Cell biology

Disabling MTCH2 in mouse fat cells increased energy expenditure and reduced fat accumulation without lowering food intake. Related laboratory experiments revealed that loss of the same protein also strongly interferes with the formation of new fat cells.

Some cells acquired during pregnancy can remain in a mother's body for decades after childbirth. Scientists have detected evidence of these cells in blood and tissues, including the brain. The phenomenon is known as fetal microchimerism.

Some sea slugs can shed nearly their entire body, including the heart, and regenerate a new one from the surviving head. A remarkable study reveals how this process unfolds and explores whether stolen chloroplasts and internal parasites hold clues to its purpose.

A proteogenomic analysis of 29 healthy human tissues identified 7,215 unique amino-acid substitutions. Some lacked matching RNA changes, pointing to an additional source of protein diversity.

Laboratory-made mRNA could trigger innate immune alarm signals. Karikó, Weissman and colleagues showed that changing the chemistry of RNA nucleosides could dramatically alter how immune cells recognized the molecule.

Cells temporarily suppress many DNA-repair pathways during mitosis. A Cell study shows that DDIAS protects exposed single-stranded DNA and is particularly important for developing neural cells.

Repeated mild mechanical injury left human astrocytes in a persistently altered state. Their lipid output changed, and medium from the injured cells impaired human neurons in an in-vitro model.

Cells do not carry a miniature map of the future body. They infer their position from molecular gradients, neighboring cells and timing, then activate different genetic programs that gradually create organized tissues.

Frog-cell xenobots can generate new motile aggregates without dividing. The study reveals a form of kinematic self-replication driven by movement, cell gathering, and body geometry rather than genetic modification.

Born on July 27, 1881, Hans Fischer revealed the chemistry behind heme and helped connect the red pigment of blood with the green pigment of plants. His work transformed natural colors into precise molecular structures.

Almost every human cell contains about two metres of DNA. How does the cell pack this enormous molecule into a microscopic nucleus while keeping the right genes accessible?

Information from a gene is first copied into RNA, which the cell then uses to build a protein.