Molecule News and Research

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Neutron Scattering Reveals Enzyme Secrets

Scientists have uncovered amazing information about the role of an enzyme that could assist in the development of drugs for aggressive cancers in just two neutron experiments.

25 Sep 2024

Study Uncovers Cholesterol's Role in Membrane Structure and Function

A new study by Rice University researchers led by Jason Hafner could open new pathways for understanding how cholesterol influences cell membranes and their receptors, paving the way for future research on diseases linked to membrane organization.

24 Sep 2024

A New Method to Correct Misplaced Proteins in Cells

Cells are highly controlled spaces that rely on every protein being in the right place. Many diseases, including cancers and neurodegenerative disorders, are associated with misplaced proteins. In some cancers, for instance, a protein that normally stands watch over DNA replicating in the nucleus is sent far from the DNA it is meant to monitor, allowing cancers to grow.

23 Sep 2024

Novel Tool Helps Identify Snake Venom Genes Across Species

Only about ten percent of the world's roughly 4,000 snake species have venom strong enough to seriously hurt a human, but that's enough for snake bites to be an important public health concern.

20 Sep 2024

Research Shows a Causal Role of Histone Modifications in Gene Regulation

For any organism to survive and thrive, its cells must strictly control which genes are active when and where.

19 Sep 2024

Ribose-Water Interactions Stabilize RNA Structures

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a biological molecule that plays an important part in organismal genetics as well as the creation and development of life.

11 Sep 2024

A New Approach to Engineering Complex Organoids

A novel molecular engineering technology can precisely control the formation of organoids. Microbeads composed of precisely folded DNA are utilized to deliver growth factors or other signal molecules into tissue structures.

11 Sep 2024

Revolutionizing Protein Analysis with Enhanced Mass Spectrometry

Mass spectrometry is a sophisticated technology that allows scientists to break down and identify the constituents of almost anything by measuring the mass of the microscopic particles that make it up.

11 Sep 2024

Developing Techniques for Imaging Biomolecules

Scientists are working to create quicker, more quantitative, and more publicly available methods of seeing biomolecules in living cells to speed up biotechnology discoveries, such as the production of lifesaving drugs.

11 Sep 2024

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

Beta Cells Alone Can Maintain Glycemic Balance Without Other Pancreatic Cells

Our glycemic balance is based on the ability of the pancreatic beta cells to detect glucose and secrete insulin to maintain our blood sugar levels.

4 Sep 2024

Arctic Actinobacteria Yield Novel Antivirulence Compounds Against E. coli

A novel set of techniques was created by researchers in Finland and Norway to screen unknown substances with bacterial origin for antivirulence activity.

2 Sep 2024

Unexpected RNA Mechanism Controls Black Pigment in Butterfly Wings

A team of international researchers has uncovered a surprising genetic mechanism that influences the vibrant and complex patterns on butterfly wings.

2 Sep 2024

Illuminating Plant Defense Mechanisms Through Light-Activated Ion Channels

When it comes to survival, plants have a huge disadvantage compared to many other living organisms: they cannot simply change their location if predators or pathogens attack them or the environmental conditions change to their disadvantage.

29 Aug 2024

RNA Interference Drugs Offer Faster, More Effective Alternative to Traditional Drug Discovery

Alnylam's RNA interference platform accelerates drug discovery by targeting RNA transcripts, addressing complex diseases with innovative therapeutic strategies.

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

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

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