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

During gestation, the placenta takes on the roles of many of the fetus’ developing organs and serves as a barrier between parent and child. Critical to this is the outermost layer of the organ, the ...

Using a new method to isolate and reprogram plant cells into other cell types, biologists explored how banding patterns that increase the stability of plant cell walls are created and how their ...

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the cells that produce insulin—a critical hormone that regulates blood sugar in the body. Scientists at Scripps ...

In the tiny, beaded chain of the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. ATCC 33047, two different cells, the photosynthetic factory worker and the nitrogen-fixing specialist, play distinct and powerful roles in ...

Human bodies are usually described as chemical engines, powered by glucose and oxygen. Yet a wave of new research suggests ...

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 ...