Molecular & Structural Biology

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Damaged powerhouses of cells can self-repair in a kind of workshop mode

If the energy supply of a cell is disturbed by damage, it can protect itself from functional losses and repair itself in a kind of workshop mode.

2 Apr 2020

Understanding hereditary medulloblastomas in children

This is a combined press release between EMBL, the Hopp Children's Cancer Center Heidelberg and the German Cancer Consortium.

1 Apr 2020

Inherited gene mutation can predispose children to SHH medulloblastoma

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, and the German Cancer Research Center have identified ELP1 as a novel predisposition gene in the SHH subgroup of pediatric medulloblastoma.

1 Apr 2020

Scientists unravel a new mechanism that triggers cell death and inflammation

Z-form nucleic acids are double-stranded DNA and RNA molecules with an unusual left-handed double helix structure, as opposed to the classical right-handed Watson-Crick double helix. Z-nucleic acids were discovered more than 40 years ago, but their biological function has remained poorly understood.

31 Mar 2020

Study reveals new mechanism underlying organelle communication in brown fat cells

In recent years, brown fat has garnered increasing attention as the so-called good fat that can protect against obesity and associated health risks, like cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

30 Mar 2020

Scientists discover a brain region necessary for shaping socially motivated behavior

How much we value an item is often related to what other people have. You might want the newest fashion, but not once everybody has it.

27 Mar 2020

SLAC structural biologist discovers a strange cavity in key tuberculosis protein

Researchers from the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have discovered a strange new feature of a protein that’s thought to be important in the development of tuberculosis: The protein contains a “huge” interior pocket, the likes of which has never before been seen, that appears capable of passing a wide range of other molecules into the bacterial cell.

27 Mar 2020

Global scientific collaboration produces first genetic map of the cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex is the relatively thin, folded, outer "gray matter" layer of the brain crucial for thinking, information processing, memory, and attention.

27 Mar 2020

Sex differences in longevity of wild mammals exceed humans

On average, women live longer than men: About 90% of people reaching 110 years old or more are women. The current record holder is Jeanne Calment, who was 122 years old, when she died in 1997.

25 Mar 2020

CELLINK starts reselling a real-time qPCR instrument

CELLINK has started reselling a qPCR instrument. The instrument uses a laboratory technique of molecular biology based on the polymerase chain reaction.

From CELLINK 25 Mar 2020

Researchers simulate 'brain swaps' in fish to reveal how senses control body movement

Plenty of fictional works like Mary Shelly's Frankenstein have explored the idea of swapping out a brain from one individual and transferring it into a completely different body.

24 Mar 2020

Humans are not the first to exploit benefits of CRISPR technique, research shows

In recent years, the development of CRISPR technologies and gene-editing scissors in particular have taken the world by storm. Indeed, scientists have learned how to harness these clever natural systems in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, among other areas.

24 Mar 2020

Research reveals important mechanism in the repair of DNA double-strand breaks

Scientists have revealed an important mechanism in the repair of DNA double-strand breaks, according to new research published today in eLife.

24 Mar 2020

Crumpled graphene can be used to make ultra-sensitive cancer DNA detector

Crumpled graphene can enhance graphene-based biosensors, increasing sensitivity to DNA for accurate detection of cancer.

24 Mar 2020

Scientists discover new genetic editing powers in squid

Revealing yet another super-power in the skillful squid, scientists have discovered that squid massively edit their own genetic instructions not only within the nucleus of their neurons, but also within the axon -- the long, slender neural projections that transmit electrical impulses to other neurons.

23 Mar 2020