Molecular & Structural Biology

RSS

Researchers gain a deep insight into the evolutionary history of bitter receptors

To evaluate the chemical composition of food from a physiological point of view, it is important to know the functions of the receptors that interact with food ingredients. These include receptors for bitter compounds, which first evolved during evolution in bony fishes such as the coelacanth.

3 Feb 2021

Synthetic biomolecule resembles dual stimuli-responsive channel

For the first time, researchers from the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) and the University of Tokyo in Japan have produced a new artificial transmembrane ion channel—based on a naturally found transmembrane channel that plays a role in neuron signaling—that reacts to both electrical and chemical stimuli.

2 Feb 2021

Noncoding RNA plays key role in sepsis, regulates inflammatory gene expression

Sepsis can result when the body’s immune response to a specific infection gets out of control.

From University of California Santa Cruz 2 Feb 2021

Study describes dynamic link between protein folding and misfolding

Correct, or native, protein folding is essential for correct protein function. Protein misfolding can lead to the formation of amyloid fibrils, and amyloidosis, which is implicated in various human neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and Huntington's diseases.

From Osaka University 2 Feb 2021

Researchers study persister cells that go dormant and tolerant to antibiotics

Mehmet Orman, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering, has received a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation.

2 Feb 2021

Yale scientists discover novel metabolic gatekeeper mechanism for leukemia

In a new study led by Yale Cancer Center, researchers have discovered a novel metabolic gatekeeper mechanism for leukemia. This mechanism depends on a molecule called PON2, which could lead to a new treatment for the disease. The findings were published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

2 Feb 2021

Ocean acidification could be affecting lobsters on a molecular scale

The American lobster, which supports the most valuable fishery in North America, maybe more susceptible to the effects of climate change than previously thought, according to a new study published in Ecology and Evolution.

29 Jan 2021

3D genome study reveals molecular regulatory mechanisms of human brain evolution

A team led by Prof. SU Bing from the Kunming Institute of Zoology (KIZ) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Prof. LI Cheng from Peking University, and Prof. ZHANG Shihua from the Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science of CAS has reported the highest resolution by far of the 3D genome of the primate brain, and demonstrated the molecular regulatory mechanisms of human brain evolution through cross-species multi-omics analysis and experimental validation. The study was published in Cell.

29 Jan 2021

Research shows how breast cancer cells evade immune attacks

Scientists from Indiana University have discovered how breast cancer cells evade immune cells to survive.

28 Jan 2021

LEAFY protein licenses cell reprogramming to floral fate

Cells don't express all the genes they contain all the time. The portion of our genome that encodes eye color, for example, doesn't need to be turned on in liver cells. In plants, genes encoding the structure of a flower can be turned off in cells that will form a leaf.

28 Jan 2021

New computational method simplifies the analysis of gene-environmental interactions

Scientists from Weill Cornell Medicine and the Ithaca campus at Cornell University have designed a novel computational technique for analyzing environmental and genetic interactions and how they affect disease risk.

28 Jan 2021

Unique proteomics-based technology can help diagnose breast cancer more accurately

Breast cancer could be identified more precisely than existing methods using blood specimens and exclusive proteomics-based technology.

28 Jan 2021

Mice study provides new data for studying aging and age-related diseases

A novel compound that increases lifespan in a small nematode worm has been shown to delay bone loss in aging mice.

28 Jan 2021

New technique replicates bone tissue complexity and bone remodeling processes

A multidisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst's Institute for Applied Life Sciences (IALS) have developed a technique to replicate bone tissue complexity and bone remodeling processes.

27 Jan 2021

Study shows why obese mothers tend to have children susceptible to metabolic diseases

A Brazilian study published in the journal Molecular Human Reproduction helps understand why obese mothers tend to have children with a propensity to develop the metabolic disease during their lifetime, as suggested by previous research.

27 Jan 2021

Study shows two phases of wall restructuring after an aneurysm forms

Hitting a pothole on the road in just the wrong way might create a bulge on the tire, a weakened spot that will almost certainly lead to an eventual flat tire. But what if that tire could immediately begin reknitting its rubber, reinforcing the bulge and preventing it from bursting?

27 Jan 2021

Anchor proteins inhibit a key metabolic driver involved in cancer and neuronal diseases

Certain anchor proteins inhibit a key metabolic driver that plays an important role in cancer and developmental brain disorders.

27 Jan 2021

Novel technique could transform super-resolution imaging systems

Researchers have designed a new groundbreaking method that could transform the clarity, precision, and accuracy of super-resolution imaging systems.

From University of Exeter 22 Jan 2021

New study sheds light on citrus greening disease

Huanglongbing (HLB), also called citrus greening disease, is detrimental to the citrus industry and causes unparalleled levels of destruction around the world. But despite this fact, there is no proven treatment for this.

22 Jan 2021

New protocol identifies mismatch repair deficiency

Researchers have developed a new integrated genetic/epigenetic DNA-sequencing protocol known as MultiMMR that can identify the presence and cause of mismatch repair (MMR) deficiency in a single test from a small sample of DNA in the colon, endometrial, and other cancers.

22 Jan 2021