Cell Biology News

November 20, 2025

Top Headlines

Scientists Grow a Tiny Human “Blood Factory” That Actually Works

Nov. 20, 2025 Researchers have recreated a miniature human bone marrow system that mirrors the real structure found inside our bones. The model includes the full mix of cells and signals needed for blood production and even maintains this process for weeks. It ...

Amazon Scorpion Venom Shows Stunning Power Against Breast Cancer

Nov. 18, 2025 Scientists are turning venom, radioisotopes, engineered proteins, and AI into powerful new tools against cancer. From Amazonian scorpions yielding molecules that kill breast cancer cells as effectively as chemotherapy, to improved fibrin sealants ...

A Tiny Ancient Virus Reveals Secrets That Could Help Fight Superbugs

Nov. 17, 2025 Scientists mapped the Bas63 bacteriophage in unprecedented detail, uncovering how its tail machinery infects bacteria. The structure reveals rare whisker-collar features and distant evolutionary ties reaching back billions of years. These insights ...

Animals Are Developing the Same Chronic Diseases as Humans

Nov. 17, 2025 Across the planet, animals are increasingly suffering from chronic illnesses once seen only in humans. Cats, dogs, cows, and even marine life are facing rising rates of cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and obesity — diseases tied to the same factors ...

A Tiny Worm Just Revealed a Big Secret About Living Longer

Nov. 14, 2025 Scientists studying aging found that sensory inputs like touch and smell can cancel out the lifespan-boosting effects of dietary restriction by suppressing the key longevity gene fmo-2. When overactivated, the gene makes worms oddly indifferent to ...

Brain-like Learning Found in Bacterial Nanopores

Nov. 11, 2025 Scientists at EPFL have unraveled the mystery behind why biological nanopores, tiny molecular holes used in both nature and biotechnology, sometimes behave unpredictably. By experimenting with engineered versions of the bacterial pore aerolysin, ...

Meet the Desert Survivor That Grows Faster the Hotter It Gets

Nov. 9, 2025 In Death Valley’s relentless heat, Tidestromia oblongifolia doesn’t just survive—it thrives. Michigan State University scientists discovered that the plant can quickly adjust its photosynthetic machinery to endure extreme temperatures that ...

DNA in Seawater Reveals Lost Hammerhead Sharks

Nov. 8, 2025 A revolutionary eDNA test detects endangered hammerhead sharks using genetic traces left in seawater, eliminating the need to capture or even see them. This powerful tool could finally uncover where these elusive species still survive, and help ...

Sunflowers May Be the Future of "Vegan Meat"

Nov. 4, 2025 A collaboration between Brazilian and German researchers has led to a sunflower-based meat substitute that’s high in protein and minerals. The new ingredient, made from refined sunflower flour, delivers excellent nutritional value and a mild ...

Scientists Discover the Nutrient That Supercharges Cellular Energy

Nov. 3, 2025 Scientists uncovered how the amino acid leucine enhances mitochondrial efficiency by preserving crucial proteins that drive energy production. By downregulating the protein SEL1L, leucine prevents unnecessary degradation and strengthens the cell’s ...

Ancient Viruses Hidden Inside Bacteria Could Help Defeat Modern Infections

Nov. 3, 2025 Penn State scientists uncovered an ancient bacterial defense where dormant viral DNA helps bacteria fight new viral threats. The enzyme PinQ flips bacterial genes to create protective proteins that block infection. Understanding this mechanism could ...

A “Scary” New Spider Species Found Beneath California’s Beaches

Nov. 2, 2025 UC Davis scientists uncovered Aptostichus ramirezae, a new trapdoor spider species living under California’s dunes. Genetic analysis revealed it was distinct from its close relative, Aptostichus simus. The species was named after pioneering ...

Latest Headlines

updated 2:21pm EST

A 2,000-Year Mystery in Chameleon Eyes Is Finally Solved

Nov. 19, 2025 Chameleons’ extraordinary ability to move their eyes independently stems from a previously overlooked anatomical marvel: long, tightly coiled optic nerves hidden behind their bulging eyes. Modern ...

Scientists Recover 40,000-Year-Old Mammoth RNA Still Packed With Clues

Nov. 15, 2025 Researchers have sequenced the oldest RNA ever recovered, taken from a woolly mammoth frozen for nearly 40,000 years. The RNA reveals which genes were active in its tissues, offering a rare glimpse ...

Scientists Shocked as Bumblebees Learn to Read Simple “Morse Code”

Nov. 12, 2025 In a first-of-its-kind study, scientists found that bumblebees can tell the difference between short and long light flashes, much like recognizing Morse code. The insects learned which signal led to ...

Scientists Uncover a Hidden Universal Law Limiting Life’s Growth

Nov. 11, 2025 Japanese researchers uncovered a universal rule describing why life’s growth slows despite abundant nutrients. Their “global constraint principle” integrates classic biological laws to show ...

Life Found in a Place Scientists Thought Impossible

Nov. 9, 2025 Deep beneath the ocean, scientists uncovered thriving microbial life in one of Earth’s harshest environments—an area with a pH of 12, where survival seems nearly impossible. Using lipid ...

Scientists Teach Bacteria the Octopus’s Secret to Camouflage

Nov. 3, 2025 Researchers at UC San Diego have figured out how to get bacteria to produce xanthommatin, the pigment that lets octopuses and squids camouflage. By linking the pigment’s production to bacterial ...

Scientists Stunned as Island Spider Loses Half Its Genome

Nov. 2, 2025 On the Canary Islands, scientists discovered that the spider Dysdera tilosensis has halved its genome size in just a few million years—defying traditional evolutionary theories that predict larger, ...

A Prehistoric Battle Just Rewrote T. Rex’s Story

Nov. 2, 2025 The debate over Nanotyrannus’ identity is finally over. A remarkably preserved fossil proves it was a mature species, not a teenage T. rex. This discovery rewrites how scientists understand ...

After 25 Years, Scientists Solve the Bird-Eating Bat Mystery

Nov. 2, 2025 After decades of mystery, scientists have finally proven that Europe’s largest bat, the greater noctule, hunts and eats small songbirds mid-air—more than a kilometer above ground. Using tiny ...

A New Microscopy Breakthrough Is Revealing the Oceans’ Invisible Life

Nov. 2, 2025 A pandemic-era breakthrough has allowed scientists to literally expand our view of plankton. By using ultrastructure expansion microscopy, researchers visualized the inner workings of hundreds of ...

Japan’s New “samurai Jellyfish” Is Simply Stunning

Nov. 1, 2025 Scientists in Japan have discovered Physalia mikazuki, a previously unknown species of Portuguese man-of-war, in northern waters for the first time. DNA and anatomical analysis confirmed it as ...

Soil Microbes Remember Drought and Help Plants Survive

Nov. 2, 2025 Researchers discovered that soil microbes in Kansas carry drought “memories” that affect how plants grow and survive. Native plants showed stronger responses to these microbial legacies than ...

Scientists Just Found out How Corals Rebuild Themselves on the Reef

Oct. 29, 2025 Researchers at QUT uncovered how corals reattach to reefs through a three-phase process involving tissue transformation, anchoring, and skeleton formation. Differences among species reveal why some ...

It Sounds Creepy, but These Scientific Breakthroughs Could Save Lives

Oct. 30, 2025 From mini-brains to spider-inspired gloves and wolf apple coatings, scientists are turning eerie-sounding experiments into real innovations that could revolutionize health and sustainability. ...

Before Plants or Animals, Fungi Conquered Earth’s Surface

Oct. 28, 2025 Fungi’s evolutionary roots stretch far deeper than once believed — up to 1.4 billion years ago, long before plants or animals appeared. Using advanced molecular dating and gene transfer analysis, ...

Snake Pee Might Hold the Secret to Ending Gout Pain and Kidney Stones

Oct. 25, 2025 Reptiles don’t just pee, they crystallize their waste. Researchers found that snakes and other reptiles form tiny uric acid spheres, a water-saving evolutionary trick. This discovery could ...

How Algae Learned to Harness the Sun Without Getting Burned

Oct. 22, 2025 Under the sea, green algae have evolved a clever way to handle too much sunlight. Scientists found that a special pigment called siphonein acts like a natural sun shield, protecting the algae’s ...

MIT Scientists Discover Hidden 3D Genome Loops That Survive Cell Division

Oct. 24, 2025 MIT researchers discovered that the genome’s 3D structure doesn’t vanish during cell division as previously thought. Instead, tiny loops called microcompartments remain (and even strengthen) ...

Hippos Once Roamed Frozen Germany With Mammoths

Oct. 26, 2025 New research shows that hippos lived in central Europe tens of thousands of years longer than previously thought. Ancient DNA and radiocarbon dating confirm they survived in Germany’s Upper Rhine ...

Scientists Finally Read the Hidden DNA Code That Shapes Disease

Oct. 18, 2025 EMBL researchers created SDR-seq, a next-generation tool that decodes both DNA and RNA from the same cell. It finally opens access to non-coding regions, where most disease-associated genetic ...

They’re Smaller Than Dust, but Crucial for Earth’s Climate

Oct. 10, 2025 Coccolithophores, tiny planktonic architects of Earth’s climate, capture carbon, produce oxygen, and leave behind geological records that chronicle our planet’s history. European scientists are ...

How This Odd-Looking Animal Outsmarted Aging

Oct. 20, 2025 Naked mole-rats seem to have found nature’s cheat code for longevity. Scientists discovered that small tweaks in one of their proteins make it better at fixing DNA damage, helping the animals ...

From Gentle Giants to Ghostly Hunters, Sharks Face an Unseen Peril

Oct. 4, 2025 New research reveals that deep-sea mining could dramatically threaten 30 species of sharks, rays, and ghost sharks whose habitats overlap with proposed mining zones. Many of these species, already at ...

Before They Sucked Blood, Leeches Were Ocean Hunters

Oct. 1, 2025 A 430-million-year-old fossil has rewritten leech history, showing they are at least 200 million years older than previously believed. Unlike today’s bloodsucking leeches, their ancient ancestors ...

Saturn’s Icy Moon Enceladus Just Revealed Stunning New Clues to Life

Oct. 2, 2025 Fresh analysis of Cassini data has revealed new complex organic molecules inside ice grains spewing from Enceladus. These discoveries strengthen the case that the moon’s underground ocean hosts ...

The Billion-Year Reign of Fungi That Predated Plants and Made Earth Livable

Oct. 1, 2025 Fungi may have shaped Earth’s landscapes long before plants appeared. By combining rare gene transfers with fossil evidence, researchers have traced fungal origins back nearly a billion years ...

Dolphins May Be Getting Alzheimer’s from Toxic Ocean Blooms

Oct. 11, 2025 Dolphins washing up on Florida’s shores may be victims of the same kind of brain degeneration seen in humans with Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers discovered that cyanobacterial toxins—worsened ...

Black Mamba Venom Has a Deadly Hidden Second Strike

Sep. 30, 2025 Scientists have uncovered a dangerous hidden feature in Black Mamba venom that explains why antivenoms sometimes fail. The study revealed that several mamba species launch a dual neurological attack, ...

Pollen Holds a Secret That Could Save Honeybees

Sep. 30, 2025 Scientists have discovered that pollen is a hidden source of natural medicine for honeybees. Symbiotic bacteria called Streptomyces produce antimicrobial compounds that fight deadly bee and plant ...

Stunning Images Reveal How Antibiotics Shatter Bacterial Defenses

Sep. 29, 2025 Researchers have revealed how polymyxins, crucial last-resort antibiotics, break down bacterial armor by forcing cells to overproduce and shed it. Astonishingly, the drugs only kill bacteria when ...