Recent work has revealed some of the many crucial functions of astrocytes, brain cells that were once thought to play primarily supportive roles for neurons. Astrocytes do handle debris around neurons ...

Cells manage a wide range of functions in their tiny package — growing, moving, housekeeping, and so on — and most of those functions require energy. But how do cells get this energy in the first ...

Tiny tweaks in DNA folding can have big effects. A study from Umeå University shows that even the most subtle changes in DNA's shape have an important influence on gene activity and energy production.

Scientists at City of Hope have uncovered a gene called SMOC1 that plays a surprising role in the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D) by converting pancreatic cells that normally produce insulin into ...