cell & molecular biology, evolutionary biology

Enhancers, short regions of DNA that direct gene expression, of species separated by 700 million years of evolution worked interchangeably, according to a new study.

The same toxin targets different receptors in prey and conspecifics to deliver either a lethal or non-lethal blow.

The 12-year-long endeavor reveals Prometheoarchaeum as a tentacled cell, living in a symbiotic relationship with methane-producing microbes.

Researchers are resurrecting proteins from millions of years ago to understand evolution and lay the groundwork for bioengineering custom molecules.

Report finds that pathologist involved in anonymous defamation case committed multiple acts of misconduct; growing eggs from stem cells; neutrophils’ role in metastasis; convergent evolution in birds

Questions about how E. coli evolves; spermatids in a dish; fighting bacteria with virus-like molecule; what drives metastasis; antibodies fight Ebola in monkeys

Researchers identify a molecule that may have been key to the surprisingly common transition from single-celled ancestors to today’s complex, multicellular organisms. 

Converting heart muscle to pacemaker cells in pigs; alternative splicing and the human proteome; questioning a reported yogurt mold-illness link; H. pylori swiftly find mouse stomach injuries

Human proteome cataloged; island-separated crickets evolved silence; molecule shows promise for combatting coronaviruses; study replication etiquette; another call for STAP retraction

Stimulus-triggered pluripotency; antioxidants speed lung tumor growth; the importance of seminal vesicles; how a plant pathogen jumps hosts

Mistimed sleep disrupts human transcriptome; canine tumor genome; de novo Drosophila genes; UVA light lowers blood pressure; aquatic microfauna fight frog-killing fungus

The Scientist commemorates prize-winning life scientists and remembers notable researchers who died this year.

Animal family tree rearranged; how E. coli evades the immune system; pharmacological chaperones and misfolded proteins

Oldest hominin DNA sequence; visualizing dyslexia; testing CRISPR; cancer and autoimmunity

Chilly mice develop more tumors; gut bacteria aid cancer treatment; two Y chromosome genes sufficient for assisted reproduction; HIV’s “invisibility cloak”

Grasshopper mice harbor mutations in a pain-transmitting sodium channel that allow them to prey on highly toxic bark scorpions.

At age 16, Alexandra Sourakov has her first scientific publication, on the foraging behavior of butterflies.

Ancient bacteria living in deep-sea sediments are alive—but with metabolisms so slow that it’s hard to tell.