Cells have surface receptors that couple to proteins and other molecules to initiate or inhibit certain behaviors. Typically, the number of these receptors increases as the cell matures, but researchers have now identified that one receptor influences cell behavior much earlier than previously thought and appears to help trigger the cell differentiation process to form neurons. 

Researchers studied the microbes associated with historical middens conserved in Greenland’s permafrost, left behind by Paleo-Inuit, ancient Norse, and early modern Inuit. These middens harbored biodiverse bacterial communities – including many unknown taxa – that were especially rich in human- and animal-associated groups. The authors concluded that microbial traces of human activities such as defecation, livestock farming, and seal hunting can linger for centuries in Arctic middens. They also found a wide range of antimicrobial resistance genes in the bacterial genomes. However, the limited outward spread of potential pathogens away from the frozen core of the middens means that they currently pose little risk to public health.  

Researchers from The University of Osaka found that using a sequence analysis approach that incorporates awareness of insertions and deletions in extramembrane domains enabled accurate reconstruction of ancestral rhodopsins that folded correctly and functioned as predicted when expressed in E. coli. The researchers’ ConsistASR analytical pipeline could be used to engineer other ancestral proteins in the future.

Genome sequencing has revealed insights into how current-day residents of the Faroe Islands can trace their ancestry to a North Atlantic founder population and how evolutionary forces have shaped their genomes since.

UC San Diego biologists have uncovered new details about barrier-forming cells that protect and nourish the brain. Their findings focused on senescent cells, which traditionally have been labelled as “zombie” cells, and their formative role in the developing brain and beyond.