Molecular & Structural Biology

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Japanese researchers use pluripotent stem cells to reproduce higher-order kidney structures

In the embryonic kidney, three types of precursor cells, nephron progenitor cells, ureteric buds, and interstitial progenitor cells, interact to form three-dimensional structures of the kidney.

20 Dec 2017

Epigenetics: A New Tool for Forensic Detectives

Developing analytical methods can help the triers of fact, judges and juries, better understand the events surrounding the circumstances of a crime. In forensic analysis, we are talking about determining the identity of unknown individuals through DNA and using DNA and other chemical signatures to determine and clarify the circumstances of the crime.

From Pittcon 20 Dec 2017

Bruker Biospec MRI device installed at The Weizmann Institute of Science

The Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, today announced the installation of the Biospec® 15.2 Tesla USR™ preclinical ultra-high field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) instrument from Bruker. The new instrument is installed in the Daniel Wolf building of the Department of Chemical Research, and is used by the MRI Biosensors laboratory, led by Dr. Bar-Shir, and the laboratory of Professor Neeman, to open new frontiers in molecular and microscopic imaging, adding to the team's existing world-class MRI instruments.

From Bruker BioSpin - NMR, EPR and Imaging 19 Dec 2017

Advances in BioAFM

AFM is quite a versatile technique and we see a great potential of this technology for life science applications. It is still fairly new in Bio community, however very well accepted not only as imaging tools but as a versatile instrument for nanomechanical measurements.

From Bruker Nano Surfaces and Metrology 19 Dec 2017

Pittcon Release eBook Featuring the Latest Scientific Advances

Ahead of the 2018 conference and expo, Pittcon has released an eBook that highlights the latest advances in a range of scientific disciplines. It is an ‘ultimate compilation’ of scientific articles and interviews with some of the worlds leading scientists.

From Pittcon 19 Dec 2017

Study shows vital role for maternally inherited gene in embryonic development

A new study indicates an essential role for a maternally inherited gene in embryonic development. The study found that zebrafish that failed to inherit specific genetic instructions from mom developed fatal defects earlier in development, even if the fish could make their own version of the gene.

18 Dec 2017

New insights into mosquito sex protein could provide strategies to control diseases

If you thought the sex lives of humans were complicated, consider the case of the female Aedes aegypti mosquito, bringer of Zika, dengue, and yellow fever: She mates but once, in seconds and on the wing, with one lucky male; spurns all further advances from other potential suitors; and stores enough sperm from that single encounter to lay more than 500 eggs, which she nourishes with the blood of human hosts.

13 Dec 2017

Caris Life Sciences reveals identification of new mechanism of action to treat NHL

Caris Life Sciences, a leading innovator in molecular science focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine, today announced a data presentation, at the 59th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition in Atlanta, demonstrating the identification of a new mechanism of action to treat non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).

13 Dec 2017

Study identifies potassium as key to circadian rhythms in red blood cells

An innovative new study from the University of Surrey and Cambridge's MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications, has uncovered the secrets of the circadian rhythms in red blood cells and identified potassium as the key to unraveling the mystery.

12 Dec 2017

Researchers develop molecular beacon to find hypoxic spots in real time

Areas of hypoxia, or low oxygen in tissue, are hallmarks of fast-growing cancers and of blockages or narrowing in blood vessels, such as stroke or peripheral artery disease. University of Illinois researchers have developed a way to find hypoxic spots noninvasively in real time.

8 Dec 2017

Researchers establish function of long RNA strands in skin development and disease

Researchers have found out how long pieces of RNA called “long non-coding RNAs” (LncRNAs) work in skin cells to modulate connective tissue proteins such as collagen, potentially laying the foundations for new skin repair therapies.

7 Dec 2017

Biological Applications of AFM

An interview with Samuel Lesko, European Applications Manager, Bruker Nano Surfaces conducted by April Cashin-Garbutt, MA (Cantab).

From Bruker Nano Surfaces and Metrology 5 Dec 2017

Overcoming Challenges of Assays of Complex Cellular Models with Real-Time Live-Cell Analysis

There's a continued drive towards making in vitro assays ever more translational towards in vivo models and ultimately the clinic. This ties in with the resurgence of phenotypic screening and is a response to the perceived poor translation of the traditional simple cell-based assays, often developed to study just single protein targets.

From Sartorius 5 Dec 2017

Malvern Panalytical Announce Efforts Towards a Platform For Protein Aggregation Profiling

Malvern Panalytical announces the launch of a collaborative project which aims to support the development of existing and next generation biopharmaceutical products.

From Malvern Panalytical 4 Dec 2017

Fish oil component provides long-term preconditioning protection for vision cells

A team of LSU Health New Orleans scientists discovered that a component of fish oil not only protects cells critical to vision from potentially lethal initial insults, but also from those that occur in the future.

1 Dec 2017

Scientists use computer analysis to complete antibody blueprint

Antibodies defend our bodies against intruders. These molecules consist of proteins with attached sugars. However, the blueprint directing the processing of these sugars on the protein was not well understood until now.

30 Nov 2017

Researchers create first semi-synthetic organism that can store and use unnatural genetic information

Researchers from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have designed a bacterium that incorporates two unnatural bases, called X and Y, into genes, in addition to the four natural DNA bases − G, C, A and T − that usually code for proteins.

30 Nov 2017

USC researchers propose rules for making ribs

Scientists from the USC Stem Cell lab of Francesca Mariani recently shared a recipe for ribs, and it doesn't even require barbecue sauce.

29 Nov 2017

Researchers solve 3D structure of primary optogenetic tool

An international team of researchers from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, the Institut de Biologie Structurale, and the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics has determined the 3-D structure of channelrhodopsin 2, a membrane protein widely used in optogenetics to control nerve cells with light.

28 Nov 2017

Johns Hopkins researchers crack key part of mystery surrounding proteins

What makes the body of a person or any other organism work can, for the most part, be summed up in a word: proteins.