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.

Mathematical modeling shows that local populations of the malaria parasite self-organize into a limited number of transient but distinct strains through competition for hosts in immunity space.

By using immune cells called dendritic cells to deliver drugs, it is possible to target and kill specific members of another class of immune cell, known as T cells, and to prevent these cells from attacking the body's own tissues in cases of autoimmune disease.

The use of tissue culture reduces the chemical modification of plant DNA, and this has lasting effects on gene expression in the plants and their descendants.

Exposing rats to acute stress increased the generation of new neurons in a subregion of the hippocampus, and improved the animals' performance in a memory task two weeks later.

A combination of detailed sampling and mathematical modeling suggests that the response of immune cells to reactivation of herpes simplex virus 2 is extremely rapid and effective within microscopic areas of genital skin.

Proteins produced by mast cells modulate the permeability of blood vessels, and may determine whether patients infected with dengue virus develop life-threatening complications.

A DNA transposon, or ‘jumping gene’, controls its amplification within a genome through a competition between the enzyme multimers that are responsible for its mobility.

Flatworm regeneration of lost tissue relies on a mechanism distinct from that used for routine tissue turnover.

A protein called Megf8 regulates the activity of key signaling molecules involved in the development of the peripheral nervous system.