Ligand News and Research

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Novel Imaging Technique Unveils Structural Details of Drug-Resistant Cancer Protein

Researchers have shown for the first time that a crucial interface in a protein that drives cancer growth could act as a target for more effective treatments.

20 Mar 2024

uLIPSTIC Tool: Tracking Cell-to-Cell Interactions

Gaining an understanding of how various cell types cooperate to form tissues, organs, and organ systems is one of the main objectives of basic biology.

8 Mar 2024

Unraveling the Complexities of Sugar Sensing in Insects

Insects have numerous receptors on their tongues, each of which can detect a different kind of sugar, unlike humans who have a single receptor on their tongues that can detect all kinds of sweets, including artificial sweeteners like aspartame.

7 Mar 2024

Discovery of a Subset of Human Short Introns That Are Spliced Out by a Novel Mechanism

The well-known essential pre-mRNA splicing factor U2AF heterodimer (U2AF2–U2AF1) has been considered to mediate early splicing reaction in all introns of different lengths.

15 Feb 2024

Plant Study Reveals Novel Mechanism for Coordinating Cellular Responses to Stress

A team of researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently published a pioneering study that answers a central question in biology: how do organisms rally a wide range of cellular processes when they encounter a change-;either internally or in the external environment-;to thrive in good times or survive the bad times?

7 Feb 2024

Study Unveils Dual Role of 7-DHC in Ferroptosis and Cancer Cell Survival

Cell death is fundamental to life and, thus, healthy aging. In the realm of cellular biology, ferroptosis (a form of programmed cell death) has emerged not only as a focal point of research for its potential in eliminating cancer cells, but also its role in a plethora of other diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, eye diseases such as Retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration, as well as ischemia, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, acute kidney injury and inflammation.

2 Feb 2024

Versatility of Rfamgen using Diverse RNA Families

The world’s first deep generative model for RNA design was created through a joint research project between Professors Hirohide Saito (Department of Life Science Frontiers, CiRA, Kyoto University) and Michiaki Hamada (Waseda University).

22 Jan 2024

The Adrenaline Puzzle Solved: Scientists Untangle Key Cell Receptor's Inner Workings

Through an international collaboration, scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital leveraged data science, pharmacology and structural information to conduct an atomic-level investigation into how each amino acid in the receptor that binds adrenaline contributes to receptor activity in the presence of this natural ligand.

26 Dec 2023

Unveiling the Role of Exosomes in Regulating Hepatic Lipid Metabolism

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), characterized by an excess accumulation of hepatic lipids, is highly prevalent and can progress to cirrhosis and liver cancer.

12 Dec 2023

Scientists Discover New Class of Molecular Glue Degraders for Cancer Therapy

Cells contain molecular machinery that targets and disposes of unwanted proteins to maintain homeostasis.

17 Nov 2023

New Drug-Like Molecule Enhances Mitophagy, Protects Against Neurodegeneration

Having healthy mitochondria, the organelles that produce energy in all our cells, usually portends a long healthy life whether in humans or in C. elegans, a tiny, short-lived nematode worm often used to study the aging process.

14 Nov 2023

Revolutionizing Drug Discovery: The Role of AI in Lead Optimization

Lead optimization in the field of drug discovery poses a formidable challenge, predominantly hinging on conjectures and the expertise of medicinal chemists.

25 Oct 2023

New Collaboration Aims to Advance Cancer Therapies Against Previously Undruggable Targets

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Nexo Therapeutics today announced a multi-year strategic collaboration that aligns the innovative technology and capabilities of each organization at the earliest stages of drug discovery and development to rapidly advance impactful new cancer therapies against previously undruggable targets.

26 Jul 2023

Extraoral Bitter Taste Receptors Serve as Endogenous Sensors for Bile Acids

Taste receptors for bitter substances are not only observed on the tongue but also on cells outside of the oral cavity.

5 Jul 2023

Researchers Develop Novel Metal-Protein Hybrid Complex With Enhanced ROS Activity

Cu(II) complexes with low molecular weight are functional superoxide-dismutase (SOD) models with superior reactive oxygen species (ROS) removal ability.

30 May 2023

Identifying Drugs to Put the Brakes On Accelerated Aging From HIV Infection, Treatment

Antiretroviral cocktails can make human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, undetectable and untransmittable, but both the virus and its treatment can also accelerate aging of bone and muscle.

24 May 2023

T Cells can Fuel Their Ability to Attack Tumors

When you need a bit of motivation, it often has to come from within. New research suggests cancer-fighting immune cells have found a way to do just that.

9 May 2023

KAI2-Ligand Signaling Pathway Responsible for Regulating Vegetative Reproduction in Liverwort Plants

Asexual, or vegetative, reproduction in plants is controlled by environmental conditions, but the molecular signaling pathways that control this process are poorly understood.

3 Apr 2023

Researchers Uncover a New, Direction-Dependent Friction in Proteins

An interdisciplinary research team of the Institutes of Physical Chemistry and Physics of the University of Freiburg and the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics in Frankfurt-am-Main has discovered a new, direction-dependent friction in proteins called anisotropic friction.