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.

Bacterial Protein Fragment Disrupts Cell Quality Systems Causing Tissue Scarring

A bacterial protein fragment called corisin drives the process of pulmonary fibrosis by infiltrating and disrupting the cell's quality-control system, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Mie University in Japan found in a new study.

1 Sep 2026

Novel Chemical Probes Improve Capture of Elusive DNA Repair Proteins

PARylation is a reversible post-translational modification in which PARP enzymes use NAD+ to assemble PAR chains on proteins. These chains can function as signaling scaffolds that recruit proteins involved in DNA repair, chromatin organization, transcription, and stress responses.

1 Sep 2026

Advanced Computational Methods Map Metabolite Binding Proteins Across Cellular Contexts

Endogenous metabolites participate in nearly every fundamental biological process, serving not only as metabolic intermediates but also as signaling molecules that influence physiology and disease.

1 Sep 2026

Repulsive Bias Forces AlphaFold3 to Uncover Alternative Dynamic Protein States

Conformational changes in proteins are vital to their function yet remain challenging for state-of-the-art artificial intelligence, such as AlphaFold3, to predict.

1 Sep 2026

Tiny Cell Structures Called Peroxisomes Protect Vital Human Insulin Supply

Researchers at LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center have identified a previously underappreciated role for tiny structures inside cells called peroxisomes in protecting insulin and maintaining the health and maturity of insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells.

31 Aug 2026

Single Line T Cell Immunity Fails Maintaining Permanent Zika Protections

CA-Zika virus has been spreading for decades, but it first grabbed worldwide headlines in 2016. That February, with an outbreak sweeping the Americas, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the surge in Zika-linked birth defects a "public health emergency of international concern"-a designation which lasted until that November.

31 Aug 2026

Essential SNX5 Protein Alerts Human Immune Cells to Tuberculosis Infections

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified a protein that helps the immune system respond to tuberculosis (TB), one of the world's leading infectious diseases.

31 Aug 2026

Scientists Find Cancer Gene Forcing Zombie Cells to Cause Aging

In a tale of identities as divergent as "The Prince and the Pauper," a well-known cancer-causing gene also influences cells in a zombie-like state meant to prevent cancer.

31 Aug 2026

Next-Generation RNA Therapeutic Approach Offers Hope for Treating Diverse Genetic Diseases

Researchers at the University of Toronto have developed a next-generation RNA therapeutic approach with the potential to treat a wide range of genetic diseases that share certain disease-causing mutations.

28 Aug 2026

Cellular Glue Helps Engulf Dying Cells

A protein which sticks cells and tissues together has been found to have a surprising second job: helping cells which are packed into a continuous sealed layer, also known as epithelial cells, engulf nearby dead cells.

28 Aug 2026

Newly Found Fibroblasts Help Lung Tumors Evade Immune System

Researchers at Columbia University have discovered a new type of cell that protects lung cancers from attacks by the immune system.

28 Aug 2026

Study Traces How Animals Tap into a Microbial Energy Reserve Believed to Be Inaccessible

This study reveals widespread enzymatic capabilities in animals to break down microbial storage compounds, impacting our understanding of carbon cycling.

27 Aug 2026

New Model Accelerates Design of Protein Degrader Drugs

A team of Weill Cornell Medicine investigators has developed a computer model that will help scientists more efficiently develop protein-destroying therapies, a newer type of treatment that is particularly promising for cancer.

27 Aug 2026

New Research Explains Genetic Theft and Evolution in Parasitic Plants

Many plant species parasitize other plants by latching on and taking the nutrition their host needs to survive.

27 Aug 2026

Bat DNA Offers Insights Into Longevity and Cancer Resistance

Bats are anomalies in the mammalian world-they fly, have long lifespans, and rarely get cancer. Scientists now suspect the bat immune system enables them to live longer without disease, according to a new study published today in Nature.

27 Aug 2026

New Agentex Tool Synthesizes Molecules Without Damaging Natural Machinery

Scientists have been hard at work for more than 20 years to instruct biological systems, such as E. coli cells, to produce proteins they don't naturally do.

27 Aug 2026

Mutation Stalls Immature Brain Cell Maturation Leading to Aggressive Gliomas

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have shown that specific brain cells respond differently to the H3.3 K27M, a mutation in the histone H3.3 protein that drives many cases of diffuse midline glioma (DMG), depending on the cell's location in the developing brain.

27 Aug 2026