The ability to activate different sets of genes has likely helped the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis spread widely in amphibians, resulting in global population declines.
The discovery of gene variants in cases of hereditary spastic dysplasia could provide a diagnosis to affected families where no genetic cause could be found before.
Before their own central clocks develop, the brains of fetal rats detect their mother’s metabolic cycle to help regulate the expression of certain genes.
The muscle transmembrane protein Vangl2 helps organize the development and maintenance of connections between muscles and motor neurons, a study concludes.
The gut microbiomes of city-dwelling animals, including coyotes, lizards, and birds, show similarities to those found in humans who also live in urban environments.
A study suggests that several species of brown algae may have independently evolved to express both sexes simultaneously, and it’s likely that female algae evolved male traits—not the other way around.
When Caulobacter crescentus finds itself in a nutrient-poor environment, it clusters an enzyme necessary for cell division thanks to a physical phenomenon known as phase separation so it can make better use of dwindling fuel.
A peptide found in bull ant venom closely resembles a hormone of its primary predator, triggering hypersensitivity and making subsequent bites even more painful than the ones that came before.
Scientists found that combining the notoriously flimsy anticancer protein p53 with a domain from a spider silk protein resulted in a more stable hybrid that’s more potent and easier for cells to synthesize.
The discovery that a group of cell-infecting bacteria lived roughly 2 billion years ago stirs a longstanding controversy around which came first: phagocytosis or mitochondria.
