Molecular & Structural Biology

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Researchers discover new genetic driver of autism and other developmental disorders

A research group including Kobe University's Professor TAKUMI Toru (also a Senior Visiting Scientist at RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research) and Assistant Professor TAMADA Kota, both of the Physiology Division in the Graduate School of Medicine, has revealed a causal gene (Necdin, NDN) in autism model mice that have the chromosomal abnormality called copy number variation.

9 Jul 2021

Immaturity of gut microbiota and epithelial barriers linked to neonatal meningitis

Meningitis is associated with high mortality and frequently causes severe sequelae. Newborn infants are particularly susceptible to this type of infection; they develop meningitis 30 times more often than the general population.

9 Jul 2021

Stimulating immune cells to form special structures can potentiate pancreatic cancer chemotherapy

A new study from Queen Mary University of London has demonstrated that immune cells can be stimulated to assemble into special structures within pancreatic cancer such that, at least in a pre-clinical model, researchers can demonstrate an improvement in the efficacy of chemotherapy.

9 Jul 2021

Study uncovers mutations in Polycomb group gene as underlying cause of novel neurological disorder

A multi-institutional study has discovered spontaneous mutations in RNF2 (RING2) gene as the underlying cause of a novel neurological disorder.

8 Jul 2021

Novel tool enables multi-resolution characterization of molecular taxonomies

The discovery of novel groups or categories within diseases, organisms and biological processes and their organization into hierarchical relationships are important and recurrent pursuits in biology and medicine, which may help elucidate group-specific vulnerabilities and ultimately novel therapeutic interventions.

8 Jul 2021

Researchers determine the structure of nanomachine essential for functioning of mTOR

The principle that form follows function does not only apply to design and architecture. It also applies to biology

8 Jul 2021

An antioxidative stress regulator helps keep muscles from becoming weak in low gravity

Most kids dream of growing up to be astronauts; but the downside of spending extended amounts of time in low gravity is that astronauts' muscles tend to shrink and weaken through disuse. Now, researchers from Japan have identified a protein that affects how muscles respond to space flight.

7 Jul 2021

Common anti-coagulant drug could treat emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2

QUT PhD researcher Zachariah Schuurs said the research team had identified a new binding site on the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.

7 Jul 2021

Study unravels the link between chromosomal instability and cellular senescence

Chromosomal instability is a feature of solid tumours such as carcinoma. Likewise, cellular senescence is a process that is highly related to cellular ageing and its link to cancer is becoming increasingly clear. Scientists led by ICREA researcher Dr. Marco Milán at IRB Barcelona have revealed the link between chromosomal instability and cellular senescence.

7 Jul 2021

First synthetic circuit consists of entirely fast, reversible protein-protein interactions

Synthetic biology offers a way to engineer cells to perform novel functions, such as glowing with fluorescent light when they detect a certain chemical. Usually, this is done by altering cells so they express genes that can be triggered by a certain input.

7 Jul 2021

Synthetic defective SARS-CoV-2 could be used as a self-promoting antiviral therapy

What if the COVID-19 virus could be used against itself? Researchers at Penn State have designed a proof-of-concept therapeutic that may be able to do just that. The team designed a synthetic defective SARS-CoV-2 virus that is innocuous but interferes with the real virus's growth, potentially causing the extinction of both the disease-causing virus and the synthetic virus.

7 Jul 2021

NYUAD researchers unlock an epigenetic code that allows liver regeneration

NYU Abu Dhabi researchers uncovered a code that sets the genome of the liver to account for the remarkable ability for this organ to regenerate.

6 Jul 2021

Scientists unravel how cell death is initiated on a molecular level

The death of cells is well regulated. If it occurs too much, it can cause degenerative diseases. Too little, and cells can become tumors.

6 Jul 2021

22 blood plasma lipids found to be associated with lower symptom improvement in schizophrenia

Researchers from Skoltech and the Mental Health Research Center have found 22 lipids in the blood plasma of people with schizophrenia that were associated with lower symptom improvement over time during treatment.

6 Jul 2021

Scientists discover pathway that sheds new light on brain damage-induced cell division

Most human cells are able to repair damage by dividing at wounds.

6 Jul 2021

Deletion of an embryonic gene in liver cells completely wipes out bile ducts of newborn mice

Scientists from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine described a new phenomenon in which the deletion of a single gene involved in liver embryogenesis completely wipes out bile ducts of newborn mice.

6 Jul 2021

Brain cells snap DNA strands in numerous locations to make memories

The urgency to remember a dangerous experience requires the brain to make a series of potentially dangerous moves: Neurons and other brain cells snap open their DNA in numerous locations--more than previously realized, according to a new study--to provide quick access to genetic instructions for the mechanisms of memory storage.

6 Jul 2021

Metabolomics lab analysis reveals large nutritional differences between near-meat and meat

Plant-based meat substitutes taste and chew remarkably similar to real beef, and the 13 items listed on their nutrition labels - vitamins, fats and protein -- make them seem essentially equivalent.

6 Jul 2021

Study provides a reliable early prognostic biomarker for COVID-19 severity

In a retrospective, multi-centre cohort study conducted by researchers from Nanjing University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Jinling Hospital and the Second Hospital of Nanjing, a microRNA-like small RNA encoded by SARS-CoV-2 was identified in the serum of COVID-19 patients, which can be developed as a non-invasive biomarker for stratification of severe patients from mild/moderate ones and for identification of high-risk individuals before clinical manifestation of severe symptoms.

6 Jul 2021

Laboratory manufactured protein spikes mimic key features of SARS-CoV-2 virus

A new international study has found that the key properties of the spikes of SARS-CoV-2 virus which causes COVID-19 are consistent with those of several laboratory-developed protein spikes, designed to mimic the infectious virus.

6 Jul 2021

Molecular & Structural Biology

Researchers discover new genetic driver of autism and other developmental disorders

Immaturity of gut microbiota and epithelial barriers linked to neonatal meningitis

Stimulating immune cells to form special structures can potentiate pancreatic cancer chemotherapy

Study uncovers mutations in Polycomb group gene as underlying cause of novel neurological disorder

Novel tool enables multi-resolution characterization of molecular taxonomies

Researchers determine the structure of nanomachine essential for functioning of mTOR

An antioxidative stress regulator helps keep muscles from becoming weak in low gravity

Common anti-coagulant drug could treat emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2

Study unravels the link between chromosomal instability and cellular senescence

First synthetic circuit consists of entirely fast, reversible protein-protein interactions

Synthetic defective SARS-CoV-2 could be used as a self-promoting antiviral therapy

NYUAD researchers unlock an epigenetic code that allows liver regeneration

Scientists unravel how cell death is initiated on a molecular level

22 blood plasma lipids found to be associated with lower symptom improvement in schizophrenia

Scientists discover pathway that sheds new light on brain damage-induced cell division

Deletion of an embryonic gene in liver cells completely wipes out bile ducts of newborn mice

Brain cells snap DNA strands in numerous locations to make memories

Metabolomics lab analysis reveals large nutritional differences between near-meat and meat

Study provides a reliable early prognostic biomarker for COVID-19 severity

Laboratory manufactured protein spikes mimic key features of SARS-CoV-2 virus

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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