The maintenance of self-identity and defence from external threats are prerequisites for organismal survival. From the physical barriers formed by epithelial cells or mucus to the complex mechanisms ...

Structural anisotropy is a hallmark of many tissues in humans. The spatially aligned organization of cells and extracellular matrix (ECM) is crucial to physiological functions such as contraction ...

Cells can spontaneously change shape even without external signals, but the underlying mechanisms behind this form of ...

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes are the body's specialized "killer" cells, precisely eliminating infected or cancerous cells. Their action relies on a specialized exchange zone called the "immune synapse," ...

Chara corallina myosin XI (CcXI) drives the movement of actin filaments, which spontaneously form ring-like structures due to a slight curvature that leads to polar alignment. Living cells are highly ...

In a scientific first, researchers from Vanderbilt University and the University of California, San Diego, have generated a high-resolution metabolic "map" of how cells orchestrate glucose processing, ...

One of the most fundamental processes in all of biology is the spontaneous organization of cells into clusters that divide and eventually turn into shapes – be they organs, wings, or limbs. Scientists ...

A microscopic image shows small red centers connected by networks of branched and straight filaments. The team mixed purified actin monomers with precise concentrations of two nucleation-promoting ...

A new study constructs the first 3D single-cell brain atlas of the lamprey, uncovering the 450-million-year-old molecular blueprint of vertebrates.

The immune system is a complex response of various cells that detect and elicit mechanisms to eliminate disease. This orchestrated response in healthy individuals overcomes infections and foreign ...