Molecular & Structural Biology

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Liquid “Shock Absorber” Protecting DNA During Cell Division

According to a recent study, mitotic chromosomes are coated in a liquid-like coating that could enable them to bounce off one another like dodgem cars, preventing harm during cell division.

18 Jul 2025

Amino Acids Guide Cell Responses to Drugs Through a Complex Network

Amino acids play a fundamental role in regulating how cells respond to drugs. These molecules, which form proteins, act like bricks that communicate with each other within a structure.

17 Jul 2025

Hormone-Sensitive Brain Circuit Drives Mating Behaviors in Mice

In animals with social structures, the drive to reproduce is a complex process; governed by the brain, it's influenced by both internal cues such as hormones and external factors such as interactions with potential mates.

17 Jul 2025

New Metabolic Map Reveals How Blood Stem Cells Age and Become Diseased

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg and ETH Zürich have created the first integrated map detailing the metabolic and molecular changes in human blood stem cells as they age, specialize, or turn cancerous.

16 Jul 2025

MiROM Uses Infrared Light to Detect Protein Changes in Single Cells

MiROM identifies proteins by using mid-infrared light to detect molecular vibrations – essentially the natural "dance" of molecules within protein structures.

16 Jul 2025

New Research Reveals Key Protein Behind Plant Heat Tolerance

While humans can escape the heat by seeking shade or shedding layers, plants remain rooted in place. So how do they survive extreme heat? It's a question many have wondered-and now, science has an answer.

15 Jul 2025

Paternal miRNAs Play Unexpected Role in Seed Viability and Embryogenesis

By using targeted gene silencing in different pollen cell types, the study reveals that disrupting DCL1 function either in the vegetative cell or in sperm cells leads to defective seed formation.

14 Jul 2025

Researchers Uncover Complex Substrate Profile for Enzyme Action

Research on γ-secretase reveals its unique substrate recognition mechanism, offering potential for developing precise therapeutic agents for various diseases.

14 Jul 2025

UAB Identifies Six Novel Subsets, Reshaping Immune Knowledge

The study highlights T-bet's importance in memory B cells, essential for rapid antibody production and sustained immune defense against influenza.

14 Jul 2025

New Protein Superfamily Redefines Bacterial Interactions

A newly identified bacterial protein, PopA, reveals complex interactions in bacteria, challenging existing models of membrane protein formation.

9 Jul 2025

Cryo-EM Uncovers How Tiny Protein Enzyme Precisely Trims tRNA

To build proteins, cells rely on a molecule called transfer RNA, or tRNA. tRNAs act like protein-building couriers, where they read the genetic instructions from messenger RNA, mRNA, and deliver the right amino acids to ribosomes, the cell's protein-making factories.

8 Jul 2025

Mediterranean Bacteria Offer New Weapon Against Mosquito-Borne Diseases

Mosquito-borne diseases kill more than 700,000 people every year, according to the World Health Organization, and the mosquitos that spread the disease are difficult to control.

8 Jul 2025

Study Links Cell Surface Receptor Pairing to Proper Embryonic Body Shape

During animal development, cells divide and arrange themselves in a coordinated way, eventually forming the embryo.

4 Jul 2025

UChicago Team Receives Grant to Study RNA Splicing and Cell Stress

During the first step of converting genetic information into functional proteins, cells transcribe the double-stranded helix of DNA into single strands of RNA.

3 Jul 2025

Flavoproteins Become Built-in Sensors for Studying Cellular Processes

Cornell researchers have found a new and potentially more accurate way to see what proteins are doing inside living cells - using the cells' own components as built-in sensors.

3 Jul 2025

ColdBrew Enhances Accuracy of Protein Water Mapping for Drug Design

Every protein in the body is encased in a water shell that directs protein structure, provides vital stability and steers function.

30 Jun 2025

VIRMA Protein Identified as Key Regulator of Ribosome Biogenesis in Brain Development

Ribosomes are tiny molecular machines inside all living cells that build proteins, and ribosome biogenesis is the complex, multi-step process by which they are made.

30 Jun 2025

Yeast Model Offers Insight Into Proteasome and Mitochondria Interplay

A study by the Center for Redox Processes in Biomedicine (Redoxoma) led by Marilene Demasi from the Butantan Institute (São Paulo, Brazil) presents a valuable new experimental model for investigating the interaction between the proteasome and mitochondrial function.

30 Jun 2025

Study Finds Protein Cleavage Essential for Healthy Cilia and Cell Signaling

New research by Sumeda Nandadasa, PhD, reveals how a key protein associated with Meckel-Gruber syndrome, nephronophthisis, Joubert syndrome and other ciliopathies is cut in half to perform two separate functions, both of which are fundamental to the healthy development of children.

30 Jun 2025

Natural Compound from Propolis Alters Membrane Fluidity

A new study by Professor José Villalaín, Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH), provides a detailed description of how nymphaeol A - a compound found in propolis - behaves when interacting with cell membranes.

26 Jun 2025