Molecular & Structural Biology

RSS

Synthetic Nanocompartments Offer a New Route to Boost Photosynthesis in Crops

Australian researchers have created tiny compartments to help supercharge photosynthesis, potentially boosting wheat and rice yields while slashing water and nitrogen use.

31 Oct 2025

Rapid Cell-Free Crystallization Method Reveals 3D Structures of Flexible Sugars

A quick, purification-free method was developed by researchers at Institute of Science Tokyo, to capture the detailed 3D structures of flexible sugar molecules.

31 Oct 2025

Researchers Discover Novel Clubroot Resistance Gene Crr5 in Chinese Cabbage

Clubroot disease, caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae, is a devastating soil-borne pathogen that severely threatens global production of cruciferous crops.

28 Oct 2025

Discovery of Glucocorticoid Receptor Multimerization Opens Path to Safer Therapies

Drugs to treat inflammatory and autoimmune diseases - such as asthma, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis or Chrousos syndrome - act mainly through the glucocorticoid receptor (GR).

28 Oct 2025

Study Reveals How TR4 Fungus Silences Banana Defense Genes

Bananas rank among the world's most valuable staple crops, yet their production faces severe losses from Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) tropical race 4 (TR4).

24 Oct 2025

RNA-Based Molecular Switch Enhances Disease Resistance in Pears

In recent years, scientists have uncovered the remarkable regulatory power of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) - RNA molecules once dismissed as "genetic dark matter."

24 Oct 2025

Fully Automated 3D Framework Accurately Maps Fruit Microstructure

Applied to apple and pear fruit, the model achieved very high accuracy, outperforming previous 2D approaches and traditional algorithms.

23 Oct 2025

Mapping the Molecular Choreography of Nuclear Pore Transport

Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) are tiny but sophisticated gatekeepers that control the flow of materials between a cell's nucleus and its cytoplasm by quickly selecting which molecules to transport across the nuclear membrane.

22 Oct 2025

Disarming Cancer’s Droplet Hubs to Halt Tumor Growth

In a city, coworking hubs bring people and ideas together. Inside cancer cells, similar hubs form-but instead of fueling progress, they supercharge disease. That's what researchers at the Texas A&M University Health Science Center (Texas A&M Health) have discovered inside the cells of a rare and aggressive kidney cancer.

21 Oct 2025

Decoding the Genetic Network Behind Soybean Shade Tolerance

In intercropping systems, soybeans grown beneath tall maize plants experience severe shading that disrupts photosynthesis, weakens stems, and limits yield.

21 Oct 2025

Synthetic Biology Unlocks New Ways to Engineer Plant–Microbe Interactions

By integrating engineering principles with plant biology, this review highlights how redesigned genetic pathways and plant-based biosensors can deepen understanding of plant responses to both harmful and beneficial microbes.

17 Oct 2025

Molecular Brake SlKNU Regulates Flower Formation and Fruit Development in Tomato

Floral meristems (FMs) are small clusters of stem cells that orchestrate flower formation and ultimately determine the size and structure of the fruit.

17 Oct 2025

Research Reveals Transcriptional Mechanism Behind Salt Tolerance in Watermelon

High soil salinity disrupts water absorption, ion balance, and photosynthesis in plants, leading to growth inhibition and yield loss.

16 Oct 2025

The Biological Tagging of Astrocytes Enhances Memory Recall

Why are we able to recall only some of our past experiences? A new study led by Jun Nagai at the RIKEN Center for Brain Science in Japan has an answer.

16 Oct 2025

New Insights into rRNA Motifs and Nervous System Genes

Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) is a type of molecule and a key building block of the ribosome, the cell's protein-making machinery. rRNA accounts for much of the RNA in a cell, and it's crucial for life.

15 Oct 2025

Structural Insights into Heat Shock Chaperone Complex and Protein Handoffs

The first full-length structures of two heat shock chaperone proteins in a complex reveal the key structural region regulating their function, according to a new study from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

15 Oct 2025

Auxin Controls Grape Berry Firmness Through a Hierarchical Gene Cascade

Grape berry softening is a crucial physiological transition that affects postharvest storage, transport, and flavor.

15 Oct 2025

Molecular Condensates Coordinate Crucial Life Decisions in Cells

A cell can act in astonishingly complex ways. It must decide for itself whether to grow and multiply, rest, specialize, age or die. This applies just as much to mammalian cells as it does to seemingly simple microbes.

14 Oct 2025

St. Jude Researchers Uncover Dual Role of ASPL in Stress Granule Assembly and Disassembly

Stress granules are droplet-like protein hubs that temporarily shield fragile RNA from cellular stresses such as toxins. VCP is a protein essential for breaking up stress granules and has been linked to neurodegenerative diseases.

10 Oct 2025