Electron Microscopy News and Research

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Scientists investigate how psychedelic drugs interact with brain cells at the molecular level

Psychedelic drugs such as LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline cause severe and often long-lasting hallucinations, but they show great potential in treating serious psychiatric conditions, such as major depressive disorder.

18 Sep 2020

Study sheds new light on the mechanism of COVID-19 infection

The spike protein on the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus can adopt at least ten distinct structural states, when in contact with the human virus receptor ACE2, according to research from the Francis Crick Institute published in Nature today.

18 Sep 2020

Researchers describe details of protein linked to genetically inherited Parkinson's disease

In August, a team of researchers at the University of California San Diego published groundbreaking back-to-back studies describing unprecedented details of a protein linked to genetically inherited Parkinson's disease.

18 Sep 2020

Flexibility of glycosylated membrane-bound ACE2 suggests mechanical energy source in opening of SARS-CoV-2 spike

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17 Sep 2020

PARP enzymes can bring two broken DNA ends together, shows study

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have identified the structure of double-strand DNA break repair by PARP enzymes. The findings show that PARP2 can bridge the gap, bringing two broken DNA ends together.

16 Sep 2020

New images capture startlingly high SARS-CoV-2 viral loads

Now, a team of scientists from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine produced striking images in respiratory tract cultures of the infectious form of the SARS-CoV-2 produced by infected epithelial cells.

16 Sep 2020

Bacterial movement is powered by tiny protein motor

The ability to move is key for bacteria like some strains of salmonella and E. coli to efficiently spread infections. They can propel themselves forward using threads, known as flagella, powered by the flagellar rotary motor.

15 Sep 2020

New x-ray microscopy technique could help accelerate efforts to map neural circuits

One of the grand quests in neuroscience is to build a precise map of the brain, charting all its neurons and the connections between them. Such a wiring diagram, called a connectome, promises to help shed light on how a collection of cells can together give rise to thoughts, memories, behaviors and myriad other functions.

14 Sep 2020

A map of SARS-CoV-2 escape mutations enables the development of therapeutic antibody cocktails

A recent tour-de-force study by the US researchers describes a comprehensive approach to completely map mutations to the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD) that escape antibody binding – enabling, in turn, rational design of antibody therapeutics and appraisal of the antigenic consequences of viral evolution. The results are currently available in a bioRxiv preprint paper.

13 Sep 2020

Detecting SARS-CoV-2 in 30 seconds with cheap and sensitive nanotubes

In a fascinating new medRxiv preprint paper, researchers from the University of Nevada, Reno demonstrate the power of cobalt-functionalized titanium dioxide nanotubes by selectively detecting the spike glycoprotein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in less than 30 seconds.

10 Sep 2020

Scientists explain how SARS-CoV-2 attacks the brain

Now, a team of scientists at Yale University revealed the changes that happen in the brain caused by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that has caused over 27.86 million people and claimed over 903,000 lives.

10 Sep 2020

Computer-designed proteins can protect lab-grown human cells from SARS-CoV-2

Computer-designed small proteins have now been shown to protect lab-grown human cells from SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

10 Sep 2020

Pfizer, BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine candidate shows promise in preclinical study

Researchers in the United States and Germany have conducted a study demonstrating the preclinical efficacy of a new candidate vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

9 Sep 2020

Investigational drug may reduce protein buildup and neurological decline linked to ALS, FTD

An investigational drug that targets an instigator of the TDP-43 protein, a well-known hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), may reduce the protein's buildup and neurological decline associated with these disorders, suggests a pre-clinical study from researchers at Penn Medicine and Mayo Clinic.

8 Sep 2020

Study: Small neutralizing antibody can block SARS-CoV-2 from entering human cells

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have identified a small neutralizing antibody, a so-called nanobody, that has the capacity to block SARS-CoV-2 from entering human cells.

4 Sep 2020

Spike ferritin nanoparticles show potential as SARS-CoV-2 vaccine

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in August 2020 reports the induction of neutralizing antibodies in mice by a single dose of a ferritin nanoparticle-based vaccine containing the spike protein.

1 Sep 2020

Exploring the structure and dynamics of biological nanomachine

A small but important step towards a successful immune reaction is performed by an impressive nanomachine. Researchers use simulations to understand how it works.

28 Aug 2020

New method can help develop drugs that target membrane proteins

Portland State University researchers used advanced electron microscopy to create a 3-D reconstruction of a membrane protein at an unprecedented level of resolution, setting the stage for the development of drugs that could target the protein more effectively to treat a variety of diseases.

28 Aug 2020

Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus particles in heart tissue

Researchers in Milan, Italy, have identified the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the heart tissue of deceased coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients who had died from respiratory failure, without showing any signs of cardiac involvement.

27 Aug 2020

Using engineered off-the-shelf therapeutic T cells to fight cancer

Personalized cancer treatments are no longer just options of the future. In the past few years, researchers have made significant progress in 'teaching' the body's immune T cells to recognize and kill specific cancer cells, and human clinical trials have shown that this approach can successfully eliminate tumors.

20 Aug 2020