Poplar tree discovery could help shape the future of energy and biomaterials
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Updates every hour. Last Updated: 26-Oct-2025 02:11 ET (26-Oct-2025 06:11 GMT/UTC)
The University of Missouri-led study uncovers how a variation in a natural substance called lignin supports natural environmental adaptation and improved bioenergy production.
Reproductive timing matters when it comes to aging and age-related disease. In a study now online at eLife¸ researchers determine that girls who begin menstruation before the age of 11 or women who give birth before the age of 21 have double the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart failure and obesity and quadruple the risk of developing severe metabolic disorders. The study also reveals that later puberty and childbirth are genetically associated with longer lifespan, lower frailty, slower epigenetic aging and reduced risk of age-related diseases, including type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s.
Just as smart traffic management ensures smooth vehicular movement during peak hours, our body relies on a molecular traffic system to manage the surge in glucose levels after a meal. Pancreatic β-cells play a major role in this system by taking up glucose from the blood and triggering insulin release into the bloodstream. Inside these cells, glucose uptake is managed by glucose transporters (GLUTs) – proteins that move to the β-cell surface when blood glucose levels rise and facilitate the entry of glucose into the cell to kickstart insulin release. A new study from the Department of Developmental Biology and Genetics (DBG), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), shows how this process falters in Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and how restoring it could open new therapeutic avenues. The work, carried out by the lab of Nikhil Gandasi, Assistant Professor in DBG, is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Until recently, the color variations observed in the petals of Saintpaulia were attributed to periclinal chimera or the influence of genetically distinct cell layers. Now, a new study by researchers from Japan has identified a single gene called SiMYB2 that regulates petal colors in Saintpaulia by producing two distinct mRNA transcripts. This study lays the foundation for future horticulture-related research and can aid the deliberate breeding of patterned flowers.
Epithelial tissue forms the outermost protective barrier of tissues and organs and is therefore prone to wounds and injuries. Gaps created in this barrier get sealed efficiently by the coordinated movement of the epithelial cells surrounding the gap. These cells use largely two methods to move into these gaps, either by forming large membrane protrusions or by forming contractile bundles at the edge. Simran and colleagues, a group of researchers from Prof Tamal Das’ lab at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Hyderabad, discovered that epithelial cells can sense the shape and geometry of the gap created in the tissue and can respond to it by changing their intracellular structures and the mode of migration. Their study, now published in Nature Cell Biology, has revealed that the largest cell organelle- Endoplasmic Reticulum, senses and responds to the geometry of the gaps created in epithelial tissues and alters its structure and organization in response. Specifically, they show that ER shows tubular morphology at the convex gap geometry, and it shows dense flat sheet morphology at the concave curvatures. They also collaborate with Prof. Fabian Spill and Dr. Pradeep Keshavanarayana at the University of Birmingham to develop a mathematical model to understand the physical mechanism for the reorganisation of ER. Keshavanarayana’s model revealed that these different ER morphologies are adapted to lower the strain energy of the cells while moving at different curvatures. The study reveals a previously undescribed role of ER, sensing and guiding the movement of the cells during wound healing.