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.

The transcription machinery used to regulate gene expression and self-renewal in human embryonic stem cells is different from that found in other cells.

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.

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.

The HITS-CLIP sequencing method is used to demonstrate that cryptic exons can detect messenger RNA that contains nonsense mutations, and then cause this RNA to decay, which shows that these exons are involved in maintaining the electrical balance of neurons and, possibly, preventing epilepsy.

An interaction between two proteins enables the spindle—the structure that segregates chromosome pairs during mitosis—to change size as cells divide.

The cisternae of the Golgi contain two functionally distinct domains: the central areas, which remain stationary, and the edges or rims, which are mobile.

Lysine-specific demethylase 1 (Lsd1) has an essential role during both the early and later stages of blood cell development.

C. elegans exhibits two distinct behavioural macro-states, active and quiet wakefulness, and protein kinase A regulates switching between these two states.

Cells that give rise to the infectious form of parasitic flatworms called schistosomes show similar patterns of gene expression to stem cells in free-living flatworms.