Insights

Latest articles

1. 1. Genetics and Genomics

   Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Beyond protein-coding genes

   Anna Lozano-Ureña, Sacri R Ferrón

   A long non-coding RNA called lnc-NR2F1 regulates several neuronal genes, including some involved in autism and intellectual disabilities.
2. 1. Biochemistry and Chemical Biology

   Insulin Receptor Binding: From venom peptides to a potential diabetes treatment

   Jiří Jiráček, Lenka Žáková

   Cone snails have evolved a variety of insulin-like molecules that may help with the development of better treatments for diabetes.
3. 1. Developmental Biology
   2. Neuroscience

   Embryonic Development: The evolution of hearing and balance

   Forrest P Weghorst, Karina S Cramer

   New genetic tools have allowed researchers to compare how the brainstem auditory and vestibular nuclei develop in embryonic chicks and mice.
4. 1. Neuroscience

   Computational Psychiatry: Exploring atypical timescales in the brain

   Leonardo L Gollo

   Identifying activity imbalances in specific brain regions may help to diagnose and treat psychiatric disorders.
5. 1. Neuroscience

   Human Intelligence: What single neurons can tell us

   Elaine N Miller, Chet C Sherwood

   IQ scores are correlated with the morphology and activity of certain neurons in the human temporal cortex.
6. 1. Microbiology and Infectious Disease

   Tropical Diseases: Can CRISPR help in the fight against parasitic worms?

   Paul McVeigh, Aaron G Maule

   The first reports of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing in flatworms could usher in a new era of research on these dangerous human parasites.
7. 1. Cell Biology

   Autophagy: COPII vesicles and the expansion of the phagophore

   Catherine Rabouille

   A new study has identified the proteins that adapt COPII vesicles to the needs of starving cells.
8. 1. Cell Biology
   2. Developmental Biology

   Mechanotransduction: How muscle contraction strengthens tendons

   Nicole O Glenn, Clarissa A Henry

   The force generated by muscles leads to signaling that helps to shape nearby tendon precursor cells.
9. 1. Evolutionary Biology
   2. Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics

   Protein Evolution: Building bigger beta-barrels

   Vikas Nanda

   The range of barrel-shaped proteins found in the outer membrane of certain bacteria evolved through multiple pathways.
10. 1. Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics

    Ion Channels: Solving a specificity mystery

    Sanduo Zheng, Andrew C Kruse

    Differences in the kinetics of G protein activation can explain why only some receptors can activate potassium ion channels called GIRKs.