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Bacterial TGT Enzyme Engages Two tRNAs to Control Protein Production

The enzyme tRNA-guanine transglycosylase (TGT) chemically modifies transfer RNA (tRNA) and plays a key role in how disease-causing bacteria control the production of proteins needed to cause infection. E. coli TGT is nearly identical to the one found in Shigella, which causes the intestinal infection shigellosis.

23 Jul 2026

Tough Bacterial Spores Unlock New Bioengineering Frontiers

A remarkable quality of bioengineering is the fact that scientists can take biological processes honed by millions of years of evolution and use them to efficiently create drugs, chemicals, and other products to improve our lives.

21 Jul 2026

CRISPR Technology Enables First Successful Gene Editing in Biting Midges

Scientists have successfully edited the genome of biting midges, opening the door to new research on how these insects transmit disease.

20 Jul 2026

Female Hearts Rely on Molecular Safeguard to Avoid Failure

Men and women are not born with the same risk of heart disease, and for decades scientists have struggled to explain why. A new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, published in Genes & Development, offers a striking answer: the female heart depends on a molecular safeguard that the male heart can largely do without - and when that safeguard is removed, female hearts fail while male hearts keep beating.

20 Jul 2026

How Dying Bacteria Protect the Colony From Antibiotics

Bacteria can fight against antibiotics via an enzyme produced by dying cells.

17 Jul 2026

AI Breakthrough Generates Novel Synthetic RNA-Guided Nucleases

Artificial intelligence (AI)-designed proteins can now expand the CRISPR toolbox beyond what evolution has produced.

17 Jul 2026

Crucial X Chromosome Protein Protects Female Hearts From Fatal Failure

Men and women are not born with the same risk of heart disease, and for decades scientists have struggled to explain why.

17 Jul 2026

Why Rare E. coli Genes Rarely Create New Metabolic Functions

A study reveals that rare E. coli genes mainly reshape existing metabolic reactions, highlighting genetic diversity without expanding biochemical pathways.

16 Jul 2026

Innovative Mussel Protein Nanotechnology Delivers Drugs Directly to Pancreatic Tumors

Pancreatic cancer is considered one of the most lethal cancer because it is often diagnosed late and is difficult to treat.

15 Jul 2026

Breakthrough Imaging Method Maps Whole Cell Signals

Cells are crowded, dynamic places where thousands of molecules interact in tight quarters. Until now, scientists lacked a reliable way to see many of these molecular interactions as they happen.

15 Jul 2026

Scientists Solve Ancient Prebiotic Paradox With Novel RNA Repair Mechanism

In most modern cells, DNA stores the genetic blueprint, and relies on proteins to replicate, repair and build from those blueprints. At the same time, proteins require instructions from DNA to be made in the first place.

13 Jul 2026

Researchers Map Marine Bacterial Enzyme to Tweak Therapeutic Red Pigments

Many important medicines and agricultural compounds have origins in natural products made by microorganisms.

7 Jul 2026

New Research Reveals Unexpected Tissue Healing Roles for Cellular Proteins

Tendon injuries, though very common, frequently heal with scar tissue, which is less flexible and more prone to future injury. Better insights into the biological mechanisms that promote stronger and more complete tendon repair are necessary to develop effective treatment measures.

6 Jul 2026

Researchers Discover Genetic Markers Predicting Prostate Cancer Ferroptosis

A new study from researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has identified genetic factors that determine whether prostate cancers are susceptible to a type of cell death known as ferroptosis.

3 Jul 2026

Cancer Cells Hijack Macrophage Metabolism to Create an Immunosuppressive Tumor Microenvironment

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are among the most abundant immune cells in the tumor microenvironment. However, instead of attacking cancer cells, they are typically co-opted to support tumor growth, metastasis, and therapeutic resistance.

2 Jul 2026

New Study Defines Molecular Features That Guide the Oncogenic Enzyme Called NSUN2

An RNA-modifying enzyme linked to cancer and neurological disorders selects its targets by recognizing specific RNA shapes and sequences, according to a study by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers. The findings, published in Nature, define the molecular features that guide the enzyme, NSUN2, to the RNAs it modifies and could help researchers investigate how abnormal RNA modification contributes to disease.

1 Jul 2026