Cells programmed to die during C. elegans embryogenesis can be eliminated from the embryo and undergo apoptosis in the absence of caspase activity via an extrusion mechanism that depends on activation of the AMPK-related kinase PIG-1 by an LKB1-like kinase complex.

Some variants of the bacterial gene regulator CAP show marked differences in their affinity for DNA despite identical DNA-binding interfaces; NMR spectroscopy experiments now show that DNA binding is determined by the proteins’ internal dynamics over a broad range of timescales in a manner that cannot be predicted from the proteins’ ground-state structures.

Japanese researcher plans cache of induced stem cells to supply clinical trials.