Cell biology is the study of life at its most fundamental unit: the cell. This field explores how these microscopic building blocks function, communicate, and replicate to sustain living organisms, from the simplest bacteria to complex human tissues. By understanding the machinery inside a cell, scientists unlock secrets about growth, disease, and the very nature of existence itself.

At Gist.Science, we track every new preprint uploaded to bioRxiv within this dynamic category. Our team processes each submission to provide both accessible plain-language explanations and detailed technical summaries, ensuring you can grasp complex discoveries without getting lost in dense jargon. Below are the latest papers in cell biology, offering a fresh look at the inner workings of life as they are shared with the world.

📄 cell biology

Loss of p27Kip1 causes metabolic reprogramming and is sufficient to induce a Warburg effect and glutamine addiction in untransformed cells

This study demonstrates that the loss of the cell cycle regulator p27Kip1 is sufficient to drive metabolic reprogramming in untransformed cells, inducing a Warburg effect and glutamine addiction through extensive transcriptional remodeling of metabolic genes.

Rolland, L., Mitri, E., Dozier, C., Aguirrebengoa, M., Nemazanyy, I., Joffre, C., Sarry, J.-E., Hatzoglou, A., Besson, A (…)2026-02-09
📄 cell biology

Deep learning enables quantitative subcellular analysis of plant-microbe interfaces

The paper introduces HFinder, a deep learning-based framework that automates the detection, segmentation, and quantitative analysis of plant-microbe interfaces in confocal images, thereby overcoming previous qualitative limitations to enable systematic, scalable studies of subcellular dynamics during infection.

Korovesis, S., Wang, S., Xu, L., Giraudon, I., Rosales Hernandez, D., Panek, E., Boeglin, L., Kostareli, M.-M., Pluis, M (…)2026-02-08
📄 cell biology

Single-cell lineage tracing identifies hemogenic endothelial cells in the adult mouse bone marrow

This study demonstrates that adult mouse bone marrow contains previously unrecognized Cdh5/VE-Cadherin+ hemogenic endothelial cells capable of generating functional hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells and mature blood cells, thereby challenging the dogma that adult hematopoiesis is solely sustained by pre-existing stem cells.

Feng, J.-X., Yang, M.-T., Li, L., Li, C., Livak, F., Chen, J., Zhao, Y., Wang, D., Bhandoola, A., Taylor, N., Tosato, G.2026-02-06
📄 cell biology

Optimized Methods for Measuring Extracellular ATP from Human Airway Epithelial Cells and Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid

This study presents an optimized, high-throughput luminescence assay utilizing syringe filtration and stabilization buffers to enable robust, specific, and time-flexible quantification of extracellular ATP in human airway epithelial cell cultures and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, thereby facilitating advanced research into purinergic signaling in respiratory health and disease.

Singer, R., Kum, E., Cao, Q., Nguyen, J. P., Hassan, W., Beaudin, S., Satia, I., Hirota, J. A.2026-02-06