Crystallography News and Research

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Study provides better picture of molecular basis for antibiotic resistance

Scientists from the University of Leeds have solved a 25-year-old question about how a family of proteins allow bacteria to resist the effects of certain antibiotics.

23 Mar 2016

UCSF study marks important step toward finding cure for Ebola

In experiments carried out partly at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, scientists have determined in atomic detail how a potential drug molecule fits into and blocks a channel in cell membranes that Ebola and related "filoviruses" need to infect victims' cells.

15 Mar 2016

Researchers aim to design a better male contraceptive pill

Women can choose from a wide selection of birth control methods, including numerous oral contraceptives, but there's never been an analogous pill for men. That's not for lack of trying: For many years, scientists have attempted to formulate a male pill. Finally, a group of researchers has taken a step toward that goal by tweaking some experimental compounds that show promise.

14 Mar 2016

First atomic-scale view of interaction between HIV capsid and host protein cyclophilin A

A new study offers the first atomic-scale view of an interaction between the HIV capsid - the protein coat that shepherds HIV into the nucleus of human cells - and a host protein known as cyclophilin A. This interaction is key to HIV infection, researchers say.

7 Mar 2016

Unlocking H5N1 virus replication: an interview with Martin Blackledge

We were able to show that one small domain of the polymerase, the part that is essential for entry of a piece of the polymerase into the cell nucleus, changes its conformation to allow it to interact with the transporter protein than takes it into the nucleus.

3 Mar 2016

Scientists reveal how the brain processes information with lightning speed

Surprisingly complex interactions between neurotransmitter receptors and other key proteins help explain the brain's ability to process information with lightning speed, according to a new study.

27 Feb 2016

Revealing dynamic protein complexes with NMR: an interview with Elisar Barbar

Most proteins are involved in interactions with one or a few functional ligands, but some proteins, like light chain 8 (LC8), have numerous binding partners. LC8 interacts with more than 100 functionally different proteins, from viral proteins to motor proteins to proteins involved in cell division.

From Bruker BioSpin - NMR, EPR and Imaging 18 Feb 2016

Unlocking intrinsically disordered proteins: an interview with Peter Wright

I'm a professor in the Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology at The Scripps Research Institute. I have been performing NMR research on proteins for nearly 40 years.

From Bruker BioSpin - NMR, EPR and Imaging 11 Feb 2016

Structural movie reveals step-by-step creation of chemical that plays important role in some cancers

An international team of scientists led by the University of Liverpool has produced a 'structural movie' revealing the step-by-step creation of an important naturally occurring chemical in the body that plays a role in some cancers.

10 Feb 2016

Screening of protein-based pharmaceuticals, free webinar

PANalytical, the world’s leading supplier of analytical instrumentation and software for X-ray and related techniques, announces their free webinar on The power of powder - Screening of protein-based pharmaceuticals on 18 February 2016, presented by Irene Margiolaki, assistant professor at the Department of Biology of the University of Patras, Greece and Detlef Beckers, Lead Scientist XRD, PANalytical B.V., The Netherlands

3 Feb 2016

Researchers suggest ways to make TB drugs more efficacious against mutations

Biophysicists have discovered why the bacteria that cause tuberculosis (TB) are naturally somewhat resistant to antibiotics known as fluoroquinolones. Their findings, based on mapping the detailed three-dimensional structure of the drugs interacting with an essential enzyme in the TB germ, also reveal why some TB drugs are more potent than others and suggest how drug developers can make fluoroquinolones more efficacious against mutations that make the lung disease drug resistant.

19 Jan 2016

Scientists find new way to re-engineer body’s immune system to target cancer

Scientists have demonstrated a new way of re-engineering the body’s immune system to target cancer, paving the way for a new generation of drugs, unprecedented in safety and effectiveness.

18 Jan 2016

Discoveries could lead to development of novel therapies to prevent C. diff infection

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have obtained the crystal structure of a toxin from the bacterium Clostridium difficile ("C. diff") -- the leading cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea in the United States.

12 Jan 2016

Scripps biologist describes major advancement in flu vaccine research

Every fall, millions of people roll up their sleeves to get a flu shot. Up to 20 percent of the population gets the flu and more than 200,000 people are hospitalized with flu complications each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While seasonal vaccines provide some protection, they are not always effective because the strains of influenza virus in the vaccine may not be well matched to the flu viruses circulating that year. So researchers are searching for a way to develop a more universal vaccine that would be effective against any variety of influenza.

5 Jan 2016

New study improves understanding of metal-based chemotherapy drugs

What is the mechanism of action of metal-based chemotherapy drugs (the most widely used for treating common cancers like testicular or ovarian cancer)? How can we improve their effect and reduce their toxicity? A new study combining experiments and theory has broadened our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of these active drugs to help experimentalists devising increasingly effective drugs with fewer side effects.

21 Dec 2015

Scientists outline molecular blueprints of tiny cellular 'nanomachine'

Scientists have drawn up molecular blueprints of a tiny cellular ‘nanomachine’, whose evolution is an extraordinary feat of nature, by using one of the brightest X-ray sources on Earth.

21 Dec 2015

Researchers elucidate structure of mTORC1 protein

For a long time it has been known that the protein TOR - Target of Rapamycin - controls cell growth and is involved in the development of diseases such as cancer and diabetes. Researchers at the University of Basel's Biozentrum together with scientists from ETH Zurich have now examined the structure of mammalian TOR complex 1 (mTORC1) in more detail.

18 Dec 2015

New funding supports research on new and improved drug treatments for tuberculosis, malaria

University of Toronto and McGill University scientists are leading an international partnership to discover new and improved drug treatments for tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases -- thanks to a contribution from Merck Canada Inc., as well as an additional $5 million supplement to a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

17 Dec 2015

TSRI-led study shows how different drugs regulate protein linked to asthma, obesity and diabetes

A new study, led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute, shows how different pharmaceutical drugs hit either the "on" or "off" switch of a signaling protein linked to asthma, obesity and type 2 diabetes.

11 Dec 2015

Scientists create detailed image of deadly toxin linked to bacterial pneumonia, meningitis, septicaemia

Scientists from the University of Leicester have for the first time created a detailed image of a toxin - called pneumolysin - associated with deadly infections such as bacterial pneumonia, meningitis and septicaemia.

25 Nov 2015