Molecular & Structural Biology

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New computer model predicts prostate cancer progression

An international team of cancer researchers from Denmark and Germany have used cancer patient data to develop a computer model that can predict the course of disease for prostate cancer.

11 Dec 2018

Scientists use water molecules to track electrical activity of nerve cells

Researchers have discovered a new way to monitor electrical activity in nerve cells; by observing water molecules surrounding neuronal membranes.

11 Dec 2018

Sacrificial immune cells alert body to infection

Scientists have discovered a new mechanism by which immune cells burst to alert the body to infection with Yersinia pestis.

11 Dec 2018

Researchers uncover a number of previously unknown insecticide resistance mechanisms

Researchers at LSTM have used a bioinformatics approach to integrate information from multiple studies on insecticide resistance in mosquitoes and uncovered a number of important resistance mechanisms that had not previously been recognized.

11 Dec 2018

New method uses water molecules to unlock neurons' secrets

Neurons are brain cells that communicate with each other by sending electrochemical signals along axons. When a neuron is about to release a signal - in the form of an electric charge - it allows ions to pass through its membrane via ion channels.

11 Dec 2018

Researchers develop new system for efficiently producing human norovirus

An Osaka University-led research team has developed a system for simply and efficiently producing human norovirus. By coaxing human induced pluripotent stem cells to develop into a type of cell that usually lines the intestine, they created a cellular environment that can be used for producing the virus, studying how it interacts with human cells, and investigating potential vaccines.

11 Dec 2018

Lifespan extension at low temperatures depends on individual's genes, study shows

Why do we age? Despite more than a century of research (and a vast industry of youth-promising products), what causes our cells and organs to deteriorate with age is still unknown.

11 Dec 2018

Researchers develop biotechnological tool to produce antifungal proteins in plants

Researchers from the Spanish Research Council at the Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics and the Institute for Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology, in collaboration with the IATA, have developed a biotechnological tool to produce, in a very efficient manner, antifungal proteins in plants.

10 Dec 2018

Insights into protein-protein interactions and methods for designing small molecule inhibitors

Proteins are polymers of amino acids that are linked by peptide bonds and they are one of the major classes of bio-molecules existing in a living organism. Proteins are involved in various cellular functions and events like cell signaling, cell adhesion, metabolic reactions, in the generation of immune response and many more.

10 Dec 2018

Researchers develop new molecular tool to decode sugar-protein attachments

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine have developed a new molecular tool they call EXoO, which decodes where on proteins specific sugars are attached--a possible modification due to disease.

6 Dec 2018

Researchers identify new type of T cell that could play role in cancer, other diseases

Researchers from the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the La Jolla Institute for Immunology have identified a new type of T cell called a phospholipid-reactive T cell that is able to recognize phospholipids, the molecules that help form cells' outer membranes.

6 Dec 2018

Elevated hormone flags liver disease in mice with serious genomic disorder

Researchers have discovered that a hormone, fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), is extremely elevated in mice with liver disease that mimics the same condition in patients with methylmalonic acidemia (MMA), a serious genomic disorder.

6 Dec 2018

Subset of immune B cells delays onset of type 1 diabetes in animal model

Researchers have conducted a study showing that a specific subset of immune B cells delays the onset of type 1 diabetes in mice.

6 Dec 2018

Researchers achieve breakthrough in blood vessel engineering

When someone has a deadly disease or sustains a life-threatening injury, a transplant or graft of new tissue may be the best -- or only -- treatment option.

6 Dec 2018

Researchers create new light-activated tools for controlling neurons

By enabling super-fast remote control of specific cells, light-activated proteins allow researchers to study the function of individual neurons within a large network - even an entire brain. Now one of the pioneers of 'optogenetics' and colleagues have created two new tools - protein pores which when illuminated allow Ca2+ into cells or K+ out - for switching neurons on or off using light.

6 Dec 2018