Insights

Latest articles

1. 1. Microbiology and Infectious Disease

   Bacterial Protein Secretion: Looking inside an injection system

   Sophie A Howard, Alain Filloux

   The proteins injected by bacteria into eukaryotic organisms can lead to fates as diverse as death and metamorphosis.
2. 1. Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics

   Transcription: Overcoming chromatin barriers

   Babette E de Jong, John van Noort

   Single-molecule experiments reveal the dynamics of transcription through a nucleosome with single-base-pair accuracy.
3. 1. Evolutionary Biology
   2. Plant Biology

   Speciation: How predictable is genome evolution?

   Matthew J Coathup et al.

   Similar patterns of genomic divergence have been observed in the evolution of plant species separated by oceans.
4. 1. Biochemistry and Chemical Biology

   Oxygen Sensors: When is a target not a target?

   David C Bersten, Daniel J Peet

   Cells rely on prolyl hydroxylase enzymes to sense low levels of oxygen, but they might act on fewer targets than previously thought.
5. 1. Neuroscience

   Spatial Navigation: A question of scale

   Muireann Irish, Siddharth Ramanan

   An fMRI experiment reveals distinct brain regions that respond in a graded manner as humans process distance information across increasing spatial scales.
6. 1. Ecology
   2. Evolutionary Biology

   Physiology: The highs and lows of bird flight

   Jon Harrison

   Bar-headed geese lower their flight metabolic rates to fly in low-oxygen conditions.
7. 1. Genetics and Genomics
   2. Microbiology and Infectious Disease

   Host-Pathogen Interactions: What makes the hepatitis C virus evolve?

   Thomas R O'Brien et al.

   Polymorphisms in the IFNL4 gene that affect both the form and the activity of the coded protein are associated with changes in the hepatitis C virus.
8. 1. Neuroscience

   Brain Evolution: Adaptations to extreme conditions

   Barbara S Beltz

   The brain architecture of shrimp living in deep-sea vents provides clues to how these organisms have adapted to extreme living.
9. 1. Evolutionary Biology
   2. Genetics and Genomics

   Spermatogenesis: A hotspot for new genes

   Anne-Marie Dion-Côté

   Single-cell RNA-sequencing in fruit flies gives an unprecedented picture of how new genes are expressed during the formation of sperm.
10. 1. Evolutionary Biology
    2. Genetics and Genomics

    Aging: A new defense in the battle of the sexes

    George L Sutphin

    Young Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodites use their own sperm to protect against the negative consequences of mating.