Magazine

Latest articles

1. 1. Microbiology and Infectious Disease

   Helicase Loading: A back-up mechanism for replication

   Godefroid Charbon, Anders Løbner-Olesen

   A protein called PriC allows DNA replication to proceed in Escherichia coli when the complex that usually initiates this process is compromised.
2. 1. Neuroscience

   Consciousness: Did you see it?

   Ling Liu

   Cautious reporting choices can artificially enhance how well analyses of brain activity reflect conscious and unconscious experiences, making distinguishing between the two more challenging.
3. 1. Cell Biology
   2. Neuroscience

   Vision: A pathway to sight

   Katherine J Wert

   The breakdown of glutamine is an important metabolic pathway for the health and survival of rod photoreceptors within the retina.
4. 1. Neuroscience

   Synaptic Plasticity: A new mode of action for unconventional NMDA receptors

   Ikuko Smith

   Presynaptic NMDA receptors can shape timing-dependent long-term depression in a way that departs from their classic postsynaptic role.
5. 1. Genetics and Genomics
   2. Neuroscience

   Pain: Epidermal cells and sensory neurons team up

   Jean-Christophe Boivin, Tomoko Ohyama

   Experiments in fruit fly larvae show that epidermal cells can communicate with sensory neurons to drive responses to pain.
6. 1. Chromosomes and Gene Expression

   Gene Regulation: Linking O-GlcNAc and intron retention

   John A Hanover

   An elegant screening strategy unveils a molecular actor that connects widespread changes in mRNA processing with a nutrient-sensing protein modification.
7. 1. Cell Biology
   2. Developmental Biology

   Cell Signaling: Not all dimers are equal

   Jeet H Patel, Mary C Mullins

   Disease-causing mutations in the signaling protein BMP4 impair its secretion, but only when it is made as a homodimer.
8. 1. Immunology and Inflammation

   Bacterial Clearance: With a little help from T cells

   Troy Burtchett, Neal Hammer

   Specific host factors, such as immune cell activity, sex hormones and microbiota composition, influence the ability of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria to colonize the gut of mice.
9. 

   Reproducibility: How replicable is biomedical science in Brazil?

   The results of a project to estimate the reproducibility of research in Brazil have just been published.
10. 

    Episode 98: April 2025

    In this episode, we hear about parasites as molecular matchmakers, drug combinations and cancer treatment, chemical defences in poison frogs, the impact of education on brain structure, and what movies can reveal about the organisation of the infant visual system.