Eukaryotes News and Research

RSS

New computer program can read any genome sequence and decipher its genetic code

Yekaterina "Kate" Shulgina was a first year student in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, looking for a short computational biology project so she could check the requirement off her program in systems biology. She wondered how genetic code, once thought to be universal, could evolve and change.

9 Nov 2021

New method to study the nuclear pore complex directly inside cells

Context matters. It's true for many facets of life, including the tiny molecular machines that perform vital functions inside our cells.

18 Oct 2021

Research project focusing on membraneless organelles receives funding from Volkswagen Foundation

As part of its "Life?" project, the Volkswagen Foundation is funding a research project that is placing membraneless organelles within cells in the spotlight as a way of understanding the fundamental processes that are essential to life.

6 Sep 2021

University of Arkansas receives $6.1 million grant to establish an institute focused on virus research

The National Science Foundation has awarded a $6.1 million grant to the University of Arkansas to establish a research institute focused on virology and virus ecology.

17 Aug 2021

Fungi that live in the gut may be equally important in health and disease

Bacteria's role in gut health has received a lot of attention in recent years. But new research led by scientists at University of Utah Health shows that fungi-;another microorganism that lives within us-;may be equally important in health and disease.

14 Jul 2021

New study maps evolutionary history and interrelationships of protein domains

Proteins have been quietly taking over our lives since the COVID-19 pandemic began. We've been living at the whim of the virus's so-called "spike" protein, which has mutated dozens of times to create increasingly deadly variants. But the truth is, we have always been ruled by proteins. At the cellular level, they're responsible for pretty much everything.

1 Jul 2021

Yeast cell machinery seamlessly 'reads' the unnatural ingredients in the genetic recipe

If the genome is the recipe of life, base pairs are the individual ingredients listed. These chemical structures form DNA, and every living organism on Earth has just four. The specific arrangements of these four base pairs -- A, T, C, G -- make us who and what we are.

18 Jun 2021

Researchers map potential toxicity of lanthanide metals used in medicine

Lanthanides are rare-earth heavy metals with useful magnetic properties and a knack for emitting light. Researchers had long assumed that lanthanides' toxicity risk was low and therefore safe to implement in a number of high-tech breakthroughs we now take for granted: from OLEDs (organic light-emitting displays)¬¬ to medical MRIs and even hybrid vehicles.

9 Jun 2021

A single archaeal enzyme can produce a spectacular range of natural and non-natural cardiolipins

Cells of all life forms are surrounded by a membrane that is made of phospholipids. One of these are the cardiolipins, which form a separate class due to their unique structure.

7 May 2021

Discovery of cryptic pocket in SARS-CoV-2 may lead to pan-coronavirus therapies

A new research paper published in the Biophysical Journal describes a novel binding pocket used by a viral non-structural protein (nsp) to form an activated complex with its partner nsp. In so doing, it may have revealed a common target that may be useful in the development of a broad-spectrum antiviral drug against all coronaviruses.

1 Apr 2021

Identifying druggable targets on an essential SARS-CoV-2 protein

In a research paper recently uploaded to the preprint server bioRxiv by Newman et al. (March 15th, 2021) the structure and role of one such protein: NSP13, is investigated, with two appealingly druggable targets being identified, possibly opening a new route towards a novel SARS-CoV-2 antiviral agent.

18 Mar 2021

Researchers explore early stages of ribosome formation to identify new targets for antibiotics

Ribosome formation is viewed as a promising potential target for new antibacterial agents. Researchers from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin have gained new insights into this multifaceted process.

2 Mar 2021

Scientists describe genetic mechanisms behind mating process of ciliates

Conjugation (or mating) of ciliates is a unique phenomenon among living beings. They have sex not for reproduction or pleasure — they seek to increase genetic variation.

20 Feb 2021

GLS1 inhibitor selectively eliminates senescent cells, ameliorates age-associated disorders

Senescent cells accumulate in organs during aging, promote tissue dysfunction, and cause numerous aging-related diseases like cancer. The cells arise through a process called "cellular senescence," a permanent cell cycle arrest resulting from multiple stresses.

5 Feb 2021

Researchers call for trials of rapamycin to treat COVID-19

Researchers in the United States, China, and the UK have called for immediate large-scale clinical trials of an antibiotic called rapamycin as a prophylactic and treatment approach to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in older individuals.

4 Feb 2021

Prior T cell immunity to SARS-CoV-2 unlikely to be the result of seasonal coronavirus infection

Scientists have suggested that a proportion of the population have pre-existing immunity to COVID-19 because of T cells primed against SARS-CoV-2 antigens.

14 Dec 2020

Rice biochemist discovers hidden structure in essential metabolic machinery

In his first year of graduate school, Rice University biochemist Zachary Wright discovered something hidden inside a common piece of cellular machinery that's essential for all higher order life from yeast to humans.

5 Dec 2020

Research sheds new light on how the CRISPR immune system evolved

With new insights into how the genetic tool CRISPR - which allows direct editing of our genes - evolved and adapted, we are now one step closer to understanding the basis of the constant struggle for survival that takes place in nature. The results can be used in future biotechnologies.

25 Nov 2020

New group of Chlamydiae have hydrogen-producing genes that help them survive without oxygen

An international team of researchers has discovered a new group of Chlamydiae - Anoxychlamydiales - living under the ocean floor without oxygen.

27 Aug 2020

Accidental discovery of new antibiotic proven effective after several experiments

It all happened by chance. It was a hot summer day nine years ago. Inside the laboratory, the team was working on cancer research. On the lab bench, various medications were being tested on cancer cells.

24 Aug 2020