cell & molecular biology

The microscopic marine animal Trichoplax adhaerens may use rapid changes in cell shape to avoid being ripped apart by forces in the ocean.

The recent discovery of 17 people who have inherited maternal and paternal lines of mitochondrial DNA has major ramifications for medical and ancestry research.

Hear this month’s Scientist to Watch, Prachee Avasthi, describe the preprint journal review club she started at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

Meet Caltech cell and molecular biologist Marianne Bronner, this month’s profilee, and hear her take on encouraging the next generation of researchers.

The University of Kansas professor is also known for her leadership among early-career researchers.

Microbes, traditionally thought to lack organelles, get a metabolic boost from geometric compartments that act as cauldrons for chemical reactions. Bioengineers are eager to harness the compartments for their own purposes.

See how the cells accommodate milk production in mouse mammary tissue.

These icosahedral structures are composed of proteins with unique geometric properties, which enable bacteria to employ them in a variety of situations.

Meet some of the people featured in the December 2018 issue of The Scientist.

The physical principles that dictate the formation of these subcellular compartments are simple, but they dictate the organelles’ complex functions.

Selected Images of the Day from the-scientist.com

Studying how neural crest cells journey through the embryo, this Caltech developmental biologist has revealed how they form major cell types, including peripheral neurons, bone, and smooth muscle.

Adipocytes lose their lipids and reprogram themselves into stem cells during lactation, then turn back into fat cells after pups wean.

From making ribosomes to protecting the integrity of the genome, these membraneless compartments play important roles in the cell. Their behavior is rooted in basic physics.

Originally intended for basic neuroscience research, the drugs were ultimately hijacked for illicit recreational use.

In kidney organoids, brain and muscle cells also develop.

Liquid-like droplets containing DNA and proteins provide a model for researchers to study membraneless organization in the cell.

Blind rats are made to see after sheets of cells implanted into their eyes make themselves at home.

A pair of mouse studies describes neuronal subpopulations not identified before and some of their functions.