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bacteria

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Illustration of a mother holding an infant, with strands of DNA running between the bacteria inside them.
microbiome

Mobile Genes From the Mother Shape the Baby’s Microbiome

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
January 17, 2023
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Tiny genetic sequences in a mother’s bacteria seem to hop into the infant’s bacteria, perhaps ensuring a healthy microbiome later in life.

A detailed scan of a zebra fish as seen from above.
developmental biology

The Gut Microbiome Helps Social Skills Develop in the Brain

By Joanna Thompson
November 15, 2022
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New research in fish suggests that gut microbes can have a crucial early influence on the brain’s social development.

microbiology

Ocean Bacteria Reveal an Unexpected Multicellular Form

By Carrie Arnold
November 2, 2022
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Marine bacteria normally seen as single cells join together as a “microscopic snow globe” to consume bulky floating carbohydrates.

A snake and two frogs staring at one another across a rock.
genomics

How Genes Can Leap From Snakes to Frogs in Madagascar

By Veronique Greenwood
October 27, 2022
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The discovery of a hot spot for horizontal gene transfer draws attention to the possible roles of parasites and ecology in such changes.

immunology

Bacteria’s Immune Sensors Reveal a Novel Way to Detect Viruses

By Annie Melchor
August 29, 2022
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A new study reveals that bacteria can fight viruses in a surprisingly elegant way that has no known counterpart in more complex life.

Closeup of Akiko Iwasaki of the Yale School of Medicine against a dark background.
Q&A

An Immunologist Fights Covid with Tweets and a Nasal Spray

By Yasemin Saplakoglu
June 21, 2022
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Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist who became a lifeline for the worried and the curious during the pandemic, thinks that nasal spray vaccines could be the next needed breakthrough in our fight against the coronavirus.

False-colored electron micrograph of an ovarian cell, showing cross-sections of mitochondria.
cell biology

‘Social’ Mitochondria, Whispering Between Cells, Influence Health

By Katarina Zimmer
July 6, 2021
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Mitochondria appear to communicate and cooperate with one another, both within and between cells. Biologists are only just beginning to understand how and why.

genomics

DNA Jumps Between Animal Species. No One Knows How Often.

By Christie Wilcox
June 9, 2021
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The discovery of a gene shared by two unrelated species of fish is the latest evidence that horizontal gene transfers occur surprisingly often in vertebrates.

Illustration of DNA spooling around the histones in a classic nucleosome, with diverse animal life in the background.
molecular biology

DNA’s Histone Spools Hint at How Complex Cells Evolved

By Viviane Callier
May 10, 2021
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New work shows that histones, long treated as boring spools for DNA, sit at the center of the origin story of eukaryotes and continue to play important roles in evolution and disease.


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