Cell biology

How smelling death alters worm behavior

Researchers have found that the roundworm C. elegans can smell death, and it changes how the worms behave, reproduce and age.

Light-activated small molecule could transform eye infection treatment

Contact lenses raise the risk of infectious keratitis, a leading cause of blindness worldwide. A biotech company is commercializing a light-activated therapy using a ROS-generating molecule to rapidly kill microbes in the cornea to preserve vision.

The molecular orchestra of memory

Calcium, calmodulin and calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II form a molecular axis that turns fleeting neural activity into lasting memories. New research shows how memories are stabilized, and possibly even protected or repaired.

Differences in pili structure modulate bacterial behavior

Researchers demonstrate how small changes in the structure of hair-like protein appendages can affect the behavior of Acinetobacter bacteria.

Disease-linked mutations disrupt protein phase behavior

Researchers find that pathogenic missense mutations are enriched threefold in phrase-separating intrinsically disordered regions of proteins.

The dual role of asprosin in chronic fatty liver disease

Researchers uncover a hormone called asprosin that may serve as a potential biomarker for the diagnosis of chronic fatty liver disease and monitoring disease progression.

Novel inhibitor targets RAS-driven cancers

Researchers in Louisville identify a small-molecule drug that blocks RALGEF signaling downstream of mutant RAS. The compound suppresses tumor growth with low toxicity, revealing a new therapeutic strategy for RAS-driven malignancies.

Catching tau in the act

Using a new proximity-labeling approach, researchers reveal how tangles of the brain-associated protein tau may disrupt RNA biology long before neurons die.

How copper delivery fuels bacterial respiration

Researchers identify the roles of several proteins in copper homeostasis in the aerobic bacterium Caulobacter vibrioides.