Scientists have genetically modified isolated microbes for decades. Now, using CRISPR, they intend to target entire microbiomes.

FEATUREThe Ecology of Tumors   Courtesy of Nasa Ames Research CenterBy perturbing the microenvironment, wounds and infection may be key to tumor development.BY PARAIC A. KENNY, CELESTE M. NELSON, AND MINA J. BISSELLNo tumor is an island. Chemical and physical forces exerted by the diverse cellular populations that surround a tumor - its so-called microenvironment - shape development and progression. Manipulating these 'ecologi

But, just as antibodies are finding increasing utility in cell biology, a new Food and Drug Administration classification for those products with clinical utility may affect researchers' access to the important technology (see accompanying story). Monoclonal History MAbs were born in 1975, when Georges Kohler and Cesar Milstein at the Medical Research Council Laboratories in Cambridge, England, fused two types of cells to form a hy

But, just as antibodies are finding increasing utility in cell biology, a new Food and Drug Administration classification for those products with clinical utility may affect researchers' access to the important technology (see accompanying story). Monoclonal History MAbs were born in 1975, when Georges Kohler and Cesar Milstein at the Medical Research Council Laboratories in Cambridge, England, fused two types of cells to form a hy

Several labs have reported the formation of bacterial nanotubes under different, often contrasting conditions. What are these structures and why are they so hard to reproduce?

By Jeffrey M. Perkel Surpassing the Law of Averages How to expose the behaviors of genes, RNA, proteins, and metabolites in single cells. By necessity or convenience, almost everything we know about biochemistry and molecular biology derives from bulk behavior: From gene regulation to Michaelis-Menten kinetics, we understand biology in terms of what the “average” cell in a population does. But, as Jonathan Weissman of the University of Califo

Advances in the functional characterization of newly discovered microproteins hint at diverse roles in health and disease.

From a rapid molecular test for COVID-19 to tools that can characterize the antibodies produced in the plasma of patients recovering from the disease, this year’s winners reflect the research community’s shared focus in a challenging year.

Courtesy of Genevieve Anderson If not for Nobel laureates Thomas Hunt Morgan, Eric R. Kandel, and Sydney Brenner, the notion of a general behavioral model might seem odd. Behaviors, after all, are determined by an animal's evolutionary history and ecological niche. They are often idiosyncratic, shared in detail only by closely related species. But, thanks to Morgan's research in the early 20th century, and Kandel's and Brenner's work over the past 35 years, the fly Drosophila melanogaster, t

By Judy Lieberman Master of the Cell RNA interference, with its powerful promise of therapy for many diseases, may also act as a master regulator of most—if not all—cellular processes. RNA silencing. Computer artwork showing a length of RNA (yellow with red rings) bound to an RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). © Medi-Mation Ltd / Photo Researchers, Inc. ne of the biggest surprises in biology in the past d