Latest

The heart sections on the left present defects while the hearts on the right do not show defects.

Mariella Bodemeier Loayza Careaga, PhD | May 14, 2024 | 4 min read

In a mouse model of Down syndrome, three copies of a gene encoding a kinase contributed to congenital heart defects.

A developing embryo with DNA labeled blue, cell boundaries labeled pink, and certain cells fluorescing green.

The First Two Cells in a Human Embryo Contribute Disproportionately to Fetal Development

Shelby Bradford, PhD | May 13, 2024 | 4 min read

A research team showed that, contrary to current models, one early embryonic cell dominates lineages that will become the fetus.

A DNA strand and a barcode representing the DNA barcoding technique.

DNA Barcoding: Species Detection and High Throughput Assays

Priyom Bose, PhD | 7 min read

DNA barcoding is a fast sequencing-based technique that scientists use to catalog all life on Earth or perform high throughput bioanalyses.

Cartoon of a turtle inside of an ice cube.

The First Turtle Organoids

Danielle Gerhard, PhD | May 13, 2024 | 5 min read

Herpetology meets hepatology as scientists develop new tools for exploring how turtles survive freezing, oxygen-poor environments.

A blue microscopy image of mouse brain cells, with dorsal raphe neurons shown in red.

A Novel Panic Pathway in the Brain

Hannah Thomasy, PhD | May 10, 2024 | 5 min read

A neural pathway driving panic-like behaviors in mice points to new therapeutic targets.

3D illustration depicting white and red blood cells flowing in a network of blood vessels.

How Migrating Cells Navigate Biological Mazes

Laura Mac-Daniel, PhD | 4 min read

A key protein that detects changes in plasma membrane curvature guides immune-like cells through environmental obstacles.

White and white and black mice in an overcrowded cage.

Viruses Keep Mice from Stressing Out

Shelby Bradford, PhD | May 9, 2024 | 3 min read

Gut viruses influence behavioral responses in mice and may be important players in the gut-brain axis.

Two cells fluorescently stained for normal (red) and damaged (green) lysosomes.

Cancer Cells Spread When They Stop Recycling Waste

Kamal Nahas, PhD | May 8, 2024 | 4 min read

An immune-inhibiting protein that regulates autophagy halts breast cancers from venturing across tissue borders.

Two prairie voles are interacting with one another. The vole on the left sniffs the cheek of the vole on the right.

Be My Vole-entine: How Love and Loss Change the Brain

Paige Nicklas | 4 min read

Neuroscientists studying prairie voles discovered that dopamine in the brain gushes when the animals are with their life partners and that loss of a partner erased this neurochemical signature.

Light shines through a dilated pupil to illuminate the light red retina, blood vessels, optic disc and macula.

Gut Bacteria Slip into the Eye

Rachael Moeller Gorman | May 9, 2024 | 5 min read

A gene mutation causes porous gut and retinal barriers, allowing bacteria to travel from one to the other, triggering retinal degeneration in mice.

An artistic illustration of the female reproductive system.

Outsmarting Ovarian Cancer

Mariella Bodemeier Loayza Careaga, PhD | May 8, 2024 | 4 min read

Biochemist Sharon Stack hopes to advance the field of ovarian cancer by exploring the tumor and host-related factors that influence its metastatic process.