News by Subject Biology

Patches of coral reef are often surrounded by very large 'halos' of bare sand that are hundreds to thousands of square meters. Two recently published studies and a third feature story led by Elizabeth Madin, assistant research professor at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, shed light on these enigmatic features that are visible from space.

Researchers from ETH Zurich demonstrate that genetically identical cells exhibit differing responses in their motility towards chemical attractants. Average values hide the full picture when it comes to describing the behavior of bacteria.

In a joint collaboration, researchers from Denmark and Switzerland have shown that bacteria produce a specific stress molecule, divide more slowly, and thus save energy when they are exposed to antibiotics. The new knowledge is expected to form the basis for development of a new type of antibiotics.

'Is amyloid precursor protein the mastermind behind Alzheimer's or is it just an accomplice?' Researchers devised a multi-functional reporter for amyloid precursor protein and tracked its localization and mobility, noticing a strange association between the protein and cholesterol that resides in the cell membrane of synapses. With cholesterol's broad involvement in almost all aspects of neurons' life, they propose a new theory on the amyloid precursor protein connection in AD, especially in the surface of those tiny synapses, which triggers neurodegeneration.

Researchers in Australia at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute have found that the dengue fever mosquito common to north and central Queensland poses the greatest danger of spreading the Zika virus in Australia. The researchers showed that not only was the dengue mosquito effective at transmitting Zika, the virus was also in the mosquitoes' reproductive organs. This finding suggests that Zika could persist in mosquito populations by females passing it to their offspring.

In research appearing in the advanced online edition of the journal Nature Communications, Karen Andersen, Samira Kiani and their colleagues at Arizona State University describe a method of rendering the gene editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 'immunosilent,' potentially allowing the editing and repair of genes to be accomplished reliably and stealthily.