A new tool greatly improves scientists’ ability to identify and study proteins that regulate gene activity in cells, according to research led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators. The technology should enable and enhance investigations in both fundamental biology and disease research.

Why did life on Earth choose alpha amino acids as the building blocks of proteins? A new study suggests the answer lies in the stability of their inter-molecular interactions. Researchers found that primitive peptide-like molecules made from alpha backbones formed more durable, compartment-like structures than their longer beta counterparts, giving them a potential evolutionary advantage. The findings propose an assembly-driven model for the origins of life, offering fresh insight into how chemistry shaped biology.

Climate change is drying landscapes and raising temperatures faster than many species can adapt. A new research paper offers a rare empirical look at how these pressures are already reshaping wildlife through the lens of the yellow warbler –– a common migratory bird.

Uniform and intensive forest management approaches threaten European forest biodiversity. There are many different ways to manage forests, but the effects of different combinations of approaches are not well understood. An international research team led by the universities of Göttingen, Germany, and Jyväskylä, Finland, investigated how the Triad forest management framework can support biodiversity conservation in European beech forests. This framework proposes to balance economic and ecological objectives by dividing forest landscapes into three distinct zones: intensively managed forest for timber production, unmanaged areas for biodiversity conservation, and extensively managed forest for supporting biodiversity while producing timber. The researchers collected data from these three management categories and developed “virtual forest landscapes” for analysis. The results were published in the journal PNAS.

Collaborative research by the University of Tokyo and RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research has led to the development of a new method for simultaneously synthesizing all transfer RNA (tRNA) required for protein synthesis in a reconstituted translation system in vitro.

Researchers led by Prof. GAO Caixia from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with their collaborators, uncovered the molecular innovation that led to the origin of Type V CRISPR-Cas immune systems.