Outsmarts

The artist’s impression shows how the HIV capsid penetrates the jelly-like permeability barrier of a nuclear pore. To smuggle its genome through this defense line into the cell nucleus, it has evolved into a molecular transporter. Credit: Johannes Pauly / Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary SciencesThe virus’s capsid functions as a molecular transporter.Every year, approximately one million people globally contract HIV, the virus responsible for AIDS. For the virus to multiply and propagate the infection, it must…

Breast cancer cells (in blue) eating extracellular matrix (yellow). The bright white spots inside the cells are extracellular matrix components that are being digested by the cells, for them to obtain nutrients to support their growth. Credit: Montserrat Llanses MartinezA recent study has discovered that breast cancer cells facing a lack of energy resort to ingesting and consuming their surroundings to overcome starvation.The research, conducted by scientists at the University of Sheffield and published in the journal…