Protein News and Research

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Proteins are complex molecules that are made up of amino acids. They can be found in every cell in the body, and carry out vital processes that keep human beings alive. Mutations in proteins can lead to a multitude of diseases, the most common being cancer.

New Research Sheds Light on How Cells Manage Fat Recycling

Accumulation of fat molecules is detrimental to the cell. Researchers from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine), have made a breakthrough in understanding how our cells manage to stay healthy by recycling important fat molecules.

13 Feb 2025

Understanding the Complex Architecture of the Minor Spliceosome

In human cells, only a small proportion of the information written in genes is used to produce proteins. How does the cell select this information? A large molecular machine called the spliceosome continuously separates the coding and non-coding regions of our genes – and it's doing this even as you read these lines.

13 Feb 2025

PanK4 Protein Could Be Key to Better Control of Blood Sugar and Metabolism

Physical activity is not only important for fitness, but also for health. This is confirmed by a new study conducted under the direction of Prof. Dr. Maximilian Kleinert at the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke (DIfE). His team discovered that the protein PanK4 plays a crucial role in the energy metabolism of skeletal muscles.

13 Feb 2025

Scientists Discover Hidden Role of RNA Introns in Cellular Stress Response

Scientists have discovered that some tiny segments of RNA thought to be junk instead have a functional role in suppressing production of certain messenger RNAs and appear to help cells respond to oxidative stress.

12 Feb 2025

Mismatch Repair Genes Found to be Key Drivers of Huntington's Disease

A new UCLA Health study has discovered in mouse models that genes associated with repairing mismatched DNA are critical in eliciting damages to neurons that are most vulnerable in Huntington's disease and triggering downstream pathologies and motor impairment, shedding light on disease mechanisms and potential new ways to develop therapies.

12 Feb 2025

Synthetic Condensates Turbocharge Protein Production in Bacteria

Biomedical engineers at Duke University have developed a novel synthetic method that enhances bacteria's ability to produce higher quantities of specific proteins, including those that would typically harm them, such as antibiotics.

12 Feb 2025

Mutant Vimentin Promotes Aggressive Breast Cancer Growth

Vimentin is a type III intermediate filament (IF) protein typically expressed in cells that differentiate into connective tissue, blood vessels, and lymphatic tissue (mesenchymal cells).

12 Feb 2025

Single-Cell Analysis Reveals Critical Kidney Cell Types Involved in Disease

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine have published a new study in the journal Science that suggests over 1,000 genes could be potential targets for kidney disease treatment.

12 Feb 2025

Researchers Uncover Genomic Drivers Behind Aggressive Breast Cancer

Breast cancers can be classified into subgroups that hint at the aggressiveness of the cancer and the likelihood that the patient will experience a recurrence years after their initial diagnosis.

11 Feb 2025

Study Reveals How Gut Bacteria Influence Brain Protein Modifications

Our guts are home to trillions of bacteria, and research over the last few decades has established how essential they are to our physiology – in health and disease.

11 Feb 2025

Understanding Plant Repair of Light-Damaged Photosystems

More than two billion years ago, cyanobacteria started to produce oxygen in the primarily toxic atmosphere of Earth.

11 Feb 2025

New Study Reveals Energy-Saving Strategies in Neuronal Protein Synthesis

Nerve cells use incredible energy-saving techniques while still carrying out their primary functions.

10 Feb 2025

High-Resolution Images Reveal How Cells Discard Faulty Spliceosomes

A sophisticated molecular machine, the spliceosome, ensures the accurate assembly of genetic information from the genome into mature mRNA after it has been transcribed into mRNA precursors.

10 Feb 2025

Cryo-EM Uncovers Hidden Complexity in Collagen Structure

The most prevalent protein in the body, collagen, has long been thought to be a predictable structural element of tissues.

10 Feb 2025

Research Reveals Key Mitochondrial Role in Social Recognition Memory

Virginia Tech neuroscientists have uncovered a mitochondrial process that supports the brain cells critical for learning, memory, and social recognition.

10 Feb 2025

New CRISPR Tool Reveals Key Lymphoma Genes

This study presents an optimized CRISPR-Cas12a system for large-scale genetic screening, revealing critical genes involved in lymphoma development and therapy.

7 Feb 2025

Male Flies Evolve Sharper Vision to Outwit Female Mating Tricks

With bloated bellies and hairy legs, female flies try to look bigger to get food from courting mates. But male flies, in turn, have sharpened their eyesight to call their bluff.

6 Feb 2025

Secret Handshakes Help Jumbo Phages Defend Against Bacterial Attacks

Scientists are learning more about how an intriguing type of virus protects itself. Revealing its strategies could boost the fight against antibiotic resistance.

6 Feb 2025

Engineering Living Materials with Tailored Properties

Researchers from Rice University have identified new sequence-structure-property relationships for tailoring engineered living materials (ELMs), allowing for more precise control over their structure and response to deformation forces such as stretching or compression.

6 Feb 2025

Researchers Identify Key Mechanism in Transformation of Stem Cells to Cancer Cells

Nearly 60,000 people are diagnosed with oral cancer in the U.S. every year, according to the American Cancer Society, and the rate of new cases continues to rise.

5 Feb 2025