Most communication between neurons is mediated by the neurotransmitter glutamate. The finding that temperature influences how glutamate binds to neuronal receptor proteins to initiate signal transduction reveals the mechanics of one of the brain’s most important processes.

Vaccines containing peptides called antigens are bad at stimulating key immune cells called killer T cells. A molecule now enables antigens to encounter these T cells.

Mapping the density, molecular features and energy-transformation capacity of cell organelles called mitochondria in the brain reveals region- and cell-type-specific variability that tracks with evolutionary patterns. Correlations between mitochondrial and brain-imaging metrics could enable future non-invasive explorations of mitochondrial bioenergetics in the brain in health and disease.

Ultraviolet light from a galaxy observed when the Universe was just 330 million years old has intriguing implications for understanding how the first generations of stars and black holes were formed.