Molecular & Structural Biology

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Innovative SenMayo Gene Set Consistently Identifies Diverse Senescent Cells

A series of seven Mayo Clinic studies is helping reshape scientists' understanding of senescent, or "zombie," cells - aging cells that no longer divide but remain metabolically active and release inflammatory molecules that contribute to age-related diseases.

31 Jul 2026

Northwestern Chemists Repurpose Flexible DNA as Programmable Molecular Glue

For decades, scientists have largely relied on painstaking trial and error to coax proteins into crystalline forms.

30 Jul 2026

New Method Enables Faster Oxidation-Free Oligonucleotide Synthesis

Oligonucleotide synthesis is fundamental to genetic analysis, biological research, and nucleic acid therapeutics.

30 Jul 2026

Scientists Discover Molecular Mechanism Behind Red and Green Color Vision

Human color vision depends on three types of cone cells in the retina. Although all three contain the same light-absorbing molecule, 11-cis-retinal, differences in the surrounding protein determine sensitivity to red, green, or blue light.

28 Jul 2026

Dengue Virus Replicates Inside Memory B Cells to Evade Immunity

Researchers at the University of Vermont Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine and Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY, have discovered that dengue virus can infect and replicate inside memory B cells, immune cells traditionally understood to help protect the body from infection.

28 Jul 2026

Molecular Insights Into Fungal Effectors Disabling Host Immune Transcription Factors

Plants defend themselves through a layered innate immune system: pathogen-associated molecular pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) and effector-triggered immunity (ETI), mediated by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) and nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) receptors, respectively.

28 Jul 2026

New Molecule Restores Muscle Repair Signal Linked to Age-Related Muscle Loss

One of the first tissues to deteriorate with aging is skeletal muscle. Weakness, scarring, internal muscle fat accumulation, and the loss of fast-twitch muscle fibers—which are crucial for rapid and forceful movements—can result from this deterioration.

27 Jul 2026

Type I CRISPR Systems Regulate Embedded Innate Immunity Genes in Neisseria

The main function of CRISPR-Cas systems, the revolutionary tool scientists now employ to edit genes, is to defend bacteria against threats such as viruses called bacteriophages. Researchers have continued to study all flavors of CRISPR-Cas systems (to date, 2 classes, 7 types and 46 subtypes have been identified) to understand all their capabilities.

27 Jul 2026

Research Maps Structural Mechanism Linking Amino Acid Availability to Cancer Growth

Cells carry their own growth switches. When enough nutrients-amino acids in particular-are available, cells flip this switch on and begin to grow. Researchers at KAIST and Yonsei University have now uncovered the molecular mechanism by which amino acid signals activate this cellular growth switch.

27 Jul 2026

Study Uncovers Two Distinct Embryonic Macrophage Populations with Different Repair Abilities

In leukemia's most aggressive forms, the blood cell factories in our bone marrow falter. Instead of dividing and multiplying at their usual prolific pace, generating hundreds of billions of new cells daily, some precursor cells stall out at an immature stage.

27 Jul 2026

Changes in RNA Regulation Enable Bacteria to Enter Antibiotic Tolerance

Antibiotics are a medical marvel, but many microbes are gaining the ability to resist and tolerate these therapeutics. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have uncovered how S. pneumoniae adapts to antibiotic exposure and immune pressures.

23 Jul 2026

Artificially Recreating C3 Effects Overcomes Resistance in Hard-to-Treat Tumors

An ancient molecule that existed long before the blood circulation system evolved, has been found to support cancer immunotherapy. Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan found that complement C3 protein acts inside tumors to prevent the accumulation of immunosuppressive cells, but only when produced inside the tumor.

23 Jul 2026

Study Identifies a Brain Pathway That Drives Maternal Reward and Bonding

New research has found a hormone is responsible for making mothers' interactions with newborns feel rewarding rather than just necessary.

23 Jul 2026

New Open Source AI Toolkit Identifies Promising Peptide Medicines

Penn Engineers have developed PeptiVerse, an AI-powered platform that predicts key chemical and biological properties of peptides, the strings of amino acids whose medical potential has been demonstrated by the success of GLP-1 drugs, the widely used weight-loss treatments.

22 Jul 2026

Engineered Mice Carrying the Genetic Variant Develop Excessive Sweating

Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers have identified a genetic driver of primary idiopathic hyperhidrosis, a chronic condition that causes excessive sweating, providing some of the strongest evidence to date that the disorder can originate in the nervous system and may be treatable with targeted therapies.

22 Jul 2026

UC San Diego and Innovative Genomics Institute Partner to Develop Cutting-Edge Genomic Tools

The University of California San Diego and the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI), founded by Nobel laureate and CRISPR gene editing co-discoverer Jennifer Doudna, announced a new partnership today to jointly develop cutting-edge genomic tools for addressing large-scale challenges in health and the environment.

21 Jul 2026

Hidden Cellular Sub Compartments Drive Final Steps of Ribosome Assembly

The nucleolus is a liquid-like cellular organelle where protein factories called ribosomes are assembled.

20 Jul 2026

AI Breakthrough Generates Novel Synthetic RNA-Guided Nucleases

Artificial intelligence (AI)-designed proteins can now expand the CRISPR toolbox beyond what evolution has produced.

17 Jul 2026

Individual Brain Cells Store Long-Term Memories Utilizing Independent Dendrites

Branchlike structures called dendrites that extend from neurons appear to make their own computations independent of the cell body, helping individual brain cells store memories of the past, respond to the present, and anticipate the future, a study led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers suggests.

17 Jul 2026

Advanced Cellular Mapping Preserves Spatial Architecture During Holistic Herb Interventions

Traditional Chinese medicine is widely recognized for its holistic and systematic mode of action, often described as "multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway" regulation.

17 Jul 2026