What makes the human brain distinctive? A new study published in Cell identifies two genes linked to human brain features and ...

Most organisms fit comfortably into standard definitions of “life,” i.e., cells that grow, reproduce independently, and ...

In the vast and often unseen world of microscopic life, a recent discovery may force scientists to rethink what it means to ...

DNA replication is an extremely accurate process and cells have evolved intricate control mechanisms to ensure that each region of their genome is replicated only once during S phase. Here, we compare ...

The eukaryotic cell, the most significant increase in complexity in the history of life's evolution on Earth, emerged as a phase transition and unlocked the path toward other major transitions ...

Eukaryotic cells form the foundation of complex life, their defining feature being the presence of membrane-bound organelles. This article details the structure of eukaryotic cells and provides ...

Prokaryotes are unicellular organisms that lack membrane-bound structures. This article details the structure of prokaryotic cells and provides examples of prokaryotic organisms.

Pathogens hijack host cell functions by expressing or secreting effector proteins, creating environments conducive to their survival and reproduction. These pathogenic microorganisms—including ...

This complex multicellularity has evolved independently in at least five lineages: animals, land plants, brown algae, red algae and fungi. As different as these multicellular creatures might be, their ...

Organisms on planet earth are broadly divided into prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The former are unicellular, do not have any organelles such as mitochondria, and their DNA is not packaged into a ...