Ligase News and Research

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Systematic Platform Accelerates Identification of Novel Protein Degradation Drug Candidates

Investigators at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have developed a platform for systematically discovering molecular glues that could become protein degradation drug candidates.

6 Aug 2026

New Double Donut Structure Reveals How SPOP Protein Regulates Cancer

Mutations to the protein SPOP are widespread in cancer, yet many remain poorly understood. To address this gap, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists obtained structures of SPOP in both the presence and absence of these mutations.

14 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

Single Experiment Tool Allows Researchers to Test Thousands of Proteins

To prevent viruses from sickening or killing us - whether it's an individual case of hepatitis B or a COVID pandemic - it's crucial to understand how the proteins they make initiate changes in our bodies that allow them to flourish.

11 Jul 2026

Migrating Neurons Break and Repair Their Own DNA During Brain Cortex Formation

Newborn nerve cells must squeeze through crowded, narrow spaces-through dense tissue, past other cells, between fibers-to reach the areas where they form neural circuits in the brain cortex.

18 Jun 2026

Researchers Reverse Immune Cell Dysfunction by Degrading Key Gene Regulatory Proteins

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Bristol Myers Squibb, and the University of Oxford have discovered a way to give worn-out immune cells a second wind in the fight against multiple myeloma.

20 May 2026

New Enzyme Atlas Rewrites Decades of Biology Research

WEHI researchers have led a major global effort to create the first authoritative atlas for a class of enzymes that regulate almost every cellular process in the human body.

From Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) 23 Mar 2026

Mapping the Human E3 Ligase Landscape

Maintaining cellular order is a major logistical challenge: Individual mammalian cells contain billions of protein molecules, which must be synthesized, deployed, and removed with precision.

19 Jan 2026

New Molecules Harness Cellular Recycling to Eliminate Cancer's Immune Shield IDO1

Cells have a remarkable housekeeping system: proteins that are no longer needed, defective, or potentially harmful are labeled with a molecular "tag" and dismantled in the cellular recycling machinery.

8 Jan 2026

Circular Single-Stranded DNA Molecule Can Simultaneously Silence Multiple MicroRNAs

Professor Dongsheng Liu of Tsinghua University, Professor Ziyang Hao of Capital Medical University, and Researcher Yuanchen Dong of the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, have collaborated to develop a circular single-stranded DNA molecule capable of simultaneously silencing multiple miRNAs.

4 Dec 2025

Study Uncovers Principles Guiding Replication Initiation Across the Human Genome

When cells proliferate, genomic DNA is precisely duplicated once per cell cycle. Abnormalities in this DNA replication process can cause alterations in genomic DNA, promoting cellular aging, cancer, and genetic disorders.

4 Dec 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