The environmental complexity in which living organisms found themselves throughout evolution, most likely resulted in various encounters that would continuously challenge the organisms' ability to survive. Coping with this stress can prove energetically demanding and might require the proper coupling between mechanisms aimed at sensing external stimuli and cellular strategies geared at producing energy

Cells communicate, within larger organisms, with cells of other species, and with the environment. In fact, via autocrine signaling, one could even say they talk with themselves sometimes. Fortunately that's not the first sign of madness, but a type of communication capable of triggering a magnified and rapid response to a stimulus on the background of a negative feedback loops that “keep things under

In this issue, Kang Hao Cheong and Michael Jones paint a picture of a world after COVID‐19 where recognition of the fundamental fragility and hyperconnectivity of our globalized economies and societies forces some big changes in the way humans live and manage socioeconomic development on this planet.[1] Research, and science in general, are not going to escape those changes. What we see today springing

For almost 500 million years, scleractinian corals have been the main builders of coral reefs, which serve as habitats for thousands of marine species. Sometimes referred to as the “rainforests of the sea,” coral reefs are thought to be the most biodiverse marine ecosystem in the world. Within a coral reef, an individual coral animal also interacts with countless species of microorganisms, which, together

Immunophilins comprise a family of proteins characterized by the presence of a specific sequence that usually shows peptidyl‐prolyl‐(cis/trans )‐isomerase (PPIase) activity, i.e., the reversible cis/trans interconversion of Xaa─Pro bonds. The “PPIase domain” also binds immunosuppressive drugs, a property used to group immunophilins into two main subfamilies: FKBPs (FK506‐binding proteins) and CyPs

Cell cycle progression is characterized by the periodic synthesis and destruction of a host of regulatory proteins that produces oscillating waves of activity, such as cyclin‐dependent kinase (Cdk) activity, to drive unidirectional advancement through the cell cycle. These waves of activity also ensure cells select the optimal mechanism to repair damaged DNA. Cells utilize two major DNA repair pathways

Cell–cell contact control of proliferation and migration (also know as contact inhibition) are fundamental protectors of tissue architecture and homeostasis:[1] Their loss, and consequently tissue architecture loss, are key factors in cancer initiation.[2] A complex and context‐dependent interaction between p53 and HIPPO signaling pathways maintains this tissue architectural homeostasis,[3] which is

We're nearing that time of year when many get excited (negatively as well as positively) about the issue of a certain journal metric. For the disappointed (particularly in “niche” areas), this is not just “sour grapes”: it's a major problem, and if we aren't able to harness human intelligence to improve on the said metric, we'd better enlist the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI). There is a lot

As noted by Lee et al. in this issue, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) released from adipose during weight loss in type 2 diabetic (T2DM) patients may attenuate cardiovascular (CV) benefits[1] that should accompany >5% weight reduction and concomitant fall in CV disease risk factors.[2] POP contributions to CV complications is a valuable and timely topic to explore, given the slow rate of POP elimination

Remarkably, over the last decade, nervous tissues have been reported from fossils over 500 million years old.[1] Such evidence is providing unique insights into the nascent evolution of animal nervous systems during the Cambrian Explosion, as well as helping to resolve phylogenetic ambiguities between basal animals. Yet these discoveries, from geological deposits like the renowned Burgess Shale, are

Admixture, the genetic exchange between populations, is a topic of great interest in evolutionary biology. It has been found using observational approaches, and appears to be a common phenomenon in the history of many species across the tree of life. The advent of genomics has provided new ways to detect admixture, quantify the amount of introgressed DNA and pinpoint it in genomes. As a consequence