Molecular & Structural Biology

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'Kissing loops' in lncRNA essential for tumor suppressor function

Human cells - like those of many other organisms - have developed mechanisms to protect us from cancer.

22 Aug 2019

New method prevents the release of synthetic DNA from genetically modified cells

The method prevents a gene that encodes a synthetic protein from spreading into the wild and stabilizes it so that it cannot mutate and lose its function.

21 Aug 2019

UGA study provides first evidence of biological clocks in individual cells

One of nature's most familiar phenomena is collective behavior- fish swimming in schools, locusts marching together, birds flocking.

21 Aug 2019

California clamps down on amateur use of gene-editing technologies

California state officials have passed the first law to prohibit genetic biohacking in an effort to regulate at-home gene editing.

20 Aug 2019

Researchers develop new gene editing system that could be used for anticancer immunotherapy

Dr. Mihue Jang and her group at the Center for Theragnosis of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology announced that they have developed a new gene-editing system that could be used for anticancer immunotherapy through the simultaneous suppression of proteins that interfere with the immune system expressed on the surface of lymphoma cells and activation of cytotoxic T lymphocyte, based on the results of joint research conducted with Prof. Seokmann Hong and his group at Sejong University.

20 Aug 2019

Lipid signaling pathway may enhance T cell-mediated immunotherapy

The immune system surveils our body looking for things that don't belong, often bacteria and viruses. While cancer cells are abnormal cells that undergo unregulated cell growth, they are good at evading detection by the immune system.

19 Aug 2019

Study shows synergistic effects of drugs that inhibit cell division in pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers, with patients surviving on average less than a year once the disease has spread.

19 Aug 2019

Research shows how E. coli knows where and when to begin colonizing the colon

A pair of University of Virginia School of Medicine scientists have revealed how E. coli seeks out the most oxygen-free crevices of your colon to cause the worst infection possible.

19 Aug 2019

Study shows how plants coordinate their internal circadian clocks

From cyanobacteria to humans, nearly all living things on Earth have an internal circadian clock that regulates their activities on a 24-hour cycle.

From PLOS ONE 16 Aug 2019

Fruit fly model for studying diseases like gout, kidney stones reveals new drug targets

A new fruit fly model that mimics diseases associated with high uric acid levels, such as gout and kidney stones, has revealed new targets for developing treatments for these diseases.

From PLOS ONE 16 Aug 2019

Simple technique to choose the sex of offspring by separating X and Y sperm

A simple, reversible chemical treatment can segregate X-bearing sperm from Y-bearing sperm, allowing dramatic alteration of the normal 50/50 male/female offspring ratio, according to a new study by Masayuki Shimada and colleagues at Hiroshima University, published on August 13 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology. The study was performed in mice, but the technique is likely to be widely applicable to other mammals as well.

From PLOS ONE 16 Aug 2019

Researchers gain new insights into the mechanism of vaccine-induced T cell immunity

A team led by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research has gained new insights into the mechanism of vaccine-induced T cell immunity utilizing single-cell RNA sequencing and metabolic profiling techniques.

16 Aug 2019

Researchers reverse stem cell aging process

Scientists have shown that older stem cells can be reverted to a younger state. The discovery has important implications for degenerative disease research.

15 Aug 2019

Machine learning reveals links between genetic factors and behavior

Researchers have used machine learning to start making links between seemingly instinctive, random behaviors and genetic factors.

15 Aug 2019

KIT researchers develop new method to predict protein structure

Proteins are biological high-performance machines. They can be found in every cell and play an important role in human blood coagulation or as main constituents of hairs or muscles.

14 Aug 2019

Study sheds light on likely conserved functions of gammaherpesvirus microRNAs

The discovery of thousands of host mRNAs targeted by gammaherpesvirus microRNAs (miRNAs) could shed light on the biology of gammaherpesviruses and how these pathogens establish lifelong infections, according to a study published August 8 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Scott Tibbetts of the University of Florida, and colleagues.

From PLOS ONE 13 Aug 2019