A growth-coupled biosynthetic pathway enables xathommatin synthesis in the soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida.

De novo design of Ca2+ channels with ion selectivity that can assemble appropriately and mediate Ca2+ conductance when expressed in cells is described.

Nature Reviews Bioengineering, Published online: 13 October 2025; doi:10.1038/s44222-025-00366-7Cells convert mechanical forces into biochemical signals through mechanotransduction, a process which can now be synthetically engineered. In this Review, we examine engineered artificial mechanotransduction mechanisms, from gene circuits responsive to mechanical cues to synthetic force-generating systems that reshape tissue behaviour and cellular function.

The molecule targets bacteria in a way that other drugs don’t.

ETH researchers have developed a new gene switch that can be activated using a commercially available nitroglycerine patch applied to the skin. One day, researchers want to use switches of this kind t...