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TSRI scientists shed light on how antiviral drug stops influenza infections

A new study led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) is the first to show exactly how the drug Arbidol stops influenza infections. The research reveals that Arbidol stops the virus from entering host cells by binding within a recessed pocket on the virus.

22 Dec 2016

Microseeding could be potential method for overcoming hemihedral twinning in protein crystals

Twinning is a crystal-growth disorder in which the specimen is composed of distinct domains whose orientations differ but are related in a particular, well-defined way.

16 Dec 2016

UT Southwestern researchers develop new imaging method to see proteins in action

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers developed a new imaging technique that makes X-ray images of proteins as they move in response to electric field pulses.

16 Dec 2016

New study may shed light on diseases associated with mutations in aminoacyl tRNA synthetases

New research led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute reveals that a human enzyme has changed little from its days as a bacterial enzyme. In fact, the enzyme appears to be unique in its ability to change its shape—and its job in cells—without overhauling its basic architecture.

14 Dec 2016

Biochemists uncover how potential diabetes drugs interact with LRH-1 protein

Imagine a key that opens a pin tumbler lock. A very similar key can also fit into the lock, but upside down in comparison to the first key.

6 Dec 2016

Scientists synthesize antitumor compound to combat chemoresistant cancer

A team of scientists from N. D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, N. K. Kol'tsov Institute of Developmental Biology of the RAS, and Immune Pharmaceuticals LLC led by MIPT's Prof. Alexander Kiselyov has synthesized an antitumor compound that could be used to fight chemoresistant cancer.

30 Nov 2016

Tiny, glowing crystals could be powerful new tool to detect and clean contaminated water sources

Tiny, glowing crystals designed to detect and capture heavy-metal toxins such as lead and mercury could prove to be a powerful new tool in locating and cleaning up contaminated water sources.

29 Nov 2016

Study shows power of haptic interfaces, web computing to create shareable scientific environment in crystallography

Haptic interfaces have been readily adopted because of their intuitive ease of use and convenience.

25 Nov 2016

Study highlights potential to develop antiviral therapies, vaccines for treating astroviruses

Human astroviruses infect nearly everyone during childhood, causing diarrhea, vomiting, and fever.

22 Nov 2016

TSRI scientists offer novel structure-based drug design strategy for better breast cancer treatment

While there have been advances in the treatment of hormone-driven breast cancer, resistance to these therapies remains a significant problem.

21 Nov 2016

Study shows how Zika virus infection leads to production of smaller disease-causing RNAs

Researchers, led by scientists at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, have found basic molecular processes used by the Zika virus to "hijack" the cells that it infects and potentially how it makes molecules that are directly linked to disease.

11 Nov 2016

Researchers lay foundation for improved TB treatment by targeting new enzyme

Researchers at Johns Hopkins report they have laid the foundation to develop novel antibiotics that work against incurable, antibiotic-resistant bacteria like tuberculosis by targeting an enzyme essential to the production and integrity of bacterial cell walls.

10 Nov 2016

Scientists unravel viral molecular strategies to counter mammalian immune system

As mammals evolve, so do mammalian viruses. In doing so, they develop creative and effective ways to counter and evade the antiviral responses of their mammal hosts' immune systems.

7 Nov 2016

Researchers create detailed blueprint of how the body transports zinc to maintain good health

Zinc is essential for wound healing, for vision, for DNA creation, for our senses of taste and smell, even for sexual health. But despite its importance, scientists have never fully understood the mechanism that moves the mineral through the body - until now.

7 Nov 2016

Researchers create detailed blueprints of molecular moving vans that transport zinc everywhere

4 Nov 2016

UT Southwestern researcher wins prestigious 2016 Transformative Research Award

Dr. Rama Ranganathan, Director of the Cecil H. and Ida Green Comprehensive Center for Molecular, Computational, and Systems Biology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, has been awarded a prestigious 2016 Transformative Research Award from the National Institutes of Health's Common Fund.

17 Oct 2016

Virginia Tech scientists solve structure of enzyme that deactivates important antibiotic

A popular antibiotic called rifampicin, used to treat tuberculosis, leprosy, and Legionnaire's disease, is becoming less effective as the bacteria that cause the diseases develop more resistance.

7 Oct 2016

Scientists uncover how microbes invade the brain in bacterial meningitis

Simon Fraser University researcher Lisa Craig is part of an international team that has uncovered new details about a microbe that invades the brain, sometimes with fatal results.

6 Oct 2016

X-ray laser-based technology enables faster structural analysis of receptor proteins

An international team of scientists has learnt how to determine the spatial structure of a protein obtained with an X-ray laser using the sulfur atoms it contains. This development is the next stage in the project of a group led by Vadim Cherezov to create an effective method of studying receptor proteins.

30 Sep 2016

Scientists solve structure of BinAB toxin that kills larvae of certain type of mosquitoes

Could we get rid of mosquitoes without polluting the environment? Yes, we can! The BinAB toxin, produced in crystal form by a bacterium, specifically kills the larvae of Culex and Anopheles mosquitoes, but it is inactive on tiger mosquitoes (or Aedes), the vectors for dengue fever and chikungunya.

29 Sep 2016