Subscribe now

cell biology

Health

The ageing of cells may be due to errors that harm protein production

Older cells may fail to make proteins or may make proteins that don't function as they should, in a discovery that could lead to new drug targets to slow the ageing process

News

Free

Fetal lung tissue

Life

How did multicellular life evolve? Algae and yeast give some hints

Comment

Subscriber-only

The slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum is used to study the origins of multicellularity

Health

Mice have been born from eggs derived from male cells

News

Free

Male XY chromosomes, artwork. The Y chromosome (right) is found in males and is shorter than the X chromosome (upper left). The latter has been labelled with a white glow that can represent a genetic mutation. An individual's sex is determined by the presence or absence of the Y chromosome. Women are XX, while men are XY. Chromosomes are a condensed form of the genetic material DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), which condenses into chromosomes during cell replication. Each chromosome has two identical strands (chromatids), aligned in parallel and joined at the centromere.
TXBTRF 3d rendered medically accurate illustration of amyloid plaques on a alzheimer nerve cell

Health

Restoring the brain’s mitochondria could slow ageing and end dementia

Features

Subscriber-only

Intestinal implants could one day treat conditions like short bowel syndrome, defined as having a short intestine that affects nutrient absorption

Health

Intestine cell transplant may one day help ease digestive issues

News

Subscriber-only

The amazing ways electricity in your body shapes you and your health

Health

The amazing ways electricity in your body shapes you and your health

Features

Subscriber-only

Cancer cells of different sizes

Health

The size of skin cancer cells may affect how they respond to treatment

News

Free

Illustration of a ribosome

Life

Self-replicating protein factories are a step towards artificial life

News

Subscriber-only

E. coli bacterium. Coloured transmission electron micrograph (TEM) of an Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacterium in the early stages of binary fission, the process by which the bacterium divides. This Gram-negative bacillus (rod-shaped) bacterium normally inhabits the human intestines. Under certain conditions it may undergo rapid division, which increases its numbers to such an extent that it causes infection. E. coli cause 80% of all urinary tract infections, travellers' diarrhoea and gastroenteritis in children. The hair-like appendages around the bacterium are pili, structures used for bacterial conjugation. Magnification: x17,500 at 6x7cm size.

Life

Nanoparticles can translate chemical signals from bacteria to yeast

News

Subscriber-only

Life

Artificially stripped-back cell is still able to rapidly evolve

An artificial “minimal cell” that has had all but the most essential genes stripped out can evolve and adapt to its surroundings just as fast as a normal cell

News

Subscriber-only

Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI-syn1.0 cells

Life

Artificial life made in lab can grow and divide like natural bacteria

News

Free

Life

Do telomere length tests really reveal your biological age?

Features

Subscriber-only

Life

Watch cells sniff their way around the maze from Hampton Court Palace

News

Free

Life

Secret to tardigrades' toughness revealed by supercomputer simulation

News

Free