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The Role of DNA Repair Pathways in Antibody Somatic Hypermutation

In a recent online publication in SCIENCE CHINA Life Sciences, researchers from the laboratory of Leng-Siew Yeap at the Shanghai Institute of Immunology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine published a review article entitled "Molecular Mechanisms of DNA Lesion and Repair During Antibody Somatic Hypermutation". This review comprehensively summarizes the mechanisms involved in the generation of antigen-specific diversified antibodies, with a particular focus on the mechanisms that generate high-frequency point mutations and low-frequency deletions and insertions (indels) in antibody genes.

22 Aug 2024

Breakthrough Discovery in Mitochondrial Recycling Could Impact Health Treatments

Mitochondria, the so-called "powerhouse of the cell," depend on a newly discovered recycling mechanism identified by scientists at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids).

22 Aug 2024

Scientists Discover How AML Cells Use P-Bodies to Sustain Growth

An international team of scientists has uncovered a mechanism by which acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells sustain their growth.

22 Aug 2024

Ancient Microbes Shaped Modern Immune Systems

When you get infected with a virus, some of the first weapons your body deploys to fight it were passed down to us from our microbial ancestors billions of years ago.

22 Aug 2024

Study Reveals Dual Role of Skin Proteins in Strength and Cell Signaling

An extensive family of proteins that gives human skin mechanical strength also appears to organize molecular signals that control skin cell activity, a study led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers shows.

22 Aug 2024

Mother's Gut Microbiome Key to Baby's Brain Development

A study in mice has discovered that the presence of Bifidobacterium breve bacteria in the mother's gut during pregnancy promotes healthy brain development in the fetus.

22 Aug 2024

Honeybees Contribute to Bumble Bee Virus Prevalence

Honey bees might contribute to rising virus levels in wild bumble bees each spring, according to Penn State researchers who studied seasonal patterns of parasite and virus transmission in bees.

22 Aug 2024

Mitochondrial DNA Enzymes Prevent Disease Mutations

Researchers at the University of Queensland have identified a mechanism in DNA that controls the inheritance of disease-causing mutations.

22 Aug 2024

Enzyme Therapy Shows Promise for Parkinson's Disease

A preclinical investigation conducted by Weill Cornell Medicine researchers has shown an unexpectedly important role for an enzyme called PGK1 in the synthesis of chemical energy in brain cells.

22 Aug 2024

Revealing Neural Basis of Categorizing and Remembering Novel Information

Scientists at the University of California, Irvine have pinpointed the brain cells involved in remembering specific details of events.

22 Aug 2024

Bad Bacteria Use Electric Signals to Find Entry Points in the Gut

How do bad bacteria find entry points in the body to cause infection? This question is fundamental for infectious disease experts and people who study bacteria.

21 Aug 2024

UChicago Team Secures $7.4 Million Grant to Study Cellular Adaptation

Cells use a variety of processes to adapt to changes and stressors in their environment, like increased temperature.

21 Aug 2024

Breakthrough Discovery in DNA Spatial Grammar Could Reshape Gene Activity Studies

A newly discovered code within DNA – coined "spatial grammar" – holds a key to understanding how gene activity is encoded in the human genome.

21 Aug 2024

Harnessing the Power of Gut Bacteria to Combat Drug Resistance

There are approximately 100 trillion microbes in the human gut on average, and many of them are always vying for scarce resources.

20 Aug 2024

Discovery of Ancient Stem Cells in Sea Anemones Offers Clues to Immortality and Regeneration

The sea anemone Nematostella vectensis is potentially immortal. Using molecular genetic methods, developmental biologists led by Ulrich Technau from the University of Vienna have now identified possible candidates for multipotent stem cells in the sea anemone for the first time.

20 Aug 2024

Breakthrough Research Reveals Early Development of Eye Macrophages in Mice

Macrophages, also known as scavenger cells, are part of our immune system. They destroy invading pathogens and are found in the organs and the bloodstream.

20 Aug 2024

Chloroplast Genome Research Enhances Identification and Breeding of Tea-Oil Camellia Species

A research team sequenced and analyzed the complete chloroplast genomes of C. oleifera and C. meiocarpa, uncovering significant differences that clarified their phylogenetic relationship.

20 Aug 2024

Fungal Pathogen Behind Banana Wipeout Identified

The fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense (Foc) tropical race 4 (TR4) is the source of the disease Fusarium wilt of banana (FWB), which is threatening to functionally wipe out the bananas in the supermarket and consumed as breakfast.

19 Aug 2024

Enhanced Drug Discovery with Novel Sulfur Fluoride Exchange Reagent

Researchers at the Moffitt Cancer Center have created a new reagent that improves drug production precision. This novel approach, described in Nature Communications, presents a new sulfur fluoride exchange (SuFEx) reagent that enables the highly regulated manufacture of important sulfur-based compounds such as sulfinamides, sulfonimidamides, and sulfoximines.

19 Aug 2024

New AI Tool Predicts Protein Behavior in Cellular Context

A fish on land can still wave its fins, but the outcomes are very different when the creature is in water. The comparison, attributed to prominent computer scientist Alan Kay, is used to demonstrate the importance of context in clarifying research issues.

19 Aug 2024