New study characterizes behavior of human plastins in cells

A family of proteins that have a role in ensuring many types of cells move and maintain their shape may promote disease when they act like workaholics and disrupt the cellular environment, new research suggests.

RNA binding proteins help T cells pick their weapons before battle

Scientists at the Babraham Institute have shown that two RNA binding proteins hold the key to a stronger immune response to influenza in mice. Their findings, published today in Nature Communications, reveal that the absence ...

Identifying the basic structure of the language of fungi

Andrew Adamatzk, a professor at the University of the West of England's Unconventional Computing Laboratory, UWE, in the U.K. has found that the electrical signal clusters sent by several types of fungi resemble human vocabularies. ...

Stabilizing chromosomes to tackle tumors

Cells use RNA as a versatile tool to regulate the activity of their genes. Small snippets of RNA can fine-tune how much protein is produced from various genes; some small RNAs can shut genes off altogether. An enzyme called ...

The secret to longevity? Ask a yellow-bellied marmot

That's what a team of UCLA biologists and colleagues studying yellow-bellied marmots discovered. These large ground squirrels are able to virtually halt the aging process during the seven to eight months they spend hibernating ...

Sun compass on demand

Monarch butterflies are famous for their annual long-distance migration, which takes them over several thousand kilometers from the north of the USA to their overwintering habitat in central Mexico. On their migration, the ...

An unusual molecule protects nerve cells from degeneration

An international research team led by Professor Stephanie Grond from the Institute of Organic Chemistry at the University of Tübingen has found that the natural substance collinolactone reduces artificially-induced stress ...

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