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.

Biophysicists uncover new features of molecular elevator

Biophysicists from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and the University of Groningen in the Netherlands have visualized a nearly complete transport cycle of the mammalian glutamate transporter homolog from archaea.

21 Apr 2020

A novel prediction method for promising antiviral drug or vaccine targets

A novel method to predict the most promising targets for antiviral drugs or vaccines is based on the conformational changes viral glycoproteins go through during the process of recognition and binding to the host cell.

21 Apr 2020

Discovery marks a critical step toward developing new anti-cancer drugs

A team of scientists led by the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center and Case Comprehensive Cancer Center has identified the binding site where drug compounds could activate a key braking mechanism against the runaway growth of many types of cancer.

21 Apr 2020

Researchers use genome-wide CRISPR technology to identify leukemia's weakness

A team of researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center used CRISPR technology to identify key regulators of aggressive chronic myeloid leukemia, a type of cancer that remains difficult to treat and is marked by frequent relapse.

From UC San Diego 21 Apr 2020

Super-resolution fluorescence microscopy offers first molecular view inside cells

Medical scientists from UNSW Sydney have successfully detected the interactions that occur between individual molecules located inside intact cells, thus achieving unparalleled resolution capabilities in single-molecule microscopy.

From The University of New South Wales (UNSW) 21 Apr 2020

Study reveals the formation of tuft cells and their role in immunity

Chronic pancreatitis, or persistent inflammation of the pancreas, is a known risk factor that leads to the development of pancreatic cancer, which is the third-deadliest cancer in the United States.

20 Apr 2020

Chemical tools can regulate lipid concentration in living cells

Lipids have several crucial functions in the human body: They serve as messengers, which mediate the growth of cells and regulate the release of hormones.

20 Apr 2020

Advanced simulations show how to improve efficiency of gene therapy

Diseases with a genetic cause could, in theory, be treated by supplying a correct version of the faulty gene.

20 Apr 2020

Autoimmunity Plays A Role In Parkinson's Disease

A new study co-led by scientists at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) adds increasing evidence that Parkinson's disease is partly an autoimmune disease.

20 Apr 2020

Designing Peptide Inhibitors For Possible COVID-19 Treatments

Scientists across the globe are rushing to find inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus behind the COVID-19 pandemic.

20 Apr 2020

Novel protein facilitates a critical event in mammalian fertilization

Fertilization is a fundamental process in sexual reproduction when the combination of male and female gametes blends genetic material to create a new unique individual. Now, researchers from Japan have identified a new factor that may help orchestrate this vitally complex life event.

From Osaka University 17 Apr 2020

Newly-discovered mitochondrial small protein is essential for energy production

A newly-discovered small protein in mitochondria is essential for energy production, report Duke-NUS researchers and their colleagues in the journal Nature Communications.

17 Apr 2020

Study clears potential obstacle to using gene drive strategy to control mosquitoes

New research from entomologists at UC Davis clears a potential obstacle to using CRISPR-Cas9 "gene drive" technology to control mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever and Zika.

From The University of California, Davis 17 Apr 2020

Mitochondrial protein contributes to degenerative diseases

Scientists and their collaborators from Duke-NUS Medical School (Duke NUS) have recently identified a novel small protein in mitochondria, which is essential for energy production.

17 Apr 2020

Synapses of the human nervous system

The glutamate receptors do not actually adhere to “distance keeping.” Now, high-resolution microscopic studies have revealed that the receptors often appear in small groups at the synapses and remain in contact with other proteins.

17 Apr 2020

Gene Variant Staves Off Alzheimer's In Some People

People with a gene that puts them at risk for Alzheimer's disease are protected from its debilitating effects if they also carry a variant of a different gene.

17 Apr 2020

Deadliest Malaria Strain Protects Itself From The Immune System

The parasite causing the most severe form of human malaria uses proteins to make red blood cells sticky, making it harder for the immune system to destroy it.

17 Apr 2020

Molecular network underlies the structures of critical cellular compartments

Networks are at the heart of everything from communications systems to pandemics. Now researchers have found that a unique type of network also underlies the structures of critical cellular compartments known as membraneless organelles.

16 Apr 2020

UTSW researchers solve structure of key protein involved in muscle contraction

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have uncovered the detailed shape of a key protein involved in muscle contraction.

16 Apr 2020

3D simulations will show how coronavirus spike protein binds to human cell receptors

Computational chemist Mahmoud Moradi will develop enhanced, 3D simulations of the molecular dynamics of coronavirus spike glycoproteins to gain better understanding of how the virus binds to human cells.

16 Apr 2020