Cells are constantly on the move, whether in a developing embryo or metastatic cancer. But how do cells adapt to new environments they encounter? Traditionally, scientists have believed that cells ...

Researchers have discovered a widespread mechanism in bacteria that enhances the bacteria's defense against environmental threats. The discovery, which may be important for research into developing ...

An organism as a tenant in another - in biology, this often works quite well. ETH researchers have now shed light on how such a partnership of a cell in a cell can establish. Endosymbiosis is a ...

A new study reveals that bacteria can survive antibiotic treatment through two fundamentally different "shutdown modes," not ...

Bacterial cell division is a fundamental biological process that ensures the propagation of life through a precisely orchestrated set of events. Central to this process is the formation of the Z ring, ...

Engineered bacterial cells (purple) activate several parts of the immune system to attack tumor cells (gray). Credit must be given to the creator. Adaptations must be shared under the same terms.

Microbiologists have long known that ancient, inactive viruses known as cryptic prophages can insert their genetic material into bacterial DNA. These genetic fragments allow bacteria to use ...