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New Computer-Driven Strategy Reveals How Membrane Proteins Maintain Stability

Cellular membrane proteins play many important roles throughout the body, including transporting substances in and out of the cell, transmitting signals, speeding up reactions and helping neighboring cells stick together.

8 Oct 2025

Cryo-EM Study Uncovers Hidden Steps in NMDA Receptor Activation

When it comes to brain proteins, small changes can make a dramatic difference. Researchers studying NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptors, which are essential for learning, memory and moment-by-moment consciousness, know that even slight changes in their activity level can mean the difference between normal function and serious neurological disorders.

25 Sep 2025

Tracing Origins of Wnt Signaling Through the Lipocone Superfamily

Researchers have described a large set of previously unrecognized enzymatic domains – named the Lipocone superfamily – and outlined their evolutionary pathway from bacterial defense molecules to key players in human development.

10 Sep 2025

Atomic Force Microscopy and AI Transform Understanding of Tangled DNA

At school, it's often presented as a tidy double helix but scientists are revealing the varied and intricate shapes of DNA molecules.

22 Aug 2025

UChicago Team Receives Grant to Study RNA Splicing and Cell Stress

During the first step of converting genetic information into functional proteins, cells transcribe the double-stranded helix of DNA into single strands of RNA.

3 Jul 2025

Study Reveals RNA Polymerase I Stalling Mechanism at Abasic DNA Damage Sites

New study shows RNA polymerase I halts at abasic DNA damage, helping prevent faulty rRNA production and exposing lesions for repair in dividing cells.

16 Jun 2025

Frog Egg Extracts Illuminate the Untangling Mechanism of DNA Knots

Research reveals how G-quadruplex DNA structures are untangled, highlighting a role for RNA in genome stability and potential cancer therapy strategies.

13 Jun 2025

Femtosecond Crystallography Reveals Cryptochrome Mechanisms

Research on cryptochromes using femtosecond crystallography uncovers rapid structural changes, enhancing our understanding of light-driven biological processes.

11 Jun 2025

Base Editing Breakthrough Brings Hope for Genetic Disease Treatment

You may have seen it in the news recently: a baby in Pennsylvania with a rare genetic disorder was healed with a personalized treatment that repaired his specific genetic mutation.

5 Jun 2025

Repairing DNA Double-Strand Breaks May Improve Genomic Stability by Limiting Organelle-to-Nucleus Gene Transfer

A new study in Nature Plants reveals that DNA double-strand break repair (DSBR) pathways help prevent gene transfer from organelles to the nucleus in plants. Disruption of DSBR increases the risk of genomic instability through endosymbiotic gene transfer (EGT).

2 Jun 2025

Danforth Technology Company Backs Startup Transforming Crop Genetics

The Danforth Technology Company (DTC) today announced the launch of Spearhead Bio, a startup pioneering a breakthrough platform to enhance the efficiency of crop genome engineering by harnessing the plant's own natural DNA.

14 May 2025

First-Ever Molecular Movie Shows DNA Unzipping Mechanism in Action

Scientists at the University of Leicester have captured the first detailed "molecular movie" showing DNA being unzipped at the atomic level – revealing how cells begin the crucial process of copying their genetic material.

22 Mar 2025

Visualizing the Fundamental Process of DNA Strand Separation

The exact moment DNA starts to unravel has been seen by scientists for the first time, exposing a chemical process that is essential for DNA to be the molecule that codes for all life.

20 Mar 2025

Understanding RapA's Function in E. coli R-loop Control

From a genetic perspective, it is the worst-case scenario for a bacterium: during transcription, freshly created RNA adheres to its DNA template to form a three-stranded structure called an R-loop.

15 Jan 2025

Researchers Map Influenza Virus RNA Protective Coat at Atomic Level

To fight the virus that causes influenza, one of the avenues being explored by scientists is the development of drugs capable of destabilizing its genome, made up of eight RNA molecules.

17 Dec 2024

BOOSTER Gene: Unlocking New Potential in Photosynthesis and Crop Productivity

The BOOSTER gene enhances photosynthesis in plants, improving efficiency and productivity under varying light conditions, crucial for agricultural advancements.

17 Dec 2024

Versatile Molecule with a New Role in Genome Maintenance

A multi-institutional team of researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology has uncovered a hitherto unidentified function for RNA.

22 Nov 2024

Discovery of Large Tandem Duplications Opens New Avenues for Cancer Treatment

Cancer researchers at the University of Chicago and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have discovered that mutations in certain genes can lead to the accumulation of DNA errors, resulting in a specific type of genetic change known as large tandem duplications (TDs) that can arise from the collision of two critical cellular processes: transcription and DNA replication.

21 Nov 2024

AI-Driven Insights into Lasso Peptide Biosynthesis

Lasso peptides are natural products made by bacteria. Their unusual lasso shape endows them with remarkable stability, protecting them from extreme conditions. In a new study, published in Nature Chemical Biology, researchers have constructed and tested models for how these peptides are made and demonstrated how this information might be used to advance lasso peptide-based drugs into the clinic.

23 Sep 2024

Study Reveals How Alternative Splicing Regulates Plant Metabolite Production

A recent study highlights the pivotal role of alternative splicing in controlling plant secondary metabolism, which is crucial for producing bioactive compounds with significant medicinal and industrial value.

14 Sep 2024