Structural Biology News and Research

RSS

New $26.9 million project aims to create better psychiatric drugs without side effects

Rapidly acting drugs to treat depression, anxiety, or substance abuse without side effects do not exist. Researchers led by Bryan L. Roth, MD, PhD, the Michael Hooker Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology at the UNC School of Medicine, are trying to change that.

16 Jun 2020

Link between ALS and Alzheimer's disease can help advance the search for new therapies

On the surface, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer's disease share two commonalities: Both are progressively debilitating neurodegenerative conditions--meaning symptoms get worse--and, at least for now, neither has an effective treatment, let alone a cure.

16 Jun 2020

Cone snail venom produces new type of insulin

Diabetes is a global health issue affecting millions. In 2014, there were 422 million diabetics, compared to 108 million in 1989. The condition can be treated with diet, physical activity, medicines like synthetic insulin injections, and regular screening.

3 Jun 2020

A new tool to help biomedical scientists better understand COVID-19 virus

Biomedical scientists working with COVID-19 have a new tool to help them better understand the virus and feel confident about the structural models they are using in their research.

2 Jun 2020

Cone snail insulin research could jumpstart the development of better diabetes treatments

Nearly a century after insulin was discovered, an international team of researchers including University of Utah Health scientists report that they have developed the world's smallest, fully functional version of the hormone, one that combines the potency of human insulin with the fast-acting potential of a venom insulin produced by predatory cone snails.

1 Jun 2020

Biophysicists reveal molecular mechanism behind light-driven sodium pumping

An international research team has for the first time obtained the structure of the light-sensitive sodium-pumping KR2 protein in its active state.

28 May 2020

Study shows engineered SARS-CoV-2 spike protein may be utilized for vaccine development

In a new study available on the preprint server bioRxiv, researchers demonstrate how the conformation of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein (S-protein) can be controlled with the rational construct design, providing a framework for S-protein structure engineering in vaccine/drug development.

20 May 2020

X-ray experiments demonstrate a new way to block the entry of SARS-CoV-2

As scientists across the globe race to develop a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, an international team led by Davide Corti at Vir Biotechnology and David Veesler at the University of Washington has been working around the clock on a complementary approach - identifying neutralizing antibodies that could be used as a preventative treatment or as a post-exposure therapy.

19 May 2020

Visual Science designs a scientific model of SARS-Cov-2 virus

The biomedical visualization studio Visual Science has created the most detailed and scientifically accurate 3D model of the full SARS-CoV-2 virus at atomic resolution.

14 May 2020

Scientists to focus on personal and planetary health problems at inaugural Systems Chemistry Symposium

Nearly 1,000 international scientists from over 40 countries and six continents will gather for three days in cyberspace beginning Monday, May 18, 2020, for the inaugural Systems Chemistry Symposium, where they will explore molecular principles of living systems as models for discoveries designed to address human and planetary health challenges.

14 May 2020

GCS centers support research to fight against global COVID-19 pandemic

In December 2019, the world learned of a new and deadly pathogen. News coming out of Wuhan, China confirmed public health experts' worst fears--a novel coronavirus appeared to have jumped from animals to humans.

11 May 2020

Scientists are exploring to find the 'Achilles heel' of coronavirus

Coronavirus, or more exactly SARS-CoV-2, has the world in its grip. How does the virus manage to bind to cells in the human body? How does it gain entry to the cell? How does it hijack the cell's machinery to make it help to replicate the viral genome?

5 May 2020

A protein discovery could pave way to better treatments for obesity

A USC-led international team of scientists has found the precise shape of a key player in human metabolism, which could lead the way to better treatments for obesity and other metabolic disease.

23 Apr 2020

New technique for imaging proteins in 3D

A team of scientists including researchers at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II)--a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility at DOE's Brookhaven National Laboratory--have demonstrated a new technique for imaging proteins in 3-D with nanoscale resolution.

13 Apr 2020

Rockefeller and SNF announce $3 million expansion of partnership for COVID-19 research

The Rockefeller University and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation today announced a $3 million expansion of their longstanding partnership for research and medicine, bolstering Rockefeller's round-the-clock research initiatives related to COVID-19 and the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes it.

13 Apr 2020

Research reveals a potential 'chink in the armor' of SARS-CoV-2

The scientists from Scripps Research, reveal a likely vulnerability or weakness of the coronavirus. An antibody, called CR3022, recovered from a survivor of the SARS outbreak in 2002, has shown a potential vulnerability of the novel coronavirus.

6 Apr 2020

Antibody recovered from SARS survivor reveals potential vulnerability of new coronavirus

An antibody recovered from a survivor of the SARS epidemic in the early 2000s has revealed a potential vulnerability of the new coronavirus at the root of COVID-19, according to a study from scientists at Scripps Research.

3 Apr 2020

Putting an end to the pandemic

From the plagues of medieval Europe to the influenza pandemic of 1918, the specter of the next public health disaster has gripped the minds of scientists, captivated the imaginations of writers and vexed conspiracy theorists.

1 Apr 2020

New technology could enable more accessible form of electron cryo-microscopy

The Rosalind Franklin Institute has committed to developing a multi-million pound technology which enables a more accessible form of electron cryo-microscopy.

11 Mar 2020

Researchers visualize first structure of key enzyme that helps make triglycerides

The first structure of a lipin enzyme, which carries out an important step in the production of triglycerides, the main reservoir for long-term energy storage, will help scientists to better understand how lipins regulate the production of triglycerides.