A single-celled predator maintains stolen chloroplasts with its own proteins, linking the host cell and stolen organelles at the molecular level. This process, now supported by biochemical evidence, may offer clues to early steps in the evolution of plant cells.

A groundbreaking study reveals the physiological consequences of a sedentary lifestyle–effects that are challenging to demonstrate in human studies but easier to observe in king penguins. Researchers discovered that unlimited food allows penguins to grow quickly, but this ultimately contributes to accelerated aging.

Researchers in China developed a novel visual system, the VSES2-4 systems enabled rapid identification of transgenic soybean plants under natural light. Using the VSES4 system, transgenic plants could be distinguished at various developmental stages without compromising genome editing efficiency. The VSES4 system significantly accelerates transgenic line screening and reduces labor-intensive procedures in soybean genome editing.

Interactions between diet and the gut microbiome have been shown to have broad roles in shaping host metabolism and health. Now, researchers at the Human Biology Microbiome Quantum Research Center (WPI-Bio2Q, directed by Kenya Honda, M.D., Ph.D., co-senior author of the study) and Keio University, together with researchers from City of Hope and the Broad Institute, show how specific gut microbes are able to interpret diet and subsequently drive the conversion of white adipose tissue into beige fat, a metabolically active form of fat that burns energy instead of storing it.

The study, which has been published in Nature, also identified the molecular pathways that connect these aspects of dietary protein intake, microbial metabolism, and the host’s fat-burning response.

“These findings show, in a mechanistic way, how gut microbes are able to act as an important mediator of dietary cues, and how these bacteria are able to produce signals that shape host metabolism” said Scott Behie, member of WPI-Bio2Q and co-author of the study.

Scientists have long sought to explain a key mismatch in Earth’s early history: oxygen-producing photosynthesis evolved hundreds of millions of years before atmospheric oxygen began to rise during the Great Oxidation Event. This delay has been linked to limited phosphorus—a nutrient essential to life—but the specific processes controlling phosphorus availability in the iron-rich oceans of Archean Earth (approximately 3.2–2.5 billion years ago) remained unclear. A study led by the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has identified a previously overlooked process that may explain this prolonged delay. The research was conducted in collaboration with the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC).

The honey bee “waggle dance” is an advanced form of animal communication that conveys critical information about food sources. A new study finds that the performing bee is not simply broadcasting a predetermined message. Rather, the precision of the performer’s directions depends on the audience.

The honey bee “waggle dance” is an advanced form of animal communication that conveys critical information about food sources. A new study finds that the performing bee is not simply broadcasting a predetermined message. Rather, the precision of the performer’s directions depends on the audience.