News by Subject Biology

Researchers have developed a simple model to study how ants balance their large heads relative to their body size. Such models may have useful applications in bio-inspired designs.

Researchers at the University of Tsukuba quantified the collective action of small schools of fish using information theory. They found that groups of three act very differently compared with groups of just two. This work may help solve longstanding problems in complexity theory and allow for a clearer model of emergent behavior.

The smallest cell structures can now be imaged even better: The combination of two microscopy methods makes fluorescence imaging with molecular resolution possible for the first time.

The protein PRC1, a telltale sign in many cancer types including prostate, ovarian, and breast cancer, act as a "viscous glue" during cell division, precisely controlling the speed at which two sets of DNA are separated as a single cell divides. The finding could explain why too much or too little PRC1 disrupts that process and causes genome errors linked to cancer.

Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Biomaterials a high-speed atomic-force microscopy study of protein filaments in the nuclear pore complex. The visualization in real-time of the filaments' dynamics is an important step in our understanding of molecular transport mechanisms between a cell nucleus and its surrounding medium.

Photosynthesis is one of the most fundamental processes that support life on earth. The mechanistic details of how the energy captured from the sun is transferred within the cellular photosynthetic structures are still not understood well. A group of scientists from Okayama University, Japan, analyzed the structural and spectroscopic data of the 'IsiA-PSI' supercomplex, and have unraveled a part of the puzzle of photosynthetic energy transfer in cyanobacteria.

Photosynthesis is a biochemical process that converts solar energy into chemical energy, releasing oxygen into the atmosphere. This process is highly complex and requires various combinations of proteins that work in tandem. However, details regarding the structures of these molecules in some organisms have remained poorly understood. Now, scientists in Japan have shed light on the structural complexes that drive photosynthesis in an aquatic microorganism, which could fuel the development of novel solar devices.

Research explains how a unicellular marine organism generates light as a response to mechanical stimulation, lighting up breaking waves at night.