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Tighter Core of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein in New Variants Likely Improved the Virus's Ability to Infect Host Cells

Just as a tight core is a component of good physical fitness for humans, helping to stabilize our bodies, mutations that tightened the core of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in new variants may have increased the virus's fitness.

3 Apr 2023

Six compounds contribute to the fermented coffee experience, scientists report

Specialty coffees are gaining traction in coffeehouses around the world -; and now a fermented version could bring a fruity taste to your morning cup of joe.

30 Mar 2023

Meta-scale approach to quantifying the protein variants in the human body

A key conundrum in biology is why many very simple creatures, such as the widely studied worm C. elegans, have almost as many genes as the human genome, which has about 20,000 genes.

27 Mar 2023

Deactivating mosquito sperm to control populations of Culex

New UC Riverside research makes it likely that proteins responsible for activating mosquito sperm can be shut down, preventing them from swimming to or fertilizing eggs.

22 Mar 2023

Novel newborn screening test for HCU works by measuring homocysteine levels

Scientists have developed a test that could greatly improve quality of life for infants with homocystinuria (HCU)-;a congenital disease that, if not treated early, causes serious complications. Research demonstrating the efficacy of this test was published today in AACC's Clinical Chemistry journal.

16 Mar 2023

Novel method quantifies the total polysulfide content in fresh vegetables

Sulfur-rich foods, like onions and garlic, have long been recognized to have health-promoting properties. It has been difficult to investigate how food containing sulfur compounds enhances health because the levels—and types—of reactive polysulfides found in various vegetables have not been adequately assessed.

14 Mar 2023

Novel protein complex plays a significant role in RNA protection

Two proteins help in protecting and stabilizing RNA as it travels through the cell carrying muscle-forming code. Studying this RNA-stabilizing complex further may have ramifications for muscle recovery and disease treatment.

10 Mar 2023

Scientists unravel the secrets of polydopamine coatings

Dopamine is best known as a neurotransmitter. What is rather unknown, however, the underwater glue used by mussels contains large amounts of L-Dopa molecules, an analog of dopamine.

17 Feb 2023

Beef, pork, chicken, and other meats contain new antioxidants, analysis reveals

Imidazole dipeptides (IDPs), which are abundant in meat and fish, are substances produced in the bodies of various animals, including humans, and have been reported to be effective in relieving fatigue and preventing dementia.

17 Feb 2023

Novel analytical platform quantitatively characterizes mRNA vaccines

Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University and RIKEN CSRS have developed a new analytical platform based on liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry and software analysis that quantifies the structure of messenger RNA (mRNA) based medicines.

14 Feb 2023

Robust new method accurately identifies eight antidepressants

In recent years, a mass spectrometry process that can detect the amounts of drugs in a biological sample, such as blood, has become a powerful diagnostic tool for helping medical professionals identify and monitor levels of therapeutic drugs in patients, which can cause unwanted or dangerous side effects.

14 Feb 2023

Prolonged alcohol use and its detrimental effects on blood protein snapshot

Jon Jacobs, a biochemist, has examined the blood of people suffering from diseases including Ebola, cancer, TB, hepatitis, diabetes, Lyme disease, brain damage, and influenza.

10 Feb 2023

Learning about cellular proteins through “snapshots” of translation

Pep-tRNAs, nascent polypeptides inside the ribosome that are covalently connected to transfer RNA, are engaged in a variety of cell processes, including gene expression, according to advances in molecular biology.

1 Feb 2023

A high-throughput drug discovery assay for the endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 1

The January 2023 issue of SLAS Discovery contains a collection of four full-length articles and one technical brief covering cancer research, high-throughput screening (HTS) assay development and other drug discovery exploration.

31 Jan 2023

Analyzing the success rate of cell-cell metabolite exchange

It is said that when there is an exchange of metabolic products of the cells with other cells, their lifespan gets longer. This discovery has been given by a research group at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, which made the breakthrough in a study with the help of yeast cells.

11 Jan 2023

Plankton could hold key for understanding link between ocean pollution and human health

Plankton may offer a way to monitor historical marine pollution trends, and could be used to predict trends in human health, according to new research.

10 Jan 2023

Ancient environmental DNA used to map a two-million-year-old ecosystem

Around 2 million years ago climate in Greenland resembled that forecasted under future warming containing trees such as poplars and birch and animals like hare, lemmings, mastodons and reindeer.

9 Dec 2022

UJ scientists find a faster way to screen soil bacteria as potential biologicals

Researchers found a much faster way to screen soil bacteria as potential biostimulants and bio-pesticides.

2 Nov 2022

Discovering H2O2 sensing capacity in plants that control immunity

All aerobic organisms produce the molecule hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). When present in low concentrations, it acts as a crucial secondary signal to control a variety of biological processes, including but not limited to plant-microbe interactions, abiotic stress tolerance, pollen tube growth, root hair formation, leaf cell expansion, and Casparian strip formation.

20 Oct 2022