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The Ancient Weapons Active in Your Immune System Today
Dozens of new discoveries reveal that defenses evolved by bacteria and viruses billions of years ago still define our own innate immune system.
An Arctic Road Trip Brings Vital Underground Networks into View
A vast meshwork of soil-bound fungi governs life aboveground. In Alaska, and at field sites around the world, researchers are racing to understand exactly how, with essential stores of carbon at stake.
The Jellies That Evolved a Different Way To Keep Time
Off the coast of Japan, biologists netted a pea-size jellyfish with an unusual circadian clock — a chance finding that suggests there are likely more overlooked biological timekeeping mechanisms to be discovered.
Disorder Drives One of Nature’s Most Complex Machines
Every second, hundreds to thousands of molecules move through thousands of nuclear pores in each of your cells. A new high-definition view reveals the machine in action.
Break It To Make It: How Fracturing Sculpts Tissues and Organs
Growing tissues can crack, break, and dissociate to form structures that can later withstand immense forces.
The Biophysical World Inside a Jam-Packed Cell
Innovations in imaging and genetic engineering are coming together to probe the biophysics of cytoplasm inside living animals.
Fed on Reams of Cell Data, AI Maps New Neighborhoods in the Brain
Machine learning is helping neuroscientists organize vast quantities of cells’ genetic data in the latest neurobiological cartography effort.
Expansion Microscopy Has Transformed How We See the Cellular World
How physically magnifying objects using a key ingredient in diapers has opened an unprecedented view of the microbial world.
Once Thought To Support Neurons, Astrocytes Turn Out To Be in Charge
New experiments reveal how astrocytes tune neuronal activity to modulate our mental and emotional states. The results suggest that neuron-only brain models, such as connectomes, leave out a crucial layer of regulation.