Molecular & Structural Biology

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Detailed 3D structure provides a roadmap for tweaking CRISPR-Cas9–guided base editors

Within a mere eight years, CRISPR-Cas9 has become the go-to genome editor for both basic research and gene therapy.

31 Jul 2020

Re-engineering antibodies to fight SARS-CoV-2 infection

With millions of COVID-19 cases reported across the globe, people are turning to antibody tests to find out whether they have been exposed to the coronavirus that causes the disease.

31 Jul 2020

New and unique class of carbohydrate receptors discovered

Exopolysaccharides (EPS) are surface-exposed carbohydrates that surround and protect bacteria and are involved in biofilm formation, cell-to-cell interactions, immune evasion, and pathogenesis.

31 Jul 2020

Understanding the structure of SARS-CoV-2 proteins may lead to novel drugs

COVID-19 is a disease caused by an RNA virus called SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), that is, a virus that employs RNA to preserve its genetic data.

31 Jul 2020

New methods to regulate enzymes involved in SARS-CoV-2 virus infection

A research team from the HSE University has designed innovative methods for controlling the expression of TMPRSS2 and ACE2 enzymes.

30 Jul 2020

A new cell-based gene therapy approach to correct hemophilia A

In a new study from the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) researchers have developed an optimized cellular platform for delivering Factor 8 to better treat patients with hemophilia A.

29 Jul 2020

Study may lead to new therapeutic approaches against coronaviruses

The immune system secretes an endogenous protein that can strongly suppress coronaviruses, the pathogen that is responsible for causing the current pandemic.

29 Jul 2020

Movement of small RNAs underlies mobile RNA interference

Biologists have known for some time that RNA interference can silence genes in far-off cells. They suspected that a messenger substance “transmits” RNA interference.

29 Jul 2020

'Marie Kondo' enzyme helps fruit fly embryos to clean out maternal proteins

Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have discovered a protein in fruit fly embryos, dubbed Marie Kondo, that destroys maternal proteins.

29 Jul 2020

Study reveals efficient expression system for production of coagulation factor XIIIa

Many reports illustrate that Coagulation factor XIIIa (FXIIIa) has diverse and crucial functions in thrombus for¬mation and stability.

29 Jul 2020

Biologists identify a molecular mechanism that underlies phenotypic plasticity

Evolutionary and developmental biologist Craig Albertson and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Amherst report that they have identified a molecular mechanism that allows an organism to change the way it looks depending on the environment it is exposed to, a process known as phenotypic plasticity.

29 Jul 2020

Study sheds new light on core regulatory networks that govern cell types in vertebrates

The FANTOM Consortium has shed new light into the main regulatory networks that govern the types of cells found in different vertebrate species.

29 Jul 2020

Study pinpoints the miRNA that promotes hair follicle growth

A research team from North Carolina State University has discovered a microRNA, or miRNA, that could make hairs to grow again.

29 Jul 2020

Testing COVID-19 with FDA-approved drugs can improve outcomes for affected patients

A protein found in viruses that are responsible for causing SARS and COVID-19 infections is virtually identical.

29 Jul 2020

A novel approach to identify cancer targets using 'synthetic lethality'

With advances in genome sequencing, cancer treatments have increasingly sought to leverage the idea of "synthetic lethality," exploiting cancer-specific genetic defects to identify targets that are uniquely essential to the survival of cancer cells.

28 Jul 2020

Virginia Tech scientists reveal molecular cause underlying rare genetic disorder

Virginia Tech scientists have revealed how a nonfunctioning version of an ordinary gene impairs brain structure and function. The findings help explain a genetic form of microcephaly -- a condition where babies' heads are small and grow more slowly than their peers.

28 Jul 2020