The development of colonies of cells in choanoflagellates, water-dwelling organisms that feed on bacteria, is triggered by the presence of very low concentrations of a lipid molecule produced by certain types of bacteria.

A genome-organizing protein that is present only in the olfactory system of mice has been found to orchestrate changes in the relative numbers of different odor-sensing neurons on the basis of how active these neurons are.

A combination of advanced optical imaging and cryogenic electron microscopy has been used to explore membrane fusion in a synthetic system and provide new insights into neurotransmitter release.

Preventing premature interactions between microtubules and protein-based structures called kinetochores ensures that chromosomes are segregated by meiosis rather than mitosis in reproductive cells.

The first survey of the complete morphologies of nerve endings in the skin of mice has revealed enormous structural diversity.

A combination of cellular, biochemical, genetic and genomic techniques have revealed a new molecular player in the production of fat cells in mice, which could improve our understanding of obesity.

The ability of epithelial cells to distinguish between domains on opposing cell surfaces within a tissue, a property known as planar cell polarity, relies on proteins and protein complexes directing the traffic of signaling proteins to specific locations on the cell surface membrane.

Simulations and experiments on systems containing two different populations of microorganisms show that interactions that benefit at least one of the populations can lead to communities with stable compositions, and that strong cooperation between two populations can lead to communities in which both populations are mixed together.

Changing the order in which presynaptic and postsynaptic cells are repeatedly activated can change what a mammalian visual cortex neuron communicates to downstream neurons.

Long-lived intermediate states formed by glycoprotein catalysts are an essential part of the process used by influenza virus particles to infect cells.