Cells

Scientists built a synthetic cell that combines more lifelike properties than ever before — proof of concept that it’s possible to bring nonliving materials to life, or something close to it, in the lab.

The mechanical process of cell division exerts powerful, if microscopic, forces. How do the molecular machines that power it manage the strain?

An ancient lineage of cyanobacteria is helping biologists uncover an early evolutionary stage of the mind-boggling process that turns light into life.

“Neurons that fire together, wire together” is not the full story. A novel mechanism explains how the brain can learn across longer timescales.

Dozens of new discoveries reveal that defenses evolved by bacteria and viruses billions of years ago still define our own innate immune system.

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.

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.

Growing tissues can crack, break, and dissociate to form structures that can later withstand immense forces.

Innovations in imaging and genetic engineering are coming together to probe the biophysics of cytoplasm inside living animals.