Molecular & Structural Biology

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Plant Protein Drives Textured Cell Growth in Lab-Grown Meat

Cultivated meat, or lab-grown meat, which is made of animal muscle and fat cells grown in a lab, has become a viable option as the world's population grows.

30 Jan 2024

SYCE2 Gene Variant Disrupts Alignment of Chromosomes, Potentially Leading to Pregnancy Loss

Scientists at deCODE genetics, a subsidiary of Amgen and their collaborators from Iceland, Denmark and USA published a study today in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology titled "Variant in the synaptonemal complex protein SYCE2 associates with pregnancy loss through effects on recombination".

30 Jan 2024

Scientists Harness Cellular Scaffolding for New Bio-Inspired Technologies

Princeton researchers have learned to harness the gossamer scaffolding that maintains the structure of living cells and used it to develop a nanotechnology platform.

27 Jan 2024

New Technique Reveals Order and Flow in the Cell's Control Center

Though its material characteristics still baffle scientists, the cell nucleus is thought to be the center of control for essential cellular functions

22 Jan 2024

Versatility of Rfamgen using Diverse RNA Families

The world’s first deep generative model for RNA design was created through a joint research project between Professors Hirohide Saito (Department of Life Science Frontiers, CiRA, Kyoto University) and Michiaki Hamada (Waseda University).

22 Jan 2024

DNA Repair Breakthrough: Scientists Reveal RecA's Precise Helix Navigation

Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have been studying DNA repair by homologous recombination, where the RecA protein repairs breaks in double-stranded DNA by incorporating a dangling single-strand end into intact double strands, and repairing the break based on the undamaged sequence.

22 Jan 2024

Study Uncovers Chromatin Modifier-Centered Pathway for Grain Size Regulation in Rice

Chromatin is the complex of DNA and proteins that makes up the genetic material in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells.

18 Jan 2024

Universal Networking Principles Wire Up Different Brains

A new study by physicists and neuroscientists from the University of Chicago, Harvard and Yale describes how connectivity among neurons comes about through general principles of networking and self-organization, rather than the biological features of an individual organism.

18 Jan 2024

Investigating the Functional Mechanisms of RNA Replicase

It has long been a mystery how the complex molecular machinery of life sprang from modest beginnings.

17 Jan 2024

Herts Awarded Its Biggest Ever Research Grant to Develop Biodetection Technologies Against Harmful, Airborne Pathogens

The University of Hertfordshire has been awarded £13.5million – its biggest ever research grant – to expand and progress its sector-leading, research-led development of biodetection technologies against harmful, airborne pathogens.

17 Jan 2024

Uncovering the Role of Faulty Signalling in Immune Cell Development

An autoimmune disease occurs when the body’s own cells are attacked by the immune system in addition to external pathogens.

16 Jan 2024

Epigenetic Key Unlocks Treatment Path for Endocrine-Resistant Breast Cancer

Endocrine resistance – a major cause of breast cancer deaths – can be underpinned by an epigenetic change called DNA methylation, researchers at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research have discovered.

10 Jan 2024

Exploring the Dual Role of Phosphorylated α-Synuclein in Healthy Neural Function

It has been found by researchers that phosphorylated α-synuclein, a protein linked to a number of neurodegenerative illnesses, including Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia, is also engaged in the regular processes of neuronal communication in a healthy brain.

10 Jan 2024

Key Cytokine Pairs Driving Sepsis Damage Identified

One of the main causes of death in the ICU is sepsis, which is the result of an infection that causes the immune system to mistakenly target the body.

9 Jan 2024

Computational Creation of Complex Protein All-α Structures

Based on their amino acid sequences, proteins fold into distinct three-dimensional structures that determine their function. While de novo protein design has advanced significantly, complex all-αproteins, in which α-helices are not stacked in a parallel fashion within three-dimensional structures, have not been as easily designed.

8 Jan 2024

B12-Producing Gut Bacteria Modulate Neurotransmitter Levels and Reduce Seizures in C. elegans

A new study published in Nature Cell Biology by Mark Alkema, PhD, professor of neurobiology, establishes an important molecular link between specific B12-producing bacteria in the gut of the roundworm C. elegans and the production of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter important to memory and cognitive function.

5 Jan 2024