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Researchers provide ultrastructural details of SARS-CoV-2-infected respiratory epithelial cells

A team of scientists from the United Kingdom recently investigated the ultrastructural details of the attachment, entry, and budding processes of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the human airway epithelium. They have used a highly differentiated air-liquid interface cultures of airway epithelium to thoroughly investigate the viral infection cycle. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

12 Apr 2021

Study opens door to new approaches for preventing the development of metabolic diseases

The protein Asc-1 regulates whether fat-burning beige or fat-storing white adipocytes are formed, which can have an impact on the development of metabolic diseases.

31 Mar 2021

New molecular pathway helps steer moving cells in specific directions

Working with fruit flies, scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine say they have identified a new molecular pathway that helps steer moving cells in specific directions.

30 Mar 2021

Research sheds light on a new neuroprotective mechanism to control damage following brain injury

When the brain suffers injury or infection, glial cells surrounding the affected site act to preserve the brain's sensitive nerve cells and prevent excessive damage.

26 Mar 2021

Scientists produce high-resolution 3D image of sarcomere using electron cryo-tomography

Scientists have produced the first high-resolution 3D image of the sarcomere, the basic contractile unit of skeletal and heart muscle cells, by using electron cryo-tomography (cryo-ET).

25 Mar 2021

Biological “feed-forward” loop contributes to progression of osteoarthritis

An unfortunate biological "feed-forward" loop drives cartilage cells in an arthritic joint to actually contribute to progression of the disease, say researchers at Duke University and Washington University in Saint Louis.

23 Mar 2021

Biological feed-forward loop drives cartilage cells in an arthritic joint to contribute to progression of the disease

23 Mar 2021

Study reveals how cells build 'mini-muscles' underneath their nucleus

Research groups at the University of Helsinki uncovered how motor protein myosin, which is responsible for contraction of skeletal muscles, functions also in non-muscle cells to build contractile structures at the inner face of the cell membrane.

2 Mar 2021

RIG-1-like receptors may play dominant role in suppressing SARS-CoV-2 infection

A new study by researchers at the University of Connecticut Health Center, USA, reports the crucial nature of the pathogen pattern recognition receptor (PRRs), especially the two RLRs, retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) and melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5 (MDA5), in triggering host cell immune responses within the cell. The RLRs are viral RNA sensors.

15 Feb 2021

Researchers receive $1,894,271 grant to address new drug targets for diastolic dysfunction

After the left ventricle of the heart contracts, it must relax efficiently to prepare to refill and supply the body with blood on the next beat. An increasing number of patients -- including nearly all patients with heart failure -- suffer from impaired relaxation, which is part of a clinical syndrome known as diastolic dysfunction. Currently, treatments for impaired relaxation do not exist.

12 Feb 2021

New discovery revises the ‘text book view’ of cell migration

Research groups at University of Helsinki and Institut Jacques Monod, Paris, discovered a new molecular mechanism that promotes cell migration.

9 Feb 2021

Researchers gain insight into the biological processes of chytrid fungus

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have gained new insight into the biological processes of a chytrid fungus responsible for a deadly skin infection devastating frog populations worldwide.

8 Feb 2021

Researchers explore the origin of the body axis in animals

Egg cells start out as round blobs. After fertilization, they begin transforming into people, dogs, fish, or other animals by orienting head to tail, back to belly, and left to right.

5 Feb 2021

Simvastatin is a promising drug candidate for treatment of ovarian clear cell carcinomas

Oncotarget recently published "Simvastatin is a potential candidate drug in ovarian clear cell carcinomas" which reported that based on previous studies, the authors assessed the anti-proliferative effect of simvastatin, a Rho GTPase interfering drug, in three OCCC cell lines: JHOC-5, OVMANA and TOV-21G, and one high-grade serous ovarian cancer cell line, Caov3. The authors used the Rho GTPase interfering drug CID-1067700 as a control.

2 Feb 2021

Researchers figure out the precise mechanics involved in cell motility

Theoretical physicists from Berlin teamed up with experimental physicists from Munich to determine the precise mechanics involved in cell motility. The findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

18 Jan 2021

Research reveals new details into how myosin transduces energy

A team of biophysicists from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Penn State College of Medicine set out to tackle the long-standing question about the nature of force generation by myosin, the molecular motor responsible for muscle contraction and many other cellular processes.

14 Jan 2021

Hypoxia signaling pathway could lead to COVID-19 treatments

Researchers in Spain have demonstrated that studying the hypoxia signaling pathway could provide opportunities for treating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

12 Jan 2021

Researchers develop a low-cost, saliva-optimized RT-LAMP assay for faster detection of SARS-CoV-2

SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has highlighted the shortcomings in emergency response globally and has driven a massive demand for in vitro diagnostic testing technologies. In order to address these issues, researchers from the US recently used the new pH dye LAMPShade Violet (LSV) in RT-LAMP. LSV has better visual contrast between high and low pH and a stronger inflection point, both of which enable easy interpretation of results and reduces ambiguity.

8 Jan 2021

Study reveals the role of SETD2 protein in cancer cells, cell migration, and autophagy

SETD2 is a protein well known as a chromatin remodeler, one that helps turn genes on or off by modifying histone proteins in the nucleus of the cell.

24 Dec 2020

Gene-regulating snippet of RNA may contribute to breast cancer metastasis

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) scientists have discovered a gene-regulating snippet of RNA that may contribute to the spread of many breast cancers.

22 Dec 2020