The next time you go wild swimming, whether in a lake, river or sea, you are probably sharing the water with one of your tiniest, yet closest relatives.

Animals, from worms and sponges to jellyfish and whales, contain anywhere from a few thousand to tens of trillions of nearly genetically identical cells. Depending on the organism, these cells arrange ...

Sarah Maddocks does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond ...

The beta cells of the pancreas are responsible for releasing the hormone insulin, which is vital for the absorption of glucose from the bloodstream. Various factors can impair the ability of these ...

This article was originally featured on Knowable Magazine. More than 1.5 billion years ago, a momentous thing happened: Two small, primitive cells became one. Perhaps more than any event—barring the ...

Cell division is an intricately choreographed ballet of proteins and molecules that divide the cell. During mitosis, microtubule-organizing centers assemble the spindle fibers that separate the ...

A study has revealed the three-dimensional genomic structure of male germ cells and how this structure determines function. It represents a significant advance in our understanding of how the dynamics ...

As power plants and energy stores, mitochondria are essential components of almost all cells in plants, fungi and animals. Until now, it has been assumed that these functions underlie a static ...

In 2015, researchers at UC San Francisco found a structure inside of tumor cells that biologists had never seen before. Even more surprising, a closer examination of the structure revealed that it ...

The ocean plant, best known for wrapping sushi or floating along the shore, may soon help doctors repair hearts and reduce ...