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Changes in the number of copies of the genes involved in protein production affect how bacteria grow in response to abundance and famine.

The bones in the skull of mice lacking a receptor for the structural protein, collagen, fail to elongate correctly, leading to facial defects associated with the genetic disease spondylo-meta-epiphyseal dysplasia..

The circadian clock controls the flowering patterns in sunflowers.

The mechanism the immune system uses to prevent cytotoxic T cells from harming the body’s own cells also makes these killer cells less able to eliminate cancer.

The receptor that allows animals to taste sweet flavors can be activated by one of the ions that make up salt, suggesting that animals may experience salt as sweet.

A mutation in the protein eIF4A allows a newly discovered species of fungi to evade one of the plant kingdom’s most powerful defense mechanisms.

Adventurous, active mice show signs of more complex brain connections than their more predictable peers.

Tracing the origin of a group of ion channels important for neuronal communication sheds light on how these proteins evolved their role in the nervous system.