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.

Cauliflower mosaic virus reacts immediately when aphids feed on the host plant, and this boosts its chances of being taken up and transmitted by the insects to a new plant.

By using different groups of cells to represent distinct environments and events, the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus helps to keep memories of similar events separate.

Single absorbed photons trigger adaptational mechanisms that help the retina maintain sensitivity across a wide range of background illumination.

The eye produces a protein that inhibits the growth of blood vessels in the deep retina, which includes the photoreceptor layer, and disruption of this process can lead to blindness.

Skin cells from a patient with retinitis pigmentosa have been used to generate induced pluripotent stem cells, which could potentially form the basis of new treatments for this disease.

Structural analyses of the centriole proteins CPAP and STIL identify domains that are critical for centriole formation and provide a structural explanation for a mutation that causes human microcephaly.

The cancer drug vemurafenib has potent off-target effects on JNK signaling that contribute to the development of squamous cell carcinomas in humans and in mice.

Real time measurements of c-di-GMP in individual cells reveal an unexpected mechanism by which the chemotaxis machinery controls c-di-GMP heterogeneity, thereby regulating flagellar-based motility.