How a protein connecting calcium and plant hormone regulates plant growth
A new study finds that a unique mechanism involving calcium, the plant hormone auxin and a calcium-binding protein is responsible for regulating plant growth.
Read moreGenetics
How time affects the fate of stem cells
Scientists have discovered how temporal fluctuations in the levels of two transcription factors can push embryonic stems cells into becoming different cell types.
Read moreAdult fly intestine could help understand intestinal regeneration
Intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) are exposed to diverse types of environmental stresses such as bacteria and toxins, but the mechanisms by which epithelial cells sense stress are not well understood. New research has found that Nox-ROS-ASK1-MKK3-p38 signaling in IECs integrates various stresses to facilitate intestinal regeneration.
Read moreEngineered protein crystals make cells magnetic
If scientists could give living cells magnetic properties, they could perhaps manipulate cellular activities with external magnetic fields. But previous attempts to magnetize cells by producing iron-containing proteins inside them have resulted in only weak magnetic forces. Now, researchers have engineered genetically encoded protein crystals that can generate magnetic forces many times stronger than those already reported.
Read moreUnravelling an alternative mechanism of airway mucosal immunity
Researchers have identified two key proteins, ASC and NLRP3, in the maintenance of the innate immune homeostasis in the airway. These proteins do so by a caspase-1-independent mechanism, suggesting that there may be multiple mechanisms involved in protection against microbial infections.
Read moreDecoding a new sign in chromatin maze
A research team has revealed a new fundamental mechanism by which a cell can make necessary changes in its chromatin structure in response to different DNA-associated processes such as gene expression and DNA damage repair.
Read moreSwitch that kills inactive HIV isolated
Researchers have identified a switch controlling HIV reproduction in immune cells which can eliminate dormant HIV reservoirs.
Read moreHow molecular footballs burst in an x-ray laser beam
An international research team has observed in real time how football molecules made of carbon atoms burst in the beam of an X-ray laser. The study shows the temporal course of the bursting process, which takes less than a trillionth of a second, and is important for the analysis of sensitive proteins and other biomolecules, which are also frequently studied using bright X-ray laser flashes.
Read moreCapturing extreme close-ups of cellular gene expression
Scientists studying genetic transcription are gaining new insights into a process that is fundamental to all life. Transcription is the first step in gene expression, the process taking place within all living cells by which the DNA sequence of a gene is copied into RNA, which in turn (most generally speaking) serves as the template for assembling protein molecules, the basic building blocks of life.
Read moreWhy the lettuce mitochondrial genome is like a chopped salad
The genomes of mitochondria are usually depicted as rings or circles. But in plants, 1 ring does not rule them all. A new study of lettuce shows that the mitochondrial genome often forms branching structures with elements that can be swapped around like a chopped salad.
Read more