A pattern recognition receptor called toll-like receptor 13 detects pathogens in a manner that is different to that seen in other pathogen sensors.

Biochemical and genetic tests have revealed that a liver protein called NTCP is a functional receptor for hepatitis B and D viruses, which should lead to an improved understanding of the infections caused by these viruses and assist the development of new intervention strategies.

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

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

The discovery of a fluorescent protein that can be rapidly switched between long-lived ‘on’ and ‘off’ states will lead to a new generation of super-resolution imaging experiments on living cells.

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.

A combination of single-molecule imaging and an in vitro model of the cell cortex has allowed the interactions between actin filaments and filaments made of myosin II to be studied in detail.

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.

A bacterial protein can be programmed with short RNA molecules to stimulate genome editing at specific sites in human cells.

Neurons in the hippocampus modulate the rates at which they fire, and the locations in which they fire, so as to encode the information that is central to forming memories about personal experiences.