Molecular & Structural Biology

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New Method Provides Near-Perfect Control Over the Manipulation of Individual Molecules

Aleksandra Radenovic, Head of the School of Engineering’s Laboratory of Nanoscale Biology, has spent years working to enhance nanopore technology, which primarily involves a molecule like DNA through a tiny pore in a membrane to quantify an ionic current.

20 Jun 2023

Theta Supercomputer Used To Find Essential Factors That Control Structural Change of HIV Protease

Every disease has a protein basis. For some diseases, like HIV, changes in protein structure are critical for how the virus infects a person's cells.

20 Jun 2023

Understanding How Genes Predispose Humans to Allergies

New research is expanding the scientific understanding of why some people are more allergic than others. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine discovered how genetic changes that modify a specific protein called ETS1 can affect our body’s response to allergens.

16 Jun 2023

New Mechanism to Maintain Astrocyte-Neuron Communication

Neurons and astrocytes are the two types of cells required by the brain to enjoy the scent of morning coffee and freshly baked cookies or to discern the warning smell of something burning.

16 Jun 2023

Small RNA Identified as Regulator During Bacterial Infection

Infection risk is always there in those with compromised immune systems. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a typical environmental bacterium, can colonize several body areas, including the lungs.

15 Jun 2023

UCL Scientists Visualize the Molecular 'Nano-Machinery' That Causes Cilia to Beat

The first image of the structures that power human cilia – the tiny, hairlike projections that line our airways – has been produced by a team involving UCL researchers and could lead to much-needed treatments for people with rare cilial diseases.

14 Jun 2023

A New Method to Escape from Metastability

Prof. Haojun Liang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ (CAS) University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) suggested a new way to escape from metastability for self-assembly in a far-from-equilibrium system. The study was published in the journal PNAS.

12 Jun 2023

Squids Use RNA Recording to Change Key Proteins Dynamically

Octopuses, cuttlefish, and squid are members of the diverse family of marine creatures known as cephalopods. They can be found in every ocean, from warm tropical seas that are shallow to cold, abysmal depths.

9 Jun 2023

How Do Humans Maintain a Healthy Blood Sugar Level After Meals?

A study of more than 55,000 people’s DNA from around the world has given insight into how humans maintain appropriate blood sugar levels after eating, with implications for the current understanding of how the process goes awry in type 2 diabetes.

9 Jun 2023

Can Temperature Influence the Octopus Neural Transcriptome?

Each cell has a finite set of instructions inscribed in its DNA. Life, on the other hand, is unpredictable, and when the situation changes, animals must change.

9 Jun 2023

Key Atomic Structures of the Actin Filament Revealed Through Cryo-EM

Actin filaments -; protein structures critical to living movement from single cells to animals -; have long been known to have polarity associated with their physical characteristics, with growing "barbed" and shrinking "pointed" ends.

9 Jun 2023

Assembled DNA Nanostructures Without the Use of Magnesium Yield Greater Stability

Researchers at the University at Albany’s RNA Institute have demonstrated a new approach to DNA nanostructure assembly that does not require magnesium.

7 Jun 2023

Molecular Rhythms of Malaria Parasites Sync With the Biological Clock of Human Hosts

Health officials warn that drug resistance could wipe out recent progress against malaria, particularly in Africa and southeast Asia.

7 Jun 2023

eDNA Captured Along With Particulate Matter Reflects Local Biodiversity

The increasing loss of biodiversity and the rising incidence of species extinction is a severe threat to global ecosystems. However, measuring those losses on a global scale has been impossible, owing in large part to a lack of the necessary infrastructure.

6 Jun 2023

The Role of Noncanonical Mechanism in the Evolution of miRNA Biogenesis

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) research group, guided by Prof. Tuan Anh Nguyen, Assistant Professor of the Division of Life Science, used several advanced methods, including miRNA sequencing, pri-miRNA structure analysis, and high-throughput pri-miRNA cleavage assays for approximately 260,000 pri-miRNA sequences, to locate and thoroughly illustrate the newly identified noncanonical cleavage mechanism.

6 Jun 2023

How Do Protons Move in Hachimoji DNA?

According to quantum biologists at the University of Surrey, revealing the potential of lab-crafted DNA, called synthetic DNA, holds the key to innovative breakthroughs across multiple domains.

6 Jun 2023

Online Prediction Modeling Tool to Help Advance Scientific Discoveries

By anticipating the location of proteins within a cell, researchers might have access to a trove of biological knowledge. Future scientific discoveries related to drug development and the treatment of diseases like epilepsy will depend on this information.

6 Jun 2023