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.

Identifying Molecules That Activate and Inhibit Key Protein Function

Researchers at Northwestern University have discovered a concealed molecular "control switch" within a protein that plays a crucial role in the body's ability to perceive taste, regulate blood sugar, and protect the gut.

7 Jan 2026

Hidden Molecular "Control Switch" Uncovered Inside TRPM5 Protein

Northwestern University scientists have uncovered a hidden molecular "control switch" inside a protein that helps the body sense taste, control blood sugar and defend the gut.

6 Jan 2026

Aging Alters a Common Set of RNA Splicing and Processing Genes Across Tissues

A new research paper featured as the cover of Volume 17, Issue 12 of Aging-US was published on December 22, 2025, titled "A combination of differential expression and network connectivity analyses identifies a common set of RNA splicing and processing genes altered with age across human tissues."

6 Jan 2026

Study Resolves Ancient Genome Duplication History of Flowering Plants

Angiosperms, also known as flowering plants, represent the most diverse group of seed plants, and their origin and evolution have long been a central question in plant evolutionary biology.

5 Jan 2026

Scientists Develop Noise Controller to Tame Random Cell Behavior

Why does cancer sometimes recur after chemotherapy? Why do some bacteria survive antibiotic treatment? In many cases, the answer appears to lie not in genetic differences, but in biological noise - random fluctuations in molecular activity that occur even among genetically identical cells.

5 Jan 2026

Interferon Response in Female Brains Linked to Alzheimer's Progression

More than seven million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, and two-thirds of them are women, according to the Alzheimer's Association. The O'Banion Lab at the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience at the University of Rochester has long been studying this disease and is looking more closely at the differences between male and female brains.

30 Dec 2025

Mitochondrial Protein That “Erases” Huntington’s Aggregates

DGIST has made a groundbreaking announcement: a research team, under the guidance of professors Jiwon Um and Jaewon Ko, has achieved a global first by elucidating the function of ‘ClpB.’

29 Dec 2025

Researchers Find Enzyme That Controls Fat Production, Offering New Drug Target

Obesity is a global epidemic and a major cause of morbidity and mortality because it increases the risk for comorbidities, including heart disease and fatty liver disease (MASLD). Rates of these disorders have risen as the world increasingly adopts energy-dense diets and sedentary lifestyles.

24 Dec 2025

Genetic Factor "Fru" Influences Bees' Cooperative Food-Seeking Behavior

A team of biologists from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU), along with researchers from Bochum and Paris, has uncovered a genetic component underlying intricate social behaviors in bees.

24 Dec 2025

UT Southwestern Researchers Design Tau Protein to Combat Neurodegenerative Diseases

A designer version of the tau protein, developed by a team led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers, maintains its biological function while resisting aggregation, a pathological trait linked to neurodegenerative diseases called tauopathies. These findings, reported in Structure, could lead to new treatments for conditions including Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), and progressive supranuclear palsy.

24 Dec 2025

Kinetic Traps Explain Differences in GPCR Drug Efficacy

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are proteins triggered by ligands (protein-binding chemicals) from outside cells to transmit signals inside the cell.

23 Dec 2025

Passive Adaptation Balances Protein Synthesis and Degradation in Cells

Every cell depends on proteins to function and stay healthy. These proteins are made inside the cell from amino acids but cannot simply accumulate inside the cell forever.

23 Dec 2025

Protein MCL1 Emerges as a Central Regulator of Cancer Metabolism

The researchers have succeeded in tracing two classic hallmarks of cancer – the evasion of apoptosis (a form of programmed cell death) and the dysregulation of energy metabolism – back to a common molecular mechanism.

23 Dec 2025

Study Identifies Protein Target to Overcome Drug Resistance in NSCLC

Lung cancer is the second-most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in the United States.

22 Dec 2025

Condensates Introduce a New Paradigm in Cellular Bioelectricity

Many biological processes are regulated by electricity-from nerve impulses to heartbeats to the movement of molecules in and out of cells.

19 Dec 2025

Elusive Kinase State Explains How Cells Achieve Efficient Signaling

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have characterized a hidden intermediate state at the center of Src kinase function. This hidden state allows the kinase to repeatedly modify its target, without needing to release

19 Dec 2025

Genetic Differences Can Undermine Antibody-Based Therapies

The genome differs from person to person in thousands of positions. In some cases, this means that proteins have a different building block in certain regions, rendering some antibody-based therapies ineffective, report researchers from the University of Basel, Switzerland.

18 Dec 2025

Kefir-Derived Bacteria Show Potential to Reverse Age-Related Immune Decline

The process of aging is associated with a decline in immune functions and persistent low-level inflammation.

18 Dec 2025

Long Non-Coding RNA Found to Directly Control Cell Size

What keeps our cells the right size? Scientists have long puzzled over this fundamental question, since cells that are too large or too small are linked to many diseases.

18 Dec 2025

A Molecular Tug-of-War Shapes Gene Regulation and Disease

A newly revealed molecular tug-of-war may have implications for better understanding how a multitude of diseases and disorders - including cancers, neurodegenerative diseases and immune disorders - originate, as well as how to potentially treat them, according to researchers at Penn State.

18 Dec 2025