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.

Cells Use Condensates to Save RNA Messages During Stress

All cells need to sense and respond to their environment, to know when to activate genes, build proteins, and carry out their basic functions.

4 Dec 2025

New Tool Predicts Which Intrinsically Disordered Regions Drive Condensate Formation

Fusion oncoproteins arise when a gene fuses with another gene and acquires new abilities. Such abilities can include the formation of biomolecular condensates, "droplets" of concentrated proteins, DNA or RNA.

4 Dec 2025

Benchmarking DNA Language Models for Precision Genomics

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have performed a comprehensive evaluation of five artificial intelligence (AI) models trained on genomic sequences, known as DNA foundation language models.

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

Study Reveals How Cells Compensate for Missing Chromosomes

A hallmark of cancerous cells is an abnormal number of chromosomes or chromosome arms, known as aneuploidy.

4 Dec 2025

Study Exposes Ancestry Biases in Current Gene Annotations

Human gene maps contain major blind spots because they were built largely from the DNA sequences of people with European ancestry, according to a study published today in Nature Communications.

4 Dec 2025

Engineered Gut Bacteria With MiRNA Nanoparticles To Reverse IBD

Biomimetic nanoparticles delivering microRNA to gut bacteria enhance protective metabolites, repair intestinal barriers, and alleviate colitis symptoms.

3 Dec 2025

Light-Activated AR3 Triggers Alkalinity-Driven Apoptosis in Cancer Cells

One of the hallmarks of cancer cells is their ability to evade apoptosis, or programmed cell death, through changes in protein expression.

2 Dec 2025

Decoding the Interaction Between SV2A Protein and Anti-Epileptic Drugs

A multi-institute team led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and UT Southwestern Medical Center investigators established for the first time how certain drugs used to treat epilepsy affect their target.

2 Dec 2025

Unraveling How GFAP Mutations Disrupt Mitochondria in Alexander Disease

Some brain disorders are straightforward, such as the direct frontal lobe assault of a concussion or traumatic brain injury. Others, like Alexander disease, are akin to guerilla warfare.

2 Dec 2025

Study Reveals ATM-Driven Mechanism Behind Telomere-Induced Senescence

After a finite number of divisions, cells simply give up. As each round of replication trims their telomeres-the protective caps at the chromosome ends-those caps eventually become too short to prevent chromosome ends from being recognized as DNA breaks.

2 Dec 2025

Ambiguous Stop Codons Expand the Genetic Code in Archaea

The beauty of the DNA code is that organisms interpret it unambiguously. Each three-letter nucleotide sequence, or codon, in a gene codes for a unique amino acid that's added to a chain of amino acids to make a protein.

2 Dec 2025

Study Uncovers How Polyploid Plants Harness Transposons for Evolutionary Innovation

Polyploidization, the combination and duplication of genomes, is a major driver of plant evolution and diversification. Yet this process causes "genome shock," leading to rapid activation of transposable elements (TEs).

2 Dec 2025

CRISPR Technologies Transform On-Site Detection of Animal Pathogens

The rapid spread of animal diseases and pathogen evolution have long posed significant threats to the healthy development of animal husbandry.

28 Nov 2025

Real-Time Visualization Reveals the Transcriptional Gearbox

Life's instructions are written in DNA, but it is the enzyme RNA polymerase II (Pol II) that reads the script, transcribing RNA in eukaryotic cells and eventually giving rise to proteins.

28 Nov 2025

Study Identifies Adipogenin as Crucial Driver of Lipid Droplet Formation

A microprotein called adipogenin appears to play a key role in helping fat cells store lipid droplets – a phenomenon that's pivotal for metabolic health, a study co-led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers shows.

27 Nov 2025

Gene Transcription Start Sites Identified as Hidden Mutational Hotspots

Researchers have discovered new regions of the human genome particularly vulnerable to mutations. These altered stretches of DNA can be passed down to future generations and are important for how we study genetics and disease.

27 Nov 2025

UBQLN2 Liquid Droplets Found to Catalyze Early α-Synuclein Aggregation

Parkinson's disease (PD) is an age-related, progressive neurodegenerative disorder. The hallmark of PD pathogenesis is the Lewy bodies (LBs) that accumulate in neurons in the substantia nigra region of the brain, damaging these neurons and leading to the motor symptoms of the disease. α-synuclein (α-syn), a misfolded protein, aggregates and forms fibrils, which leads to the formation of LBs.

27 Nov 2025

Scientists Uncover Inner Workings of Biomolecular Condensates Linked to ALS

Inside the cell reside many tiny assembly factories and warehouses that gather together all of the proteins and RNAs-which carry out instructions from our DNA-that a living being needs.

27 Nov 2025

Kinase Inhibitors Found to Trigger Widespread Target Protein Degradation

Protein kinases are the molecular switches of the cell. They control growth, division, communication, and survival by attaching phosphate groups to other proteins.

27 Nov 2025