Lipid bilayers in mammalian membranes can have a more asymmetric composition than previously thought, new research shows. This lipid abundance asymmetry is enabled by the unique properties of cholesterol and endows biomembranes with specific properties and physiological roles.

Researchers from chemistry, biology, and medicine are increasingly turning to AI models to develop new hypotheses. However, it is often unclear on which basis the algorithms come to their conclusions and to what extent they can be generalized. A publication by the University of Bonn now warns of misunderstandings in handling artificial intelligence. At the same time, it highlights the conditions under which researchers can most likely have confidence in the models. The study has now been published in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science. 

An Osaka Metropolitan University-led research team investigated the case of a male Asian small-clawed otter that fell down the stairs while sleeping, after which it developed left-sided paralysis.

A Wayne State University professor has been selected as an Early Career Policy Ambassador (ECPA) by the Society for Neuroscience (SfN). Those chosen will engage in various advocacy initiatives in partnership with SfN.

In a new study published in Science, researchers from the Model-Based Evolutionary Genomics Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) and their international collaborators have constructed a detailed timeline for bacterial evolution and oxygen adaptation. Their findings suggest some bacteria could use trace oxygen long before evolving the ability to produce it through photosynthesis. 

A powerful new software platform called the Playbook Workflow Builder is set to transform biomedical research by allowing scientists to conduct complex and customized data analyses without advanced programming skills. An article that describes the new platform was published in the April 3 online issue of the journal PLOS Computational Biology.

Developed by a multi-institutional team that was led by Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai investigators as part of the National Institutes of Health Common Fund Data Ecosystem (CFDE) program, researchers from across the United States developed the web-based platform that enables scientists to analyze and visualize their own data independently through an intuitive, interactive interface.