped ...

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