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Study reveals metabolic signaling pathways that influence key immune cells

Effector regulatory T cells, also known as eTreg cells, are a specialized subset of white blood cells that maintain the immune system.

18 Nov 2020

Discovery of 'Achilles heel' in protein crucial to HIV virulence paves way for new drugs

The discovery of a potential "Achilles heel" in Nef, the protein that is crucial to HIV virulence and its capacity to trigger AIDS, paves the way for the development of a new class of drugs against the virus.

17 Nov 2020

CRISPR technique reveals genes that regulate physiological, behavioral changes

In social hierarchy, rank is a condition that is not exclusively claimed by human beings. In the animal world, male peacocks have vividly colored plumes to show dominance, while underwater, male fish exhibit an array of vivid colors to do the same.

11 Nov 2020

Researchers investigate role of sweet taste receptor in the regulation of satiety

The sweet taste of sugar is very popular worldwide. In Austria and Germany, the yearly intake per person adds up to about 33 and 34 kilograms, respectively. Thus, sugar plays an increasingly role in the nutrition and health of the population, especially with regard to body weight.

11 Nov 2020

Mutations in SARS-CoV-2 spike protein may improve monoclonal antibody resistance

A recent paper examines a mutation of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 that has been observed to have arisen independently twice.

10 Nov 2020

New method to improve preclinical evaluation of CAR-T cell therapies

Ludwig Cancer Research scientists have developed a method to significantly improve the preclinical evaluation of chimeric antigen-receptor (CAR) T cell therapies.

9 Nov 2020

Researchers discover how tomato plants identify Cuscuta as a parasite

Working together with researchers from the University of Tübingen, the University of Tromsø, the UC Davis and the Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich, biologists from Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) have discovered how tomato plants identify Cuscuta as a parasite.

5 Nov 2020

Researchers use new technology to design promising vaccine for COVID-19

A new nanoparticle vaccine candidate developed for the novel coronavirus creates virus-neutralizing antibodies in mice at levels that are 10 times higher than is observed in individuals, who have recovered from the COVID-19 disease.

4 Nov 2020

Study shows memory T cells are formed earlier than previously thought

A person will acquire immunity to a specific disease when T cells develop into memory cells after making contact with pathogens.

4 Nov 2020

Mature SARS-CoV-2 particle development by host-protein interactions

The proteins of SARS-CoV-2 play a key role in self-arrangement and particle formation, and current work suggests that an assembly is formed in the lipid bilayer of the endoplasmic reticulum.

3 Nov 2020

New method sheds light on the neuronal mechanisms of fly motion vision

Where in a nerve cell is a certain receptor protein located? Without an answer to this question, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions about the function of this protein.

3 Nov 2020

Pancreatic cancer cells avert starvation by signaling to nerves, shows study

Pancreatic cancer cells avert starvation by signaling to nerves, which grow into dense tumors and secrete nutrients. This is the finding of a study with experiments in cancer cells, mice, and human tissue samples published online on November 2 in Cell.

3 Nov 2020

'Training’ the innate immunity may improve the success of immunotherapy

Immunotherapies, such as checkpoint inhibitor drugs, have made worlds of difference for the treatment of cancer. Most clinicians and scientists understand these drugs to act on what's known as the adaptive immune system, the T cells and B cells that respond to specific threats to the body.

30 Oct 2020

Genetic predispositions affect the efficacy of COVID-19 drugs

A paper recently uploaded to bioRxiv* aimed to utilize genome-wide CRISPR screening to identify genes involved in modulating the activity of COVID-19 drugs.

29 Oct 2020

Researchers map molecular structure of CV30 antibody to neutralize coronavirus

Scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle have shown that a potent antibody from a COVID-19 survivor interferes with a key feature on the surface of the coronavirus's distinctive spikes and induces critical pieces of those spikes to break off in the process.

28 Oct 2020

Serologic testing of COVID-19 patients as an adjunct diagnostic method

A recent paper explored the possibility of using serologic testing as an adjunct diagnostic method in the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

28 Oct 2020

Proviral and antiviral genes may help develop new therapies for COVID-19

Scientists have screened an unlimited number of cells exposed to the COVID-19 virus and detected genes that appear to close the door on the virus.

27 Oct 2020

Anti-inflammatory mediator could play key role in wound healing

"Wound healing is one of the most complex biological processes," writes Professor Kazumitsu Sugiura and Dr Kenta Saito from Fujita Health University, Japan, in their article recently published in Nature's Scientific Reports.

27 Oct 2020

Researchers identify genes associated with autism spectrum disorder

The lack of some genes in the BEC/TCEAL cluster could be related to some alterations associated with the autism spectrum disorder, according to a preclinical study published in the journal Genome Biology, and led by Professor Jordi Garcia Fernàndez, from the Faculty of Biology and the Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona (IBUB), and researcher Jaime Carvajal, from the Andalusian Centre for Developmental Biology - University Pablo de Olavide (CSIC-UPO).

27 Oct 2020

Novel machine learning algorithm helps identify binding sites in drug targets

Scientists from the iMolecule group at Skoltech Center for Computational and Data-Intensive Science and Engineering (CDISE) developed BiteNet, a machine learning (ML) algorithm that helps find drug binding sites, i.e. potential drug targets, in proteins.

27 Oct 2020