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Natalia Mesa, PhD

Articles by Natalia Mesa, PhD

A pair of prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster)

Monogamous Rodents Don’t Need “Love Molecule” To Pair Up

An artist’s rendering of a DNA-based virus trap, represented as gray rods in a short cone-shaped arrangement. One is coated with blue molecules, likely antibodies, that adhere to a virus target. Another image shows to traps coming together to capture a red coronavirus.

“Origami” DNA Traps Could Keep Large Viruses From Infecting Cells

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Rockfish Genes Hold Clues to Human Longevity

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Transfer RNAs Have a Surprising Role in Breast Cancer Growth

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Humans Are Still Evolving Thanks to Microgenes

Rendered image of <em>Chlamydia</em>

How Chlamydia Guards Itself Against the Immune System

<em>Chlamydia</em> invades a host cell, forms a membrane-bound vacuole, or inclusion, and then modifies the protein composition of the structure&rsquo;s membrane. If immune cells detect <em>Chlamydia</em> before it forms the inclusion, they trigger T cells to produce interferon-&gamma; (IFN-&gamma;), a powerful cytokine. IFN-&gamma; activates the protein mysterin (also called RFN213), which attaches ubiquitin to the inclusion membrane, signaling the cell to destroy the inclusion&rsquo;s contents by dumping them into a lysosome (left). C. trachomatis produces GarD, a protein that integrates into the inclusion membrane itself and somehow prevents mysterin from attaching ubiquitin, allowing the bacterium to evade immune destruction while continuing to multiply and eventually bursting from the cell (right).

Infographic: How Chlamydia Evades Immune Detection

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“Smarter” CAR T Cells Target Tumors with Precision

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Snakes Have Clitorises After All, Study Finds

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Viral Protein Behind Chronic Inflammation in People with HIV: Study

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Novel Yeast-Assembly Technique Yields Living Materials

Orange and blue spring with steam rising&nbsp;

Archaea Sport Structures that Shuttle Genes Among Microbes

The Scientist Digest cover September 2026
September 2026

Multiplex Microscopy Becomes Easier with Encoded Antibodies

A new system that enables researchers to uniquely tag monoclonal antibodies for use in microscopy could help simplify complex imaging studies.

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Rethinking ALS Biomarkers: From Discovery to Clinical Impact

Rethinking ALS Biomarkers: From Discovery to Clinical Impact

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Best Practices for qPCR Assay Design and Optimization

Best Practices for qPCR Assay Design and Optimization

Bio-Rad
Beyond the Basics: Strategies for Single-Cell and Spatial Transcriptomics Analysis

Beyond the Basics: Strategies for Single-Cell and Spatial Transcriptomics Analysis

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Building Translation-Ready Biomarkers with Connected Workflows

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