A self-assembling surface layer flattens the cytokinetic furrow to aid cell division in an archaeon

1. Academic Background Since the origin of life, living organisms have needed to construct effective barriers to protect their cells from external physical and chemical damage. In the realms of bacteria and archaea, the surface layer (S-layer) is a universally present and exquisitely structured two-dimensional protein lattice that substitutes for t...

Monocytes Use Protrusive Forces to Generate Migration Paths in Viscoelastic Collagen-Based Extracellular Matrices

New Mechanism of Immune Cell Migration Revealed: How Monocytes “Pioneer Their Path” in the Tumor Microenvironment I. Academic Research Background and the Central Question Cell migration is a crucial biological process in life, encompassing embryonic development, tissue repair, immune responses, and the progression of various diseases. In the contex...

Continuous self-repair protects vimentin intermediate filaments from fragmentation

Academic Background and Research Motivation The cytoskeleton is the core structural support responsible for maintaining cell morphology and mechanical properties and is mainly composed of three major classes: actin filaments, microtubules, and intermediate filaments. Among these, intermediate filaments play an irreplaceable role in maintaining cell...

Single Antisense Oligonucleotides Correct Diverse Splicing Mutations in Hotspot Exons

Broad-Spectrum Correction of Splicing Mutations in Rare Disease Hotspot Exons by Single Antisense Oligonucleotide: Review of a Recent 2025 PNAS Study I. Academic Background: The Challenge of Disease-Associated Splicing Mutations and Dilemmas in Antisense Therapy RNA splicing is a crucial step in the regulation of gene expression in eukaryotes. The ...

Intermediate Light Adaptation Induces Oscillatory Phototaxis Switching and Pattern Formation in Chlamydomonas

Light Adaptation Drives New Motility Patterns in Green Algae — A Review of “Intermediate light adaptation induces oscillatory phototaxis switching and pattern formation in Chlamydomonas” 1. Research Background and Scientific Questions Microswimmers at the microscopic scale, such as unicellular algae, bacteria, and sperm, are important ecological co...