Molecular & Structural Biology

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New Advances in DEL Technology Facilitate Synthesis of Large, Complex Molecules

These days, remarkable new medical treatments are all the rage. One such treatment is personalized cancer therapy, which uses antibodies or immune cells that have been altered.

4 Sep 2024

Alternative Splicing Shapes Biological Complexity through Gene Expression Modulation

A genetic process known as “alternative splicing” involves cutting out specific gene segments and joining the remaining segments to form messenger RNA (mRNA) during transcription.

4 Sep 2024

Single-Cell Sequencing Reveals Mechanism of Coronary Artery Formation

The process by which new arteries develop in the heart has been clarified by a group under the direction of Dr. Elena Cano at the Integrative Vascular Biology Lab of Professor Holger Gerhardt at the Max Delbrück Center in Berlin.

2 Sep 2024

The Molecular Process That Causes MS and Autoimmune Diseases

A human immune system suppressor known as “regulatory T cells” was first identified more than 20 years ago by a research team working in the lab of Yale researcher David Hafler, who was at Harvard at the time.

29 Aug 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

Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Reveals Cellular Changes in Early Alzheimer's Disease

An analysis of more than 1.6 million brain cells from older adults has captured the cellular changes that occur in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, potentially revealing new routes for preventing the most common cause of dementia in older individuals.

29 Aug 2024

Sae2 Regulates Critical DNA Repair Functions in Yeast

DNA damage is a cellular phenomenon that introduces structural abnormalities in double-stranded DNA. External factors, such as radiation or chemical agents, as well as internal factors, such as blocked DNA replication, can generate double-strand breaks (DSBs) in DNA.

29 Aug 2024

Nutrient Deprivation Strategy Kills Breast Cancer Cells by Blocking Adaptive Pathways

Cancer cells have voracious appetites. And there are certain nutrients they can't live without. Scientists have long hoped they might stop tumors in their tracks by cutting off an essential part of cancer cells' diet. But these cells are crafty and often find a new way to get what they need. How? By reprogramming their metabolism and switching to backup food supplies.

29 Aug 2024

New Map Reveals Hidden Interactions Between Receptors and Proteins

A single superfamily of receptors found on the surface of human cells is the target of one out of every three FDA-approved medications.

28 Aug 2024

CDCA7's Role in DNA Methylation Maintenance Revealed in Recent Study

DNA methylation is a process in which a methyl group is attached to the cytosine base of the DNA molecule, and a major way that DNA is epigenetically marked. Epigenetic modifications can act as on-off switches to regulate gene expression and help generate diverse cell types without changing the underlying DNA sequence. It is how the body ensures that brain-related genes don't get turned on in heart cells, for example.

28 Aug 2024

EMBL Researchers Develop Novel Photoacoustic Probes to Monitor Brain Activity

To understand the brain better, we need new methods to observe its activity.

28 Aug 2024

High-Resolution Structures Illuminate the Chloroplast Protein Import Machinery in Plants

Two groundbreaking studies published in the journal Cell shed light on the assembly, function and evolutionary diversity of the chloroplast protein import system.

28 Aug 2024

Unraveling the Molecular Mechanism Behind Neocapritermes taracua's Explosive Defense

Researchers from the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, in cooperation with colleagues from the Faculty of Tropical AgriScience of the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, are unraveling the mysteries of the life of termites.

28 Aug 2024

Insights into Hmmr's Role in Cognitive Decline and Lifespan

The authors investigate the physiological functions of Terc-53 by creating transgenic mice that overexpress this noncoding RNA. They observe that Terc-53 overexpression affects normal aging in mammals, contributing to cognitive decline and shortened lifespan.

27 Aug 2024

Computational Modeling and Experimental Findings on Nucleosome Constraining in Mitosis

Individual cells divide through a process called mitosis, during which the cell's copied DNA is separated between two resulting daughter cells. Despite recent advances in cell biology, the mechanism by which DNA condenses during mitosis is still poorly understood. Researchers recently tracked small stretches of DNA wound around histone proteins, called nucleosomes, to better characterize nucleosome behavior during cell division.

27 Aug 2024

Cryo-EM Reveals CDCA7's Hemimethylation Sensing in Nucleosome Core Particles

DNA methylation, a process by which methyl groups are added to DNA molecules, is essential for the maintenance of DNA and the overall health of an organism. Disruptions in the standard DNA methylation patterns can lead to immunodeficiency and diseases such as cancer.

27 Aug 2024

Engineering Cyanobacteria-Yeast Systems for Synthetic Biology

Using evolution as a guiding principle, researchers have successfully engineered bacteria-yeast hybrids to perform photosynthetic carbon assimilation, generate cellular energy and support yeast growth without traditional carbon feedstocks like glucose or glycerol.

27 Aug 2024

New SPARXS Technique Revolutionizes DNA Sequence Analysis

"DNA, RNA and proteins are the key players to regulate all processes in the cells of our body," Leiden Professor John van Noort explains. "To understand the (mis-)functioning of these molecules, it is essential to uncover how their 3D structure depends on their sequence and for this it is necessary to measure them one molecule at a time. However, single-molecule measurements are laborious and slow, and the number of possible sequence variations is massive."

23 Aug 2024

Study Identifies Key Macrophage Subpopulations in MASH Progression and Regression

Formerly known as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) is an inflammatory disease characterized by liver scarring or fibrosis that progressively impairs liver function.

23 Aug 2024

The Complex Link Between DNA Modification and ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease which remains incurable. The disease is characterized by the selective degeneration of upper motor neurons in the motor cortex as well as the lower motor neurons in the brainstem and spinal cord. The cause of ALS remains unknown in 90 percent of cases, which are referred to as sporadic ALS because there is no family history for the disease. Cumulative evidence suggests that sporadic ALS may result from complex interactions between genetic susceptibility and aging.

23 Aug 2024

Molecular & Structural Biology

New Advances in DEL Technology Facilitate Synthesis of Large, Complex Molecules

Alternative Splicing Shapes Biological Complexity through Gene Expression Modulation

Single-Cell Sequencing Reveals Mechanism of Coronary Artery Formation

The Molecular Process That Causes MS and Autoimmune Diseases

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

Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Reveals Cellular Changes in Early Alzheimer's Disease

Sae2 Regulates Critical DNA Repair Functions in Yeast

Nutrient Deprivation Strategy Kills Breast Cancer Cells by Blocking Adaptive Pathways

New Map Reveals Hidden Interactions Between Receptors and Proteins

CDCA7's Role in DNA Methylation Maintenance Revealed in Recent Study

EMBL Researchers Develop Novel Photoacoustic Probes to Monitor Brain Activity

High-Resolution Structures Illuminate the Chloroplast Protein Import Machinery in Plants

Unraveling the Molecular Mechanism Behind Neocapritermes taracua's Explosive Defense

Insights into Hmmr's Role in Cognitive Decline and Lifespan

Computational Modeling and Experimental Findings on Nucleosome Constraining in Mitosis

Cryo-EM Reveals CDCA7's Hemimethylation Sensing in Nucleosome Core Particles

Engineering Cyanobacteria-Yeast Systems for Synthetic Biology

New SPARXS Technique Revolutionizes DNA Sequence Analysis

Study Identifies Key Macrophage Subpopulations in MASH Progression and Regression

The Complex Link Between DNA Modification and ALS

Driving Support for Pharmaceutical Testing Through Continuous Innovation

From Memory to Metaplasticity: Unraveling the Brain's Secrets

Revolutionizing Mass Spectrometry: A Deep Dive into Plasmion’s SICRIT® Technology

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