Cholesterol is an essential component of cell membranes and a key molecule for maintaining metabolic homeostasis. LDL-derived cholesterol is delivered to lysosomes, where NPC1 and NPC2 cooperate to transport free cholesterol to other cellular compartments. When this process is impaired, cholesterol abnormally accumulates in lysosomes, a hallmark of Niemann-Pick disease type C. While NPC1 was known to undergo palmitoylation, a reversible lipid modification regulating protein trafficking, localization, and stability, the enzyme catalyzing this modification and its functional impact on NPC1 remained unknown.

Plants of the same species can differ considerably in their chemical composition, affecting their smell, taste, and even toxicity. A new study shows that the term “chemotype” has so far not been used consistently. Researchers at Bielefeld University propose clear criteria for describing chemical differences within a plant species in a precise and unambiguous way.

Published by Wiley for the South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the peer‑reviewed open‑access journal Biological Diversity is calling for papers for its new special issue that decodes biodiversity via evolutionary mechanisms. Moving beyond single‑region or single‑taxon limitations, this issue encourages integrated research covering speciation, genomic adaptation, reticulate evolution, community assembly, eco‑evolutionary feedbacks, biogeography and evolutionary‑informed conservation, and accepts theoretical modelling, experiments, field surveys, comparative analyses and methodological innovations. Guest‑edited by Professor Pat Heslop‑Harrison, the special issue waives article processing charges (APCs). Manuscripts should be designated for this special issue during online submission, with a submission deadline of 31 August 2027.

Researchers identify a molecular mechanism that links the autophagy adaptor OPTN to ATG9A vesicles, providing insight into how autophagic membranes are initiated around damaged mitochondria.

Sultan Qaboos University researchers developed micro- and nanoscale surfaces that reduced bacterial and microalgal attachment under laboratory conditions. The findings offer a promising step toward developing more effective antifouling materials for marine and industrial applications.

New research finds that excess dietary salt alters liver metabolism and may drive progressive fatty liver disease even in people who are not obese.

This sheds light on how lean patients might develop the disease, traditionally associated with obesity, and if applicable to humans, could be a potential prognostic factor for lean MASH.

Causal role of high salt intake on lean MASH still needs to be verified in patients with this condition.