How large, fully folded proteins can pass through cell membranes without destroying them has long been one of the open questions in cell biology. Using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo‑EM), Leonid Sazanov and Ziyu Zhao at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) have now uncovered new details about a molecular “gate.” Their findings were published in Molecular Cell.

Scientists at the Simon Foundation’s Flatiron Institute have modeled the strange dynamics of supersize fruit fly sperm, which swim about in a storage organ one-tenth the length of a single sperm. A new paper published June 22 in the journal Nature Physics shows how researchers combined mathematical models with more traditional biological approaches to find that, unlike human sperm, fruit fly sperm propel themselves off each other to create a slow collective churn.

A new study has uncovered a previously overlooked pathway linking road traffic pollution and cultivated crops. While plant uptake of tire wear-derived contaminants was already known, this study is among the first to show under environmentally realistic conditions that tire wear particles themselves act as short- and long-term sources of contamination, gradually released into soil. The research demonstrates that tire particles released due to tire abortion do not simply accumulate in the environment as microplastics; they also serve as reservoirs of toxic additives that may be released into the agricultural systems and potentially enter the food chain. The findings, published in Environmental Research, provide new insight into how everyday road traffic may contribute to contaminant exposure through food production.

Eight EU-funded research consortia warn that Europe risks a crisis if it fails to halt pollinator loss. Their solution: a roadmap to reverse wild pollinator decline and protect managed bees.