Microbiology

Evidence mounts that organisms without nervous systems can in some sense learn and solve problems, but researchers disagree about whether this is “primitive cognition.”

Long-overlooked “tunneling nanotubes” and other bridges between cells act as conduits for sharing RNA, proteins or even whole organelles.

The dizzying network of interactions within microbe communities can defy analysis. But a new approach simplifies the math and makes progress possible.

Bacterial biofilms and slime molds are more than crude patches of goo. Detailed time-lapse microscopy reveals how they sense and explore their surroundings, communicate with their neighbors and adaptively reshape themselves.

With electrical signals, simple cells organize themselves into complex societies and negotiate with other colonies.

Hydrodynamics and competition guide the architectural design of biofilm fortresses.

The new experiments suggest that simple models can explain the behavior of thousands of interacting organisms.

A new look at the reasons why organisms missing pairs of genes sometimes do much better than normal.

Researchers have used the gene-editing tool CRISPR to manipulate the way that DNA coils up inside the cell — another step in the quest to understand how the genome’s 3-D structure impacts its function.