Molecular & Structural Biology

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Efficient and Reproducible BBB Modeling for Drug Development

Scientists at Southwest Research Institute have developed a new screening method to identify drug formulations that can penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB), to facilitate treatment of brain diseases and conditions.

23 Aug 2024

The Role of DNA Repair Pathways in Antibody Somatic Hypermutation

In a recent online publication in SCIENCE CHINA Life Sciences, researchers from the laboratory of Leng-Siew Yeap at the Shanghai Institute of Immunology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine published a review article entitled "Molecular Mechanisms of DNA Lesion and Repair During Antibody Somatic Hypermutation". This review comprehensively summarizes the mechanisms involved in the generation of antigen-specific diversified antibodies, with a particular focus on the mechanisms that generate high-frequency point mutations and low-frequency deletions and insertions (indels) in antibody genes.

22 Aug 2024

Breakthrough Discovery in Mitochondrial Recycling Could Impact Health Treatments

Mitochondria, the so-called "powerhouse of the cell," depend on a newly discovered recycling mechanism identified by scientists at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids).

22 Aug 2024

Mother's Gut Microbiome Key to Baby's Brain Development

A study in mice has discovered that the presence of Bifidobacterium breve bacteria in the mother's gut during pregnancy promotes healthy brain development in the fetus.

22 Aug 2024

Enzyme Therapy Shows Promise for Parkinson's Disease

A preclinical investigation conducted by Weill Cornell Medicine researchers has shown an unexpectedly important role for an enzyme called PGK1 in the synthesis of chemical energy in brain cells.

22 Aug 2024

Breakthrough Discovery in DNA Spatial Grammar Could Reshape Gene Activity Studies

A newly discovered code within DNA – coined "spatial grammar" – holds a key to understanding how gene activity is encoded in the human genome.

21 Aug 2024

Ancient Viral Remnants Serve as Accurate Aging Clock

DNA markers linked to retroelements - remaining pieces of ancient viral genetic material - in human genes have been found by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and the epigenetics startup TruDiagnostic.

20 Aug 2024

Fungal Pathogen Behind Banana Wipeout Identified

The fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense (Foc) tropical race 4 (TR4) is the source of the disease Fusarium wilt of banana (FWB), which is threatening to functionally wipe out the bananas in the supermarket and consumed as breakfast.

19 Aug 2024

Electrical Recordings Illuminate Neural Basis of Inferential Reasoning

It takes brains to infer how any two things in the world relate to each other, whether it's the way bad weather links to commuting delays or how environmental conditions lead to the evolution of species.

16 Aug 2024

Researchers Uncover Role of OpgH in Bacterial Cell Shape

In what they labeled a "surprising" finding, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers studying bacteria from freshwater lakes and soil say they have determined a protein's essential role in maintaining the germ's shape. Because the integrity of a bacterial cell's "envelope" or enclosure is key to its survival, the finding could advance the search for new and better antibiotics.

16 Aug 2024

New Insights into Memory Formation and Modification

The ability to turn experiences into memories allows us to learn from the past and use what we learned as a model to respond appropriately to new situations. For this reason, as the world around us changes, this memory model cannot simply be a fixed archive of the good old days.

16 Aug 2024

Spontaneous Brain Activity Drives Early Neural Circuit Formation

In humans, the process of learning is driven by different groups of cells in the brain firing together. For instance, when the neurons associated with the process of recognizing a dog begin to fire in a coordinated manner in response to the cells that encode the features of a dog -; four legs, fur, a tail, etc. -; a young child will eventually be able to identify dogs going forward. But brain wiring begins before humans are born, before they have experiences or senses like sight to guide this cellular circuitry. How does that happen?

16 Aug 2024

Brain's Co-Rippling Activity Sheds Light on Consciousness

For many years, researchers have been concentrating on how the brain organizes information into hierarchical structures, with distinct regions of the brain designated for distinct functions.

13 Aug 2024

Novel Technique to Study Ubiquitination

Once human proteins are synthesized, they go through some chemical changes. These adjustments control their stability, functionality, and structure.

13 Aug 2024

New AI Model Predicts Protein-DNA Binding Specificity with High Accuracy

A new artificial intelligence model developed by USC researchers and published in Nature Methods can predict how different proteins may bind to DNA with accuracy across different types of protein, a technological advance that promises to reduce the time required to develop new drugs and other medical treatments.

12 Aug 2024

Scientists Develop AI-Powered Tool to Optimize Gene Delivery

Gene therapy could potentially cure genetic diseases but it remains a challenge to package and deliver new genes to specific cells safely and effectively. Existing methods of engineering one of the most commonly used gene-delivery vehicles, adeno-associated viruses (AAV), are often slow and inefficient.

9 Aug 2024