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Cells
Genetics
a blue gloved hand holding a plate with bacteria on it

From the great outdoors to our internal organs, the world is awash in unseen bacteria (some seen growing on plate here). Most people assume (unfairly) that these germs are all dangerous. Biologists know better. Studying these poorly understood microbes could better reveal how they function as the "invisible backbone of life."

jarun011/iStockphoto

Microbes
 
Oct 4, 2018
Bacteria are all around us — and that’s okay
A photo of an array of protein rich foods including red meat, fish, nuts, beans, eggs, chickpeas, avacado, spinach and broccoli

Many foods, such as the ones shown here, are rich in protein. In the body, proteins act as biochemical machines that do the work of cells.

samael334/iStockphoto

Body functions
 
Oct 3, 2018
Explainer: What are proteins?
an artists illustration of a car as the body's immune system

Rev up that immune system! Using the metaphor of a car, the green structures here illustrate how antibodies can take the brake off of the body’s immune system. This lets the body naturally attack cancer cells. The discoveries that make this therapy possible are behind the 2018 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine.

The Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine. Illustrator: Mattias Karlén

Body functions
 
Oct 1, 2018
Immune targeting of cancers wins two a 2018 Nobel Prize
a photo of a liger lounging on some rocks in a zoo enclosure

If a zoo keeps a male lion and a female tiger in the same enclosure, a liger can result. It has a mix of its parents’ traits.

Алексей Шилин/Wikimedia Commons

Evolution
 
Sep 13, 2018
The mixed-up world of hybrid animals
an underwater photo of two manatees

The ancestors of manatees and other marine mammals shed certain genes millions of years ago. One of those genes protects against certain harmful pesticides.

Robert K. Bonde/USGS–Gainesville

Evolution
 
Aug 28, 2018
A ‘ghost’ gene leaves sea mammals vulnerable to some toxic chemicals
a young koala rides piggyback on an adult koala hanging on a tree

Scientists have mapped koalas’ genetic code. They hope its lessons will save these animals.

Robyn Cox/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Genetics
 
Aug 13, 2018
Koala genes could help scientists save these furry animals
A photo of an Asian common toad

The skin of the Asian common toad is laced with a natural poison. This species is now spreading across the island of Madagascar. Predators are not likely to keep the invaders in check, a new study finds. Only one appears immune to the toad’s deadly toxin.

Benjamin Marshall

Genetics
 
Jul 26, 2018
Toxic toads pose threat to Madagascar’s predators
bacterial plate

Some bacteria can use antibiotic drugs as fuel. Now, scientists have figured out how they do it.

jarun011/iStockphoto

Microbes
 
Jun 26, 2018
Nom, nom! These bacteria eat antibiotics for lunch
Heligmosomoides roundworm

This round worm, Heligmosomoides polygyrus, was retrieved from the gut of a wood mouse. New research shows that being infected by such parasites can keep animals from gaining weight, even when eating fattening food.

Naldo-Crocoduck/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Body functions
 
Jun 13, 2018
Worms in the gut keep mice from getting plump on high-fat food
Vomiting girl

Each year, bouts of norovirus — a stomach bug — cause misery in 19 to 21 million Americans. Scientists at last are homing in on how this nasty virus does its work. 

vadimguzhva/iStockphoto

Body functions
 
May 25, 2018
Scientists discover how norovirus hijacks the gut