Molecular & Structural Biology

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Research uncovers how the immune system detects DNA damage

Our immune system is working every day to protect us from bacteria, viruses, and parasites, but it can also detect when our own cells are damaged.

6 Sep 2018

Lymph node structural cells exert control over T cell responses

Until now, the study of the immune system has focused almost exclusively on white blood cells, and T cells in particular, as the body’s major infection fighters.

6 Sep 2018

Discovering Prion-like Proteins in Eukaryotic Viruses

Dr. George Tetz discusses the discovery of prion-like domains in eukaryotic viruses, and the implications of this study on gene therapies and common neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's Disease.

6 Sep 2018

Biophysicists propose new way to identify crucial factors for protein folding

A protein's folding patterns help them perform their dedicated tasks. As the real "doers" of the cell, even a tiny alteration in a protein's amino acid backbone can cause misfolding and hinder the protein's functionality or cause disease.

5 Sep 2018

Researchers identify enzyme that plays vital role in sexual development of fungi

Biologists at Ruhr-Universität Bochum and Georg-August-Universität Göttingen have gained new insights into specific enzymes that effect the specialization of fungal cells.

5 Sep 2018

Mechanical properties of viral DNA influence the course of infection, study finds

A new study reveals a previously unknown mechanism that governs whether viruses that infect bacteria will quickly kill their hosts or remain latent inside the cell. The discovery, reported in the journal eLife, also may apply to viruses that infect humans and other animals, the researcher said.

5 Sep 2018

Researchers discover how a protein complex safeguards against certain brain tumors

Researchers have discovered how a molecule can help prevent certain types of brain tumors by recognizing and 'disarming' harmful proteins that cause them.

5 Sep 2018

New method identifies 25 genetic changes associated with longer human lifespan

A new method has made it possible to identify twenty-five parallel mutations located in genes associated with wound healing, blood coagulation and cardiovascular disorders. The results could help to develop new drugs to treat aging-related diseases.

5 Sep 2018

Research reveals noise-canceling mechanisms in developmental biology

Noise is usually considered a nuisance, for example when preventing us from clearly hearing what someone is saying. The general concept of noise applies more broadly. In biology, the physical differences between organisms of the same type, for example two humans, originate from so-called developmental noise -- ultimately stemming from probabilistic collisions between reacting molecules and environmental conditions in cells during the early stages of the organism's growth.

4 Sep 2018

Study reveals sex-specific differences in mice microglia

Researchers in Berlin have described significant differences in the brain immune cells (microglia) of male and female mice.

4 Sep 2018

Five microRNAs predict course, recurrence of HPV-negative head and neck cancer

A new method predicts the course of HPV-negative head and neck cancer after radiation chemotherapy.

4 Sep 2018

Gene editing could prevent the evolution of drug-resistant bacteria

Researchers have found a way of preventing the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, a promising new discovery in the fight against deadly superbugs.

3 Sep 2018

Neutrophil nanosponges provide hope for rheumatoid arthritis

Scientists in San Diego have developed nanosponges coated in neutrophil membranes that can prevent rheumatoid arthritis.

3 Sep 2018

Breakthrough study sheds light on mechanism underlying Warsaw Breakage Syndrome

Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University and the FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology in Italy have uncovered a previously unknown function of the DDX11 helicase enzyme.

3 Sep 2018

A genetic signal-transmission system for the gut microbiome

More than 1,000 species of bacteria have been identified in the human gut, and understanding this incredibly diverse "microbiome" that can greatly impact health and disease is a hot topic in scientific research.

31 Aug 2018

Scientists shed light on how dangerous inflammations are caused in the brain

The so-called CB1 receptor is responsible for the intoxicating effect of cannabis. However, it appears to act also as a kind of “sensor” with which neurons measure and control the activity of certain immune cells in the brain.

31 Aug 2018

UQ researchers discover new immune defense pathway deployed against bacteria

A new understanding of one of the body’s immune defense mechanisms could lead to the development of novel therapeutic targets for conditions such as cancer and autoimmune diseases, a University of Queensland study has revealed.

31 Aug 2018

Research shows proteomics can be used to predict evolution of triple negative breast cancer

The rarest, but also the most aggressive and hard to treat form of breast cancer, is known as triple negative. For this type of cancer, researchers have so far been unable to identify markers that can classify patients by prognosis or probability of responding to different treatments.

29 Aug 2018

Protein aggregates may play protection role against toxic stresses

Protein aggregates have a bad reputation in conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, but in bacteria, inheritance of aggregates by daughter cells may help protect against the same toxic stresses that triggered them in parental cells, according to a new study publishing 28 August in the open access journal PLOS Biology, by Sander Govers, Abram Aertsen, and colleagues at KU Leuven, Belgium.

29 Aug 2018

New technique for mapping flow of biomolecules in tumor microenvironment

Cancer researchers struggle to identify tumor cells that are interspersed within nonmalignant tissues because tumor cells exploit the tissue environment and monopolize available resources to continue growing.

29 Aug 2018