Molecular & Structural Biology

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Increasing sodium and calcium levels in the bloodstream helps prevent deadly arrhythmias

Blood may seem like a simple fluid, but its chemistry is complex. When too much potassium, for instance, accumulates in the bloodstream, patients may experience deadly irregular heart rhythms.

4 May 2021

Too much salt affects the functioning of phagocytes

For many of us, adding salt to a meal is a perfectly normal thing to do. We don't really think about it. But actually, we should. As well as raising our blood pressure, too much salt can severely disrupt the energy balance in immune cells and stop them from working properly.

30 Apr 2021

Researchers identify important factor in the development of dendritic cells

The human immune system comprises functionally specialized cellular defense mechanisms that protect the body against disease. These include the dendritic cells.

30 Apr 2021

Researchers reveal how the brain may adapt to processing complex information

Human decision-making depends on the flexible processing of complex information, but how the brain may adapt processing to momentary task demands has remained unclear.

29 Apr 2021

Researchers try to simplify gene nomenclature across various organisms

Constantina Theofanopoulou wanted to study oxytocin. Her graduate work had focused on how the hormone influences human speech development, and now she was preparing to use those findings to investigate how songbirds learn to sing. The problem was that birds do not have oxytocin. Or so she was told.

29 Apr 2021

Researchers investigate how the brain's circadian rhythm control center regulates behavior

Our bodies and behaviors often seem to have rhythms of their own. Why do we go to the bathroom at the same time every day? Why do we feel off if we can't go to sleep at the right time? Circadian rhythms are a behind-the-scenes force that shape many of our behaviors and our health.

28 Apr 2021

Nanobodies may be the key to blocking tick-borne bacterial infection

Tiny molecules called nanobodies, which can be designed to mimic antibody structures and functions, may be the key to blocking a tick-borne bacterial infection that remains out of reach of almost all antibiotics, new research suggests.

28 Apr 2021

Researchers suggest new approach to build a 'nanopore' biosensor for detecting specific molecules

Researchers have spent more than three decades developing and studying miniature biosensors that can identify single molecules. In five to 10 years, when such devices may become a staple in doctors' offices, they could detect molecular markers for cancer and other diseases and assess the effectiveness of drug treatment to fight those illnesses.

28 Apr 2021

Novel platform has potential to detect many disease-related biomarkers in just one test

Most conventional molecular diagnostics usually detect only a single disease-related biomarker. Great examples are the PCR tests currently used to diagnose COVID-19 by detecting a specific sequence from SARS-CoV-2.

28 Apr 2021

Study reveals the role of lncRNAs in immune dysfunction during severe COVID-19

Scientific studies rarely focus on long non-coding RNA molecules (lncRNAs), even though they potentially regulate several diseases. The role of several lncRNAs in anti-viral inflammatory response regulation has recently been reported.

28 Apr 2021

Scientists gain atomic-level insight into behavior of a protein that promotes cancer growth

The neutron reflexometry method has given scientists an atomic-level insight into the behavior of Bcl-2, a protein that promotes cancerous cell growth. The new study was carried out by Umeå chemists in collaboration with the research facilities ESS and ISIS and is published in Nature Communications Biology.

28 Apr 2021

Scientists identify many genes that are important in fruit flies' neuron development

Neurons result from a highly complex and unique series of cell divisions. For example, in fruit flies, the process starts with stem cells that divide into mother cells (progenitor cells), that then divide into precursor cells that eventually become neurons.

27 Apr 2021

Cholestenone could be a new antibacterial drug against H. pylori

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), a gram-negative pathogen that has infected half of the world's population is a Group I carcinogen according to the WHO. H. pylori resides in the gastric mucosa causing gastritis, ulcers, gastric cancers and malignant lymphoma of the stomach.

27 Apr 2021

Study may provide a basis for oral insulin development using DNP peptides

Researchers from Kumamoto University, Japan have found that DNP peptide, a small intestine-permeable cyclic peptide originally used as an insulin additive to improve absorption into the small intestinal, lowers blood glucose levels in mice.

26 Apr 2021

AI platform can identify specific proteins that allow bacteria to infect the intestines

Researchers from Tel Aviv University have created an artificial intelligence platform that can identify the specific proteins that allow bacteria to infect the intestines - a method that paves the way for the creation of smart drugs that will neutralize the proteins and prevent disease, without the use of antibiotics.

26 Apr 2021

Researchers investigate how oxygen radicals protect against cancer

Originally, oxygen radicals - reactive oxygen species, or ROS for short - were considered to be exclusively harmful in the body.

26 Apr 2021

New potential target for treating metastasized oral malignant melanoma in dogs

Scientists have shown that the biological molecule PD-L1 is a potential target for the treatment of metastasized oral malignant melanoma in dogs.

23 Apr 2021

Researchers discover molecule that provides dual protection against vascular inflammation

A multidisciplinary team of researchers from Duke-NUS Medical School and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) in Singapore discovered a new mitochondrial peptide called MOCCI that plays an important role in regulating inflammation of blood vessel and immunity.

22 Apr 2021

Interleukin 11-producing fibroblasts can be potential therapeutic targets for treating colorectal cancer

IL-11 is known to promote the development of colorectal cancer in humans and mice, but when and where IL-11 is expressed during cancer development is unknown.

22 Apr 2021

RNA secondary structures can contribute strongly to gene regulation, research shows

A team of scientists from Russia studied the role of double-stranded fragments of the maturing RNA and showed that the interaction between distant parts of the RNA can regulate gene expression. The research was published in Nature Communications.

22 Apr 2021

Molecular & Structural Biology

Increasing sodium and calcium levels in the bloodstream helps prevent deadly arrhythmias

Too much salt affects the functioning of phagocytes

Researchers identify important factor in the development of dendritic cells

Researchers reveal how the brain may adapt to processing complex information

Researchers try to simplify gene nomenclature across various organisms

Researchers investigate how the brain's circadian rhythm control center regulates behavior

Nanobodies may be the key to blocking tick-borne bacterial infection

Researchers suggest new approach to build a 'nanopore' biosensor for detecting specific molecules

Novel platform has potential to detect many disease-related biomarkers in just one test

Study reveals the role of lncRNAs in immune dysfunction during severe COVID-19

Scientists gain atomic-level insight into behavior of a protein that promotes cancer growth

Scientists identify many genes that are important in fruit flies' neuron development

Cholestenone could be a new antibacterial drug against H. pylori

Study may provide a basis for oral insulin development using DNP peptides

AI platform can identify specific proteins that allow bacteria to infect the intestines

Researchers investigate how oxygen radicals protect against cancer

New potential target for treating metastasized oral malignant melanoma in dogs

Researchers discover molecule that provides dual protection against vascular inflammation

Interleukin 11-producing fibroblasts can be potential therapeutic targets for treating colorectal cancer

RNA secondary structures can contribute strongly to gene regulation, research shows

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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