Fresh water in deserts often points to sites with signs of early humans and stone tools. But, in Arabia’s Rub’ al Khali region, water alone does not predict occupation.

A cellular fuel called lactate is channelled directly into energy-generating organelles in heart muscle, defying the prevailing view about lactate transport.

Two archaeal strains that belong to a lineage closely related to the ancestor of eukaryotic cells (complex cells with membrane-bound organelles) have been brought into culture. Their simple internal organization, elaborate surface structures, microbial partnerships and protein-dependent lifestyle provide clues about how eukaryotic cells arose.

A previously unknown mechanism required for cells to start proliferating has been identified. A combination of mathematical modelling and cell-based experiments shows that the enzyme WEE1 switches off a protein-degradation complex to allow cell proliferation to start, with implications for WEE1 inhibitors currently in trials for cancer treatments.