Molecular & Structural Biology

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Scientists uncover the structure of the first step in amyloid formation for Huntington's disease

Devastating neurodegenerative diseases like Huntington's, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's are all associated with protein deposits in the brain, known as amyloid.

13 Jun 2023

Scientists determine the atomic-level structure of a zinc-transporter protein

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have determined the atomic-level structure of a zinc-transporter protein, a molecular machine that regulates levels of this crucial trace metal micronutrient inside cells.

9 Jun 2023

Cryo-EM reveals key atomic structures of the ends of actin filament

Actin filaments -; protein structures critical to living movement from single cells to animals -; have long been known to have polarity associated with their physical characteristics, with growing "barbed" and shrinking "pointed" ends.

8 Jun 2023

Penn Medicine researchers receive $6 million NIH grant to gain new insights on cardiac cellular identity

Historically, scientists have studied how cells develop and give rise to specialized cells, such as heart, liver, or skin cells, by examining specific proteins.

8 Jun 2023

SARS-CoV-2 virus can cause brain cells to fuse: Study

Researchers at The University of Queensland have discovered viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 can cause brain cells to fuse, initiating malfunctions that lead to chronic neurological symptoms.

8 Jun 2023

DNAmFitAge: A new method to incorporate physical fitness into epigenetic clocks

A new research paper was published in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 15, Issue 10, entitled, "DNAmFitAge: biological age indicator incorporating physical fitness."

7 Jun 2023

Experts provide neural evidence for the glimpsing model of speech perception

Researchers led by Dr. Nima Mesgarani at Columbia University, US, report that the brain treats speech in a crowded room differently depending on how easy it is to hear, and whether we are focusing on it. Publishing June 6th in the open access journal PLOS Biology, the study uses a combination of neural recordings and computer modeling to show that when we follow speech that is being drowned out by louder voices, phonetic information is encoded differently than in the opposite situation. The findings could help improve hearing aids that work by isolating attended speech.

7 Jun 2023

Study reveals intricate pathway that dictates the cell’s ability to be resilient and plastic

Researchers have long thought that once a cell starts down its path of differentiation, growing into a skin cell or a liver cell or a neuron, that path could not be changed.

7 Jun 2023

Chain reaction: Nutritional keys to a healthier diet may lie in unraveling starch structures

The chain length distribution (CLD) of starch plays a crucial role in human health, affecting the digestibility of starch-containing foods and correlating with diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. By understanding and manipulating CLDs, it is possible to develop plant varieties that provide improved health properties in starch-based foods.

6 Jun 2023

World's fastest camera can detect fluorescence from single molecules

Researchers at Kyoto University, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), and Photron Limited in Japan have developed the world's fastest camera capable of detecting fluorescence from single molecules.

6 Jun 2023

Efficient machine learning pipeline predicts the location of nanoscale interactions

Identifying whether and how a nanoparticle and protein will bind with one another is an important step toward being able to design antibiotics and antivirals on demand, and a computer model developed at the University of Michigan can do it.

6 Jun 2023

How lipid metabolites in the gut aid in regulatory T-cell differentiation

Researchers describe the Treg-cell-inducing activity of lipid extracts from the feces of specific-pathogen-free mice.

6 Jun 2023

Study provides a treasure trove of information on molecular biology of the immune system

Researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys, collaborating with scientists from Eli Lilly and Company, have revealed the structure and function of a drug called LY3361237, which can reduce the harmful activity of the immune system to help treat autoimmune diseases.

5 Jun 2023

Groundbreaking study maps molecular architecture of the visual system's integral components

A groundbreaking study has taken a significant step towards understanding the complexities of the human eye.

4 Jun 2023

Multiple sclerosis: Immune cell invasion enabled by blood-brain barrier breakdown

Blood-brain barrier breakdown in multiple sclerosis leads to immune cell infiltration into the central nervous system. Antigen presentation at the barrier promotes CD8+ T cell entry, triggering focal breakdown and hindering their invasion.

4 Jun 2023

How does a riboswitch regulate its own synthesis?

To prevent a global health crisis, scientists around the world are searching for ways to fight bacteria that can evade the current arsenal of antibiotics.

2 Jun 2023

Experts find remnants of ancient RNA viruses embedded inside reef-building corals

An international team of marine biologists has discovered the remnants of ancient RNA viruses embedded in the DNA of symbiotic organisms living inside reef-building corals.

2 Jun 2023

Artificial viral vectors constructed from bacteriophage T4 show promise for advanced gene delivery

Research presents an assembly-line approach using bacteriophage T4 components to construct artificial viral vectors (AVVs). These AVVs have the potential to revolutionize gene therapies and personalized medicine by enabling the efficient delivery of biomolecules for molecular repairs and genome remodeling.

1 Jun 2023

Peptidomimetic antibiotics may be effective against resistant bacteria

Health professionals are in urgent need of new antibiotics to tackle resistant bacteria. Researchers at the University of Zurich and the company Spexis have now modified the chemical structure of naturally occurring peptides to develop antimicrobial molecules that bind to novel targets in the bacteria's metabolism.

1 Jun 2023

Study sheds light on metabolic enzymes and processes essential for DNA damage repair

In crisis, the nucleus calls antioxidant enzymes to the rescue. The nucleus being metabolically active is a profound paradigm shift with implications for cancer research.

1 Jun 2023

Molecular & Structural Biology

Scientists uncover the structure of the first step in amyloid formation for Huntington's disease

Scientists determine the atomic-level structure of a zinc-transporter protein

Cryo-EM reveals key atomic structures of the ends of actin filament

Penn Medicine researchers receive $6 million NIH grant to gain new insights on cardiac cellular identity

SARS-CoV-2 virus can cause brain cells to fuse: Study

DNAmFitAge: A new method to incorporate physical fitness into epigenetic clocks

Experts provide neural evidence for the glimpsing model of speech perception

Study reveals intricate pathway that dictates the cell’s ability to be resilient and plastic

Chain reaction: Nutritional keys to a healthier diet may lie in unraveling starch structures

World's fastest camera can detect fluorescence from single molecules

Efficient machine learning pipeline predicts the location of nanoscale interactions

How lipid metabolites in the gut aid in regulatory T-cell differentiation

Study provides a treasure trove of information on molecular biology of the immune system

Groundbreaking study maps molecular architecture of the visual system's integral components

Multiple sclerosis: Immune cell invasion enabled by blood-brain barrier breakdown

How does a riboswitch regulate its own synthesis?

Experts find remnants of ancient RNA viruses embedded inside reef-building corals

Artificial viral vectors constructed from bacteriophage T4 show promise for advanced gene delivery

Peptidomimetic antibiotics may be effective against resistant bacteria

Study sheds light on metabolic enzymes and processes essential for DNA damage repair

Small solutions for big problems in drug discovery and delivery

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production

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