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.
Histones bound to lipid droplets inside cells offer protection against bacteria in flies, and possibly mice, thus suggesting a possible new innate immunity pathway.
Experiments in mice have shown than an enzyme that repairs broken DNA inside the nucleus also has a central role in the innate immune system because it is able to detect foreign DNA outside the nucleus.
Preventing premature interactions between microtubules and protein-based structures called kinetochores ensures that chromosomes are segregated by meiosis rather than mitosis in reproductive cells.
Novel imaging experiments suggest that fruit flies modify their neural circuitry for walking at slow, medium and fast speeds, and that proprioception is not essential for coordinated walking.
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.
