The conversion of skin cells into brain cells relies on proper insertion of L1 elements.

A protein hijacked from a bacterial pathogen helps to facilitate more precise genome editing in plants.

A new test kit could enable quick and effective COVID-19 tests for people arriving at airports.

Custom-fabricated lenses make it easy to attach high-tech microscopes directly to cell incubators.

Combining solar-harvesting materials with carbon-dioxide–consuming microbes could be an efficient way to generate clean fuels.

A decades-old technique for probing protein motions proves more accurate than current practices.

In probably the first observation of its kind, a tricky triggerfish is seen beaching itself before attacking a crab walking along the shoreline.

A new electroactive bacterium could help fuel wastewater treatment reactors.

Stem cell trafficking to the bone marrow is improved by enzyme manufactured in silkworms and yeast.

A newly sequenced coral genome offers tools to understand environmental adaptation.

An experiment, elegant in its simplicity, helps explain why water becomes electrified when it touches hydrophobic surfaces.

A method that lights up tags attached to selected proteins can help to purify the proteins from a mixed protein pool.

Multistakeholder collaboration is key for the adoption of molecular approaches that can facilitate accurate, cheaper and faster monitoring of marine ecosystems.

A molecular mimic designed to promote plant growth and limit witchweed infestation shows promise in initial trials.

A nutritious millet crop grown mainly in West Africa could be genetically improved for large-scale agriculture in Saudi Arabia.

Giant clams manipulate light to assist their symbiotic partner.

An assay for imaging the physical interactions between multiple cell populations could help cancer research and treatment assessment.

Models based on images from unmanned aerial vehicles and satellites can help farmers to monitor the health of individual trees.

Efficient greenhouse complexes that will grow crops using the resources available on desert coasts could improve food security for millions.

A safer technique reveals that corals take up seawater pollutants both directly and indirectly.