Molecular & Structural Biology

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New Simulations Reveal How Nuclear Pore Complex Regulates Protein Trafficking

If the human cell is a nightclub, then the nucleus is a VIP lounge. Inside are the DNA, fiercely maintained by the nuclear pore complex, which is charged with the task of protecting every strand. To do this, the NPC acts as gatekeeper against unworthy proteins.

14 Jul 2023

New P38 Inhibitors Selectively Target Cardiac Cell Death

The p38 protein regulates a wide variety of cellular functions and is related to diseases such as chronic inflammation, immunological disorders, or cancer.

14 Jul 2023

Scientists Discover How Brain's "Population Clock" Guides Behavior

From Aristotle's musings on the nature of time to Einstein's theory of relativity, humanity has long pondered: how do we perceive and understand time? The theory of relativity posits that time can stretch and contract, a phenomenon known as time dilation. Just as the cosmos warps time, our neural circuits can stretch and compress our subjective experience of time. As Einstein famously quipped, "Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute".

14 Jul 2023

Novel Drug Compound Reduces Sensory Hypersensitivity in Fragile X Mice

Boosting the activity of inhibitory interneurons in Fragile X mice reduced their hypersensitivity to sensory stimuli, according to a new Neuron study led by UCLA Health researchers.

14 Jul 2023

Revealing the Function of Retrotransposons

A retrotransposon, a parasitic DNA sequence that borrows the cell’s own machinery to accomplish its objectives, has been discovered.

13 Jul 2023

First 'Living Digital Camera' Stores Images in DNA

In a world first, a 'biological camera' bypasses the constraints of current DNA storage methods, harnessing living cells and their inherent biological mechanisms to encode and store data.

12 Jul 2023

New Insights Into How Genes Are Activated

Genetic information contained within DNA has to be read by specific proteins that enable the process of gene activation to begin – but in many cases, these proteins can't access their targets because DNA strands are bundled up to control what genes are used in the wide range of different cell types.

12 Jul 2023

Revolutionizing Drug Design with Light-Activated Molecular Machines

Cells “talk” to one another to coordinate crucial biological activities such as immune activation, muscle contraction, hormone release, neuronal firing, and digestion using calcium signaling as a primary mechanism.

11 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

Cryo-EM Reveals Structure of GABA Transporter

Using Cryo-EM, a powerful microscopy technique, researchers at IISc and collaborators have decoded the molecular architecture of a transporter protein controlling the movement of a key neurotransmitter.

7 Jul 2023

Novel Peptide may be Key to Understanding Skin Aging

A new research paper was published in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 15, Issue 12, entitled, "A novel peptide 'T14' reflects age and photo-aging in human skin."

6 Jul 2023

New Insight Into the Evolutionary Origins of Phylogenetic Interplay Between Sponges and Microbiome

Over the years, substantial evidence has consistently demonstrated the profound influence of the microbiome, encompassing all microorganisms residing within a living organism, on various vital processes and interactions with their hosts.

5 Jul 2023

Tiny Sea Creature Offers Insights into Healing and Aging

National Institutes of Health researchers and their collaborators revealed fresh insights into healing and aging by studying how a small marine creature regenerates a completely new body from only its mouth.

3 Jul 2023

Discovering a Major Factor Causing Aggressive Cancer

Researchers from the University of Otago have identified a crucial factor that contributes to the aggressive spread of colon cancer, marking a significant advancement in the fight against fatal tumors.

27 Jun 2023

Microgels with Uniform DNA Encapsulation Resembling Living Cells

It can be extremely helpful to learn living cells’ intricate structure and assembly using real-world models that resemble them. These models can be created through synthetic techniques, but they are costly, time-consuming, and experimentally difficult. Microdroplets that entrap biological materials are a prototype of these models.

26 Jun 2023

Access of METAPs to Protein Factories is Controlled by NAC

On the basis of genetic blueprints, individual amino acids have been assembled into long amino acid chains, the proteins, in the protein factories of human cells, called the ribosomes.

23 Jun 2023

Elaborate 3D Structures of DNA That Mimics Protein Functions

According to a study from scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, a division of the National Institutes of Health, DNA can imitate protein activities by folding into complex, three-dimensional structures.

22 Jun 2023