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New details on transport protein could help develop drugs for neurological diseases

New details on the structure and function of a transport protein could help researchers develop drugs for neurological diseases that are better able to cross the blood-brain barrier.

18 Jun 2021

Research may lead to rapid, accurate, point-of-care testing for COVID

A team of scientists headed by SANKEN (The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research) at Osaka University demonstrated that single virus particles passing through a nanopore could be accurately identified using machine learning.

17 Jun 2021

Marine plastic pollution among the top marine-related threats of public concern

In a survey, researchers found that the impacts of marine plastic pollution on human health is now ranked amid the top health-related concerns.

17 Jun 2021

New computational technique greatly increases the resolution of atomic force microscopy

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine have developed a computational technique that greatly increases the resolution of atomic force microscopy, a specialized type of microscope that "feels" the atoms at a surface.

17 Jun 2021

Immune cell-mimicking nanoparticles deliver drugs directly to inflamed lungs

Nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego have developed immune cell-mimicking nanoparticles that target inflammation in the lungs and deliver drugs directly where they're needed. As a proof of concept, the researchers filled the nanoparticles with the drug dexamethasone and administered them to mice with inflamed lung tissue.

17 Jun 2021

New study may lead to more effective and powerful COVID-19 vaccines

A new study looking at the way human cells activate the immune system in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection could open the door to even more effective and powerful vaccines against the coronavirus and its rapidly emerging variants keeping the global pandemic smoldering.

17 Jun 2021

Study details the treatment of COVID-19 vaccine-associated myocarditis-like illness in 7 patients

Findings from a small study detailing the treatment of myocarditis-like symptoms in seven people after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. are published today in the American Heart Association’s flagship journal Circulation.

17 Jun 2021

Scientists decipher the activation mechanism of a chemokine receptor

Chemokine receptors, located at the surface of many immune cells, play an important role in their function. Chemokines are small proteins that bind to these receptors and control the movement and behavior of white blood cells.

16 Jun 2021

Study reveals structural details of omega-3 fatty acid transport across the blood–brain barrier

Spectacular images of a molecule that shuttles omega-3 fatty acids into the brain may open a doorway for delivering neurological therapeutics to the brain.

16 Jun 2021

Scientists reveal the mechanism of liquid-liquid phase separation of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid

A team of scientists from the United States has recently revealed how interactions between the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein and the double-stranded RNA motifs impart distinct droplet properties that can support multiple viral functions. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

16 Jun 2021

A study on SARS-CoV-2 proteins for the development of COVID-19 drugs

The authors of the review have grouped the virus proteins into three categories, (a) host-entry, (b) self-acting, and (c) host-interacting. Additionally, individual SARS-CoV-2 proteins are evaluated to be either directly targeted by drugs or block virus-host interactions.

16 Jun 2021

Researchers report on the role of brain cell membranes' lipids in Alzheimer's progression

Alzheimer's disease is predominant in elderly people, but the way age-related changes to lipid composition affect the regulation of biological processes is still not well understood.

15 Jun 2021

Differential localization may explain different physiological functions of receptors

In the heart there are two different subtypes of beta-adrenergic receptors - beta1 and beta2 - which are activated by the stress hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline.

15 Jun 2021

New eye surface reconstruction method using mussel adhesive protein

The eye is the first sensory organ that recognizes the presence or shape of an object. The conjunctiva is a thin mucous membrane that covers the front half of the eyeball.

15 Jun 2021

Fusogenicity and resistance of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 compared to D614G

A new study, released as a preprint on the bioRxiv* server, describes the biological effects induced by mutations in two circulating VOCs. These are the alpha and beta strains, also called B.1.1.7 and B.1.351, respectively.

15 Jun 2021

Alkaloids show potential as treatments for COVID-19

To further study these organic compounds, researchers from Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Iran, and Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Chile, reviewed the role of alkaloids as a potential antiviral, specifically against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). They presented the chemistry, plant sources, and antiviral effects of alkaloids and their anti-SARS-CoV-2 effect.

15 Jun 2021

Researchers develop new imaging technique for studying nanoscale coronavirus-host interactions

Lei S. Qi of Stanford University, California, and colleagues published research showing a potential framework to better characterize coronaviruses' biology. While most high-resolution imaging techniques show the life cycle of coronaviruses, identifying viral or host proteins and genomes remains poorly understood. Their results use multi-color super-resolution imaging allows them to study nanoscopic parts of the coronavirus, including RNA.

14 Jun 2021

Researchers study what happens in brain cells affected by Alzheimer's disease

Studies on tissue from patients and mini-brains made from stem cells shed light on the disease.

14 Jun 2021

New mathematical model helps simulate progression of age-related macular degeneration

Researchers from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) have created a mathematical model and simulated numerically the progression of age-related macular degeneration, one of the main causes of blindness.

14 Jun 2021

Fatty acid binding site on SARS-CoV-2 spike triggers spike monomer crosstalk that is key to infectivity

A new study, released as a preprint on the bioRxiv* server, examines the role played by a fatty acid called linoleic acid (LA) that attaches at a binding site near the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein. The spike exists as a homotrimer in open or closed conformations. In the former, at least one RBD points upwards.

14 Jun 2021

Membrane News and Research

New details on transport protein could help develop drugs for neurological diseases

Research may lead to rapid, accurate, point-of-care testing for COVID

Marine plastic pollution among the top marine-related threats of public concern

New computational technique greatly increases the resolution of atomic force microscopy

Immune cell-mimicking nanoparticles deliver drugs directly to inflamed lungs

New study may lead to more effective and powerful COVID-19 vaccines

Study details the treatment of COVID-19 vaccine-associated myocarditis-like illness in 7 patients

Scientists decipher the activation mechanism of a chemokine receptor

Study reveals structural details of omega-3 fatty acid transport across the blood–brain barrier

Scientists reveal the mechanism of liquid-liquid phase separation of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid

A study on SARS-CoV-2 proteins for the development of COVID-19 drugs

Researchers report on the role of brain cell membranes' lipids in Alzheimer's progression

Differential localization may explain different physiological functions of receptors

New eye surface reconstruction method using mussel adhesive protein

Fusogenicity and resistance of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 compared to D614G

Alkaloids show potential as treatments for COVID-19

Researchers develop new imaging technique for studying nanoscale coronavirus-host interactions

Researchers study what happens in brain cells affected by Alzheimer's disease

New mathematical model helps simulate progression of age-related macular degeneration

Fatty acid binding site on SARS-CoV-2 spike triggers spike monomer crosstalk that is key to infectivity

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