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Breakthrough Microscopy Sheds Light on the Dynamics of Biomolecular Condensates

Biomolecular condensates are shifting blobs in our cells that organize cellular matter. They are distinct molecular communities made of DNA, RNA and proteins that "condense" molecules to key locations, yet they frequently defy description.

17 Mar 2025

Novel Enzyme for Synthesizing β-1,2-Galactooligosaccharides

Carbohydrate chains, also known as glycans, are intricate sugar-like molecules that are crucial for various biological functions and structures within human bodies.

7 Mar 2025

Cryo-EM Uncovers Hidden Complexity in Collagen Structure

The most prevalent protein in the body, collagen, has long been thought to be a predictable structural element of tissues.

10 Feb 2025

Can Mechanochemistry Provide Greener Options for Pharmaceutical Manufacturing?

This study reveals efficient synthesis of ibuprofen:nicotinamide co-crystals via mechanochemistry, highlighting sustainability in pharmaceutical production.

27 Jan 2025

DNA Stretching: Minimizing Thermal Fluctuations for Imaging

The majority of microscopes can only illuminate objects up to a specific size before the smallest details start to blend together.

15 Jan 2025

New Study Challenges Traditional View of Axon Shape and Function

In a provocative new study, scientists challenge a fundamental tenet in neuroscience about the shape of axons -- the long, thin filaments radiating from nerve cells that transmit electrical signals from cell to cell – and propose a new model for understanding how information is transmitted in the brain.

9 Dec 2024

Cryo-EM Technology Paves the Way for Major Biological Discovery

Ben Orlando's research talk at MSU's Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2019 laid the groundwork for a team effort that had been developing for decades.

25 Oct 2024

Neutron Scattering Reveals Enzyme Secrets

Scientists have uncovered amazing information about the role of an enzyme that could assist in the development of drugs for aggressive cancers in just two neutron experiments.

25 Sep 2024

High-Speed Atomic Force Microscopy Reveals Cofilin Binding Patterns in Actin Filaments

Researchers at Kanazawa University report in eLife on deciphering the actin structure-dependent preferential cooperative binding of cofilin.

29 Aug 2024

Researchers Capture Protein Tangle Formation in Real-Time

Protein tangles known as amyloid-beta (A-beta) aggregates are most famously linked to neurodegenerative illnesses like Alzheimer's. Nevertheless, despite its frequent attention, scientists have not been able to fully comprehend how A-beta assembles and disassembles.

22 Jul 2024

Constructing a Structured Illumination Microscopy Add-On

EPFL scientists have recently released a comprehensive manual detailing the construction of an add-on that can transform a regular optical microscope into a cutting-edge tool capable of generating high-resolution, three-dimensional images of cells, organoids, and embryos.

5 Mar 2024

New Research Sheds Light on Divergent Roles of Paralogous RNA Helicases

Genetic expression, often leading to protein synthesis, requires a complex coordination of molecular machinery across several stages.

9 Feb 2024

Deciphering the Structure and Function of PLD3 in Cellular Waste Disposal

If we don't take out the trash regularly, our homes become unpleasant and even a danger to our health.

21 Dec 2023

Revealing How Copper Amine Oxidase Enzymes Stabilize Radical Intermediates

The human body heals wounds or detoxifies harmful substances like histamine with the help of a group of enzymes called copper amine oxidases.

20 Sep 2023

Identifying The Best Antibodies Using X-Rays

Imagine you're going to a party where you only know a single person. While you've been friends with this person for a long time, you're concerned about them leaving you alone in a room full of strangers. Even though they promise they'll stick by your side, they immediately walk away from you upon entering the party to speak to someone else they know.

26 Jul 2023

Berkeley Lab and Genentech Team Up to Develop Next-Generation Drug Delivery System

Many diseases can be successfully treated in the simple environment of a cell culture dish, but to successfully treat real people, the drug agent has to take a journey through the infinitely more complex environment within our bodies and arrive, intact, inside the affected cells.

18 Jul 2023

Scientists Develop Method to Create Artificial Allosteric Sites in Protein Complexes

According to a recently published research paper by a team of scientists, a groundbreaking approach has been developed to create artificial allosteric sites (where by binding an effector molecule, activity at the distal active site is regulated) in protein complexes.

7 Jul 2023

Innovative Technique Enables In Vivo Imaging of Intracellular Protein Aggregates

Tau aggregates have become the main study focus for figuring out the mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration since they are a prevalent form of amyloid protein. Tau fibrils and oligomers, among other forms of tau aggregates, have been linked to a variety of neurodegenerative disorders.

21 Jun 2023

New Algorithm to Improve the Understanding of Protein Movements

Proteins are biological molecules that perform almost all biochemical tasks in all forms of life. In doing so, the tiny structures perform ultra-fast movements.

31 May 2023

New Method for Analyzing Protein Crystals Could Open Up Applications for Drug Discovery

A new method for analyzing protein crystals – developed by Cornell researchers and given a funky two-part name – could open up applications for new drug discovery and other areas of biotechnology and biochemistry.

12 May 2023