Cell Membrane News and Research

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Self-Propelled Actin Structures Drive Shape Changes in Human Cells

Every time a white blood cell engulfs a bacterium, a neuron extends a projection to connect with a neighboring cell, or when a cancer cell forcefully squeezes through tissue to spread, the cell must change its shape to accommodate the movement.

26 Jun 2026

Scientists Bring Ancestral Cell Membrane Proteins Back to Active Life

Resurrecting dinosaurs using DNA retrieved from a mosquito trapped in amber is a great movie plot, though it's less likely to happen in the real world.

17 Jun 2026

Tracking Individual Membrane Translocation Accelerates Precision Microscopic Drug Screening Efforts

A new single-protein analysis technique gives researchers an unprecedented ability to study proteins called scramblases, which have critical roles in biology.

16 Jun 2026

Antibody-Directed Xenophagy Pathway Blocks Intracellular Infections From Spreading

Scientists have revealed the process by which cells can internally digest bacteria and viruses.

5 Jun 2026

Cell Phase Separation Creates Droplets That Optimize and Activate Kinase Signaling

Within the past decade, biologists have discovered that one strategy cells use to keep their contents organized is a phenomenon known as phase separation.

2 Jun 2026

Scientists Discover a Metabolic Switch That Regulates Ferroptosis

The loss of an enzyme can reprogram cellular metabolism in a way that protects cells from a specific form of cell death. Paradoxically, the presumed blockade of this enzyme has the opposite effect.

1 Jun 2026

Study Connects Lysosomal Lipid Movement Directly to Cellular Growth Signaling

While many American adults are trying to reduce cholesterol levels, certain cancerous tumors have a relentless appetite for the metabolite. Some tumor cells use as much cholesterol as they can access to accelerate their growth beyond the capabilities of normal cells.

25 May 2026

AI Designs Custom Miniproteins to Precisely Control Cell Receptors

G protein-coupled receptors, or GPCRs, sit in the plasma membrane, the boundary that defines the inside and outside of a living cell. They communicate with nearly every physiological process in our bodies - from the ability to see and smell, to sensing of adrenaline, insulin, nutrients and medicines.

22 May 2026

Supercomputer Simulations Map Sodium Pumping in Pathogenic Bacteria

The Na+-NQR enzyme is vital for energy production in pathogenic bacteria like the one that causes cholera, making it a highly promising target for new antibiotics.

15 May 2026

Tardigrade Proteins Allow Synthetic Cells to Survive Extreme Dehydration

A protein found only in microscopic tardigrades, one that allows them to survive extreme conditions like dehydration, can convey similar durability in synthetic cells, according to new research from University of Michigan Engineering and the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering.

7 May 2026

MIT Chemists Discover How Membrane Lipids Drive Uncontrolled Cancer Cell Growth

Cells are enveloped by a lipid membrane that gives them structure and provides a barrier between the cell and its environment. However, evidence has recently emerged suggesting that these membranes do more than simply provide protection - they also influence the behavior of the protein receptors embedded in them.

17 Apr 2026

Single-Molecule Imaging Reveals How Anabaena Maintains Its Rectangular Shape

Photosynthetic bacteria helped shape Planet Earth. Among them are cyanobacteria that produced the oxygen in our atmosphere and made complex life possible, captivating scientists for decades. Now, researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) report a surprising new discovery-a system thought to separate DNA has developed to sculpt the shape of the cell in cyanobacteria instead. The results, published in Science, shed light on how protein systems evolve and how multicellularity emerged in this type of ecologically essential bacteria.

17 Apr 2026

Sweat Peptide Dermcidin Prevents Flu Virus Entry Into Cells

A research team led by the Fisabio Foundation has demonstrated that dermcidin, an antimicrobial peptide produced constitutively by the human body, also exhibits antiviral activity against the influenza virus. The study also shows that people who do not develop flu-like symptoms have higher baseline levels of this molecule, which could be associated with lower susceptibility to infection.

31 Mar 2026