Structural Biology News and Research

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Kinesin Motor Protein Variations Control Cargo Specificity in Neuronal Transport

Intracellular transport is a vital process that allows cells to move proteins and other molecules to specific locations.

13 Apr 2026

Cryo-Electron Microscopy Reveals Structure of Borna Virus RNA Protein Complex

Cases of Borna disease virus 1, or BoDV-1, are extremely rare in humans, but in those who develop disease the outcome is severe, almost always resulting in fatal encephalitis or inflammation in the brain.

13 Apr 2026

AI Predicts Viral Mutations to Design Future-Proof Vaccines

The wave-shaped chart Ratul Chowdhury pulls up on a computer monitor in his office captures the evolutionary cat-and-mouse game his research lab is up against.

13 Apr 2026

UTMB Researchers Develop AI Pipeline to Accelerate Pan-Alphavirus Vaccine Development

A team of scientists at The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), led by Nikos Vasilakis, PhD, and Peter McCaffrey, MD, has developed a new computational pipeline that could dramatically accelerate the development of vaccines against a group of mosquito-borne viruses known as alphavirus.

11 Apr 2026

New PanNDA Atlas Maps Protein Networks in Neurodegenerative Diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases form a tangled biological web with overlapping molecular signatures and symptoms. To decode this complexity, a multi-institute collaboration led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists developed the pan-neurodegeneration atlas (PanNDA).

24 Mar 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

Unveiling How a Respiratory Bacterium Obtains Lipids and Targets Fatty Tissues

A multidisciplinary team has uncovered a key mechanism that allows the human bacterium Mycoplasma pneumoniae-responsible for atypical pneumonia and other respiratory infections-to obtain cholesterol and other essential lipids directly from the human body.

16 Jan 2026

Scientists Identify TRPM4 as Key Molecular Switch Controlling Intestinal Fluid Balance

Although constipation and diarrhea may seem like opposite problems, they both hinge on the same underlying issue: how much fluid moves into the gut. These common issues affect millions of people in the U.S. each year, yet scientists have not fully understood what regulates intestinal fluid balance.

12 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

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

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

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

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

Capturing a Self-Splicing Ribozyme in Motion

RNA is a central biological macromolecule, now widely harnessed in medicine and nanotechnology. Like proteins, RNA function often depends on its precise three-dimensional structure.

28 Nov 2025

AlphaSync Brings Continuous Updates to Global Protein Structure Predictions

The shape, or structure, of proteins determines how they work, making it essential for researchers to have access to high-quality structural models.

12 Nov 2025

Atomic Structure of Kinesin-2 Reveals the Molecular Logic of Cargo Recognition

For decades, scientists have known that motor proteins like kinesin-2 ferry vital cargo along microtubule "highways" inside cells.

7 Nov 2025

Researchers Use Bacterium’s Own Defenses to Amplify Antibiotic Power

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have found a way to use a bacterium's own drug resistance mechanisms against itself, presenting a potentially safer and more effective way to treat certain antibiotic-resistant infections.

3 Nov 2025

Breakthrough Small Molecule Offers New Hope for Diabetes Treatment

Researchers from the University at Albany and NYU Grossman School of Medicine have found a way to block a key cellular pathway known to drive chronic inflammation and impaired wound healing in people with diabetes.

31 Oct 2025

Mapping the Molecular Choreography of Nuclear Pore Transport

Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) are tiny but sophisticated gatekeepers that control the flow of materials between a cell's nucleus and its cytoplasm by quickly selecting which molecules to transport across the nuclear membrane.

22 Oct 2025