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Researchers map key atomic structures in measles, mumps, flu and RSV

Northwestern University researchers have, for the first time, determined the 3D atomic structure of a key complex in paramyxoviruses, a family of viruses that includes measles, mumps, human parainfluenza and respiratory syncytial virus.

17 Feb 2020

New study may lead to better treatments for Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease is a long-term (chronic) neurological condition that affects around 12,000 people in Ireland and between 7 and 10 million people worldwide. The disease affects the way the brain co-ordinates body movements like walking and talking, but cognitive abilities are also affected.

13 Feb 2020

New insights may guide design of light-sensitive proteins with desired properties

A team of scientists from the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University has gained insight into how electric fields affect the way energy from light drives molecular motion and transformation in a protein commonly used in biological imaging.

13 Feb 2020

New prophylactic and therapeutic avenues to fight against rabies

Rabies is still responsible for approximately 60,000 human deaths per year mostly in Asia and Africa and affects especially underserved people.

11 Feb 2020

Scientists track down a potential target for new sleeping sickness drugs

Using ultra-bright X-ray flashes, a team of researchers has tracked down a potential target for new drugs against sleeping sickness: The scientists have decoded the detailed spatial structure of a vital enzyme of the pathogen, the parasite Trypanosoma brucei.

30 Jan 2020

New chemical compound can enable more precise analysis of NMDAR activity

NMDARs (N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors) serve as valves on nerve cells, controlling the flow of electrical signals in the brain.

22 Jan 2020

UCR receives $2.2 million grant to target critical oncogenes of B-cell lymphoma 2

One way to tackle cancer, the second-leading cause of death in the United States, is to target oncogenes -- genes that have the potential to cause cancer.

17 Jan 2020

Structure of most lethal toxin produced by C. difficile bacteria identified

Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and their colleagues have identified the structure of the most lethal toxin produced by certain strains of Clostridium difficile bacteria, a potentially deadly infection associated with the use of antibiotics. The

2 Jan 2020

Researchers identify molecular machinery that drives rapid polymerization of actin filaments

Many cells in our body constantly change their shape and move within our tissues. For example, wound healing and the immune system depend on migrating cells.

17 Dec 2019

Scientist earns prestigious award for research into cell suicide

Apoptosis is a form of “cell suicide”, where a cell self-terminates, ideally as planned or programmed, enabling multi-cellular organisms to continue to live, develop and thrive.

4 Dec 2019

New findings may help researchers leverage ERAP1 to fight cancer

In a paper published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, University of Illinois at Chicago researchers and colleagues report a new mechanism for detecting foreign material during early immune responses.

3 Dec 2019

Researchers uncover the binding mechanism of opioid receptor

Together with colleagues from Shanghai, Brussels, Canada and the USA, researchers from the University of Bonn have uncovered the binding mechanism of an important pain receptor.

27 Nov 2019

Scientists publish structural and functional keys that distinguish two similar transcription factors

Scientists at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine, in collaboration with the Sloan Kettering Institute (New York, US), have published the structural and functional keys that distinguish two very similar transcription factors, namely SMAD2 and SMAD3.

12 Nov 2019

Study provides new insight into antibiotic synthesis

Researchers at McGill University's Faculty of Medicine have made important strides in understanding the functioning of enzymes that play an integral role in the production of antibiotics and other therapeutics. Their findings are published in Science.

11 Nov 2019

Researchers produce synthetic phages that attack broader range of bacterial strains

Bacteriophages ("phages" for short) are viruses that infect bacteria. Phages are highly host-specific and will typically only infect and kill an individual species or even subspecies of bacteria. Compared to conventional antibiotics, phages do not indiscriminately kill bacteria.

4 Nov 2019

Scientists capture elusive cancer-related protein in action

Scientists have for the first time seen how the MYC protein, which plays a central role in cancer, binds to a key protein and controls important functions in the cell.

4 Nov 2019

Scientists solve first structure of human cotransporter protein KCC1

In work that could someday improve treatments for epilepsy, UT Southwestern scientists have published the first three-dimensional structure of a member of a large family of human proteins that carry charged particles – ions – across the cell membrane.

29 Oct 2019

X-ray crystallography can provide inaccurate information about protein structure

A new study by chemists at the University of Arkansas shows that X-ray crystallography, the standard method for determining the structure of proteins, can provide inaccurate information about a critical set of proteins - those found in cell membranes - which in turn could be leading to poor and inefficient drug design.

8 Oct 2019

New protein painting technology could transform drug discovery process

George Mason University researchers have discovered the exact location where two proteins responsible for hiding cancer cells from the immune system bind.

8 Oct 2019

Researchers map and activate bacterial 'immune defense system'

With the aid of highly advanced microscopes and synchrotron sources, researchers from the University of Copenhagen have gained seminal insight into how bacteria function as defense mechanisms against attacks from other bacteria and viruses.

24 Sep 2019