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Subsurface Microbial Life Reveals Surprising Diversity in Extreme Environments

Which microbes thrive below us in darkness – in gold mines, in aquifers, in deep boreholes in the seafloor – and how do they compare to the microbiomes that envelop the Earth's surfaces, on land and sea?

19 Dec 2024

Unveiling Human Stem Cell Model with Functional Notochord

For the first time, the notochord a tissue in the developing embryo that serves as a navigation system, telling cells where to build the spine and nervous system (the trunk) has been included in human stem cell models created by researchers at the Francis Crick Institute.

19 Dec 2024

Scientists Mimic Fungal Process to Create Novel Medicines

Since the unintentional 1928 discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming, fungi have been a treasure trove of medicinal compounds for almost a century.

19 Dec 2024

Space Experiment Reveals Surprising Brain Cell Behavior

Microgravity exposure accelerates brain cell development in organoids, revealing potential implications for neurodegenerative disease research and space health.

18 Dec 2024

Researchers Map Influenza Virus RNA Protective Coat at Atomic Level

To fight the virus that causes influenza, one of the avenues being explored by scientists is the development of drugs capable of destabilizing its genome, made up of eight RNA molecules.

17 Dec 2024

New Method for Discovering Antibiotics from Bacteria

Numerous natural products produced by microorganisms can be utilized as active ingredients to treat illnesses like cancer and infections.

16 Dec 2024

New Genetic Insights into Craniofacial Defects and Embryonic Development

An international team of researchers has identified a key genetic mechanism that regulates the formation and migration of cranial neural crest cells, which are essential for developing facial structures.

16 Dec 2024

New Look at the Last Universal Common Ancestor

Revising genetic code evolution, this research uncovers early amino acid recruitment patterns and sulfur's significance for understanding extraterrestrial life.

13 Dec 2024

Boosting Nutrition with Homegrown Vitamin B2

Many vitamins are produced in chemical factories, usually synthetically. Researchers at the Technical University of Denmark have developed a natural and easy way to produce vitamin B2: by gently heating lactic acid bacteria.

12 Dec 2024

Real-Time Imaging Reveals the Dynamics of Microbial Colonization in the Gut

A research team led by Carnegie Science's Will Ludington, Karina Gutiérrez-García, and Kevin Aumiller has identified genes that allow a beneficial bacterial species to colonize specific areas of the gastrointestinal tract.

12 Dec 2024

The Mechanics Behind Crocodile Morphology: A Breakthrough in Evolutionary Biology

How do humans account for the variety of morphologies found in living things? Genetics is usually the first explanation that comes to mind, but it is not the only one.

12 Dec 2024

New Imaging Method Reveals Sharper Layers of Cells in Living Tissue

Metabolic imaging is a noninvasive method that enables clinicians and scientists to study living cells using laser light, which can help them assess disease progression and treatment responses.

12 Dec 2024

Gut Bacteria Influence Wild Bird's Health and Ornamentation

All living organisms host microbiomes composed of both beneficial and harmful microbes that influence health.

11 Dec 2024

Tiny RNA Molecule Controls Wing Coloration in Butterflies and Moths

Lepidopterans (butterflies and moths) exhibit a splendid diversity of wing color patterns, and many species display black and white, or dark and bright, wing color pattern variants associated with the presence and absence of melanin.

9 Dec 2024

New Study Challenges Traditional View of Axon Shape and Function

In a provocative new study, scientists challenge a fundamental tenet in neuroscience about the shape of axons -- the long, thin filaments radiating from nerve cells that transmit electrical signals from cell to cell – and propose a new model for understanding how information is transmitted in the brain.

9 Dec 2024

"Molecular GPS" Developed to Guide Immune Cells into the Brain and Kill Tumors

Researchers have found a way to program immune cells to attack glioblastoma and treat the inflammation of multiple sclerosis in mice.

6 Dec 2024

Researchers Engineer Enzymes to Enhance Plant Heat Tolerance

As global temperatures rise, it's imperative that plants can adapt to new and changing conditions.

5 Dec 2024

AI Tool for Accelerating Biological Discovery

Brian Hie leads the Laboratory of Evolutionary Design at Stanford, focusing on the intersection of artificial intelligence and biology.

5 Dec 2024

Tool to control cellular activity could advance biology and medicine

A cell’s ability to react to its surroundings is one of its fundamental roles. Therefore, it makes sense that one of the objectives of scientists is to manipulate that process so that cells react to their desires.

5 Dec 2024

Poplar Gene Found to Enhance Photosynthesis and Boost Tree Growth

A team of scientists from the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Center for Bioenergy Innovation at Oak Ridge National Laboratory identified a gene in poplar trees that enhances photosynthesis and can boost tree height.

4 Dec 2024