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Theories about how animals became multicellular are shifting as researchers find greater complexity in our single-celled ancestors.
During development, cells seem to decode their fate through optimal information processing, which could hint at a more general principle of life.
For the first time, researchers have traced the genetic programs that guide the development of each cell in early embryos. Surprisingly, even cells that start out different can end up the same.
The computer scientist Barbara Engelhardt develops machine-learning models and methods to scour human genomes for the elusive causes and mechanisms of disease.
An unexpected mechanism allows wasps to rapidly co-opt genes for new toxic functions.
Trash collectors in the cell moonlight at the controls of the genetic machinery.