The first spark of cellular life on Earth likely needed gift packaging. Let me explain. With the holidays around the corner, we’re all beginning to order presents. Each is carefully packaged inside a ...

Studying the process of brain formation illuminates just how much of development is a series of tiny miracles. Only a few weeks after a human egg is fertilized, a sheet of cells called the neural ...

Quantum sensors made from a glowing protein can be produced by living cells and could be used to much more accurately measure tiny changes in the body. This could one day help with early disease ...

All cells need to sense and respond to their environment, to know when to activate genes, build proteins, and carry out their basic functions. One of the most well-studied cellular responses is how ...

Researchers build anthrobots from human airway cells that self-assemble, move, self-heal, and reverse aging markers, offering insights into synthetic life systems. (Nanowerk Spotlight) What kinds of ...

A growing body of work suggests that cell metabolism — the chemical reactions that provide energy and building materials — plays a vital, overlooked role in the first steps of life. Each of us starts ...

A large genetic screen has revealed how stem cells transform into brain cells, exposing hundreds of genes that make this ...

Embryo development starts when a single egg cell is fertilized and starts dividing continuously. Initially a chaotic cluster, it gradually evolves into a highly organized structure. Scientists have ...

Every time our body encounters a new disease-causing agent, a crucial defense system called adaptive immunity comes into play ...

For decades, scientists have searched for clues to how life first emerged on Earth. Many theories focus on simple molecules reacting in water or on fragile protocells drifting in ancient seas. A new ...