cell & molecular biology

Researchers use imaging to show how actin fibers tilt and then swirl to create left-right asymmetry in the cell.

An RNA-modifying enzyme passed to daughter cells during budding allows yeast cells to switch between faster- and slower-growing phenotypes.

As the year draws to a close, we look back on researchers we bid farewell to, and the contributions they made to their respective fields.

Beyond The Scientist’s coverage of COVID-19’s molecular underpinnings were many other stories highlighting the advances made in scientists’ understanding of the biology of cells.

Researchers identified a novel mechanism by which chemically induced stress is “remembered” by the mitochondria of worms more than 50 generations after the original trigger.

By viewing countless hours of expectorating worms, researchers discover a unique way in which neurons control the movement of muscles.

Immunologists and parasitologists are working to revive the idea that helminths, and more specifically the molecules they secrete, could help treat allergies and autoimmune disease.

Research in animals and people supports a range of mechanisms by which the parasites affect physiology and immune responses.

Neurons stressed with chemicals produce Wnt, which in turn triggers changes in the germline.

A technique that reversibly bundles tagged cargo into artificial membraneless compartments gives scientists the ability to switch cell processes on and off.

Engineered cells produce proteins that allow scientists to turn cellular processes on and off.

Liquid conglomerations of molecules that form in bacterial cells in response to stress promote the cells’ survival, a study finds.

Conservation of structures and functions between single-celled fungi and human cells allow researchers to probe the brain.