Cell Membrane News and Research

RSS

New nanoparticles can deliver mRNA encoding CRISPR/Cas9 components to the lungs

Engineers at MIT and the University of Massachusetts Medical School have designed a new type of nanoparticle that can be administered to the lungs, where it can deliver messenger RNA encoding useful proteins.

31 Mar 2023

Harnessing a natural bacterial system to deliver proteins in mice and human cells

Researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT have harnessed a natural bacterial system to develop a new protein delivery approach that works in human cells and animals.

30 Mar 2023

Metabolic reactions upon activating Akt2 enzyme revealed

Takeaki Ozawa and his team from the University of Tokyo reveal the metabolic reactions upon activating an enzyme called Akt2.

22 Feb 2023

Accelerating the structure-guided discovery of chemogenetic tools

In order to more fully understand how diseases arise in the brain, scientists must unravel the intricate way neurons relay messages (either chemical or electrical) along a complex web of nerve cells. One way is by using a tool called DREADDs, which stands for Designer Receptors Activated by Designer Drugs.

21 Feb 2023

Location is the key for psychedelic drugs to work

Location, location, location is the key for psychedelic drugs that could treat mental illness by rapidly rebuilding connections between nerve cells.

17 Feb 2023

New approach to better target cellular proteins

By studying how enzymes move from one membrane compartment to another inside a cell, scientists at the University of Illinois Chicago have figured out a way to better target cellular proteins, which play a role in many diseases.

16 Feb 2023

Study reveals how two proteins enable drug-resistant MRSA bacterium to secrete toxins

Antimicrobial resistance represents one of the top 10 global public health threats according to the World Health Organization, and scientists have been scrambling to find new tools to cure the most deadly drug-resistant infections.

14 Feb 2023

Synthetic biosensor could lead to better understanding of cell biology

A synthetic biosensor that mimics properties found in cell membranes and provides an electronic readout of activity could lead to a better understanding of cell biology, development of new drugs, and the creation of sensory organs on a chip capable of detecting chemicals, similar to how noses and tongues work.

8 Feb 2023

Study sheds new light on a lifestyle switch that occurs in marine bacteria

Scientists have detailed a lifestyle switch that occurs in marine bacteria, where they change from coexisting with algae hosts in a mutually beneficial interaction to suddenly killing them.

25 Jan 2023

Intracellular drug delivery using a novel nano transporter

The effectiveness of a novel nano molecule as a drug delivery system has been examined in a recent study by the University of Barcelona.

From University of Barcelona 13 Jan 2023

Structure of the complete virion of S. epidermidis–infecting phage revealed

Scientists from the University of Alabama at Birmingham used cryo-electron microscopy to reveal the structure of a bacterial virus in extraordinary detail.

20 Dec 2022

Deubiquitinating enzymes vital for endosomal transport identified

The University of Konstanz’s Plant Physiology and Biochemistry research group has discovered previously unrecognized molecular mechanisms by which plants acclimatize to their environment—vital basic knowledge in times of climate change.

28 Nov 2022

Rapid fluctuations in electrical activity within breast cancer cells identified

Recent research has discovered that the membranes of breast cancer cells have varying voltages, revealing information regarding their growth and spread.

15 Nov 2022

IBS team uncovers new antiviral compounds derived from two Korean native plants

Codonopsis lanceolata, more commonly referred to as "deodeok", is used as a medicinal herb in South Korea.

14 Nov 2022

Innovative strategy for studying membrane proteins

Membrane proteins are vital therapeutic targets. They exist between the interior and exterior of human cells. Some of them, known as “transporters,” transport substances into and out of the cellular environment.

26 Oct 2022

The influence of fatty acid metabolism on plant immunity

Most people do not realize that fatty acids can be found in a nutritious salad. Although fatty acids, lipids, and fats may seem unappealing, they are essential to human life and to the plants that are consumed.

17 Oct 2022

Nonconducting W434F mutant varies in structure and conformation

Potassium (K+) channels are tiny, highly specialized conduits found in every live cell that transfer K+ ions in an exceedingly selective and quick manner across cell membranes.

13 Oct 2022

Broadening the scope of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing systems

A group of Northwestern University researchers has created a novel gene editing platform that might influence the future application of a nearly infinite library of CRISPR-based therapeutics.

7 Oct 2022

Novel molecular mechanism of focal adhesion kinase inhibition in HD

Principal researchers at the Brain Science Institute (BSI) of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology were said to have discovered substantially decreased activity of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) proteins that play a significant role in neurite motility and proper synapse formation in HD patients’ brain tissues.

19 Sep 2022

Studying cell membranes’ role in allowing viruses’ spike proteins to infect cells

University of Alberta’s study demonstrates the way cell membranes perform a much bigger role than that was understood in enabling spike proteins on viruses to affect cells.

19 Sep 2022