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Cell biology
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See Inside Cells Like Never Before in These Vivid Microscopic Images
Winning entries in the 2026 Nikon Small World competitions reveal the hidden interactions that govern everyday life.
Why Aging May Be a Program, Not a Breakdown
By deciphering the molecular signatures of millions of mouse cells, Junyue Cao has found that aging is not haphazard wear and tear but rather a “remodeling of the cell society.”
A New Way That a Cow’s Inner World Shapes Earth’s Atmosphere
An organelle discovered inside a microbe inside a cow’s gut helps explain how livestock burps contribute to warming our planet.
Martin Picard’s Mitochondrial Theory of Mind
The biologist’s bold “energetic view of life” looks to the body’s strangest organelles as the link between cells, health, and mind and the foundation of our experience of being alive.
What Breaks a Cell’s Ribs Can Make It Stronger
The mechanical process of cell division exerts powerful, if microscopic, forces. How do the molecular machines that power it manage the strain?
What Physical ‘Life Force’ Turns Biology’s Wheels?
The bacterial flagellar motor is finally understood after 50 years. In its workings, columnist Natalie Wolchover finds the essence of life.
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.
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.
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.