Crystallography News and Research

RSS

Help Conquer Cancer Project taps World Community Grid to discover structure of cancer-related proteins

Scientists have devised a way to automate and accelerate a manual, complex process that enables researchers to more easily discover the structure of cancer-related proteins, and, eventually, formulate cancer cures. This new, automated approach may also help the exploration of other diseases and food-related research.

15 Jun 2010

New findings may help researchers design drugs that can prevent HIV

Researchers at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and University of Nebraska Medical Center have created a three-dimensional picture of an important protein that is involved in how HIV -- the virus responsible for AIDS -- is produced inside human cells. The picture may help researchers design drugs that can prevent HIV from reproducing.

10 Jun 2010

Research findings advance the effort to develop AIDS vaccine

In findings that contribute to efforts to design an AIDS vaccine, a team led by Scripps Research Institute scientists has determined the structure of an immune system antibody molecule that effectively acts against most strains of human immunodeficiency virus, the virus that causes AIDS.

2 Jun 2010

Mutation causing light chain amyloidosis identified

Light chain amyloidosis, a deadly protein misfolding disease, is caused by multiple mutations in cells that are intended to protect the body. Instead, the mutations send misfolded bundles of proteins through the bloodstream, potentially destroying the heart, kidneys, liver or other organs. Mayo Clinic researchers have identified one of these mutations and have shown that the molecule's shifting position is as important as its unique shape. The findings appear in the current issue of the journal Structure.

12 May 2010

Crystal structures of key fluorescent proteins to "light up" molecules in cells

Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have determined the crystal structures of two key fluorescent proteins - one blue, one red - used to "light up" molecules in cells.

23 Apr 2010

New computer simulation technique could speed up drug discovery process

Scientists here are taking the trial and error out of drug design by using powerful computers to identify molecular structures that have the highest potential to serve as the basis for new medications.

15 Apr 2010

New experimental compound offers hope for patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Researchers from the Sackler Center at Weill Cornell Medical College have designed a new class of drugs that targets BCL6, a master regulatory protein responsible for causing the most common type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

15 Apr 2010

Compound that kills specific lymphoma cells discovered

An international research team co-led by the Ontario Cancer Institute has discovered a compound that kills specific lymphoma cells - a discovery that will accelerate developing targeted drugs to fight the most common form of non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

13 Apr 2010

Working of master regulator protein phosphatase 1

Protein phosphorylation is a process by which proteins are flipped from one activation state to another. It is a crucial function for most living beings, since phosphorylation controls nearly every cellular process, including metabolism, gene transcription, cell-cycle progression, cytoskeletal rearrangement and cell movement.

26 Mar 2010

Complete structure of Insulin receptor discovered - may assist in drug development for diabetes

Insulin is one of the most commonly used therapeutic agents used in diabetes. While the structure of this complex protein has been studied in detail there were parts of the receptor for insulin that were not clearly defined till now. This receptor is a protein that exists on the surfaces of cells and binds to the insulin molecule. These receptors are responsible for the action of insulin on the cells.

24 Mar 2010

Toxins released by certain microalgae can contaminate seafood and become toxic to humans

Toxins released by certain microalgae can contaminate fish and shellfish which then become toxic to humans. Researchers from CNRS and CEA have, for the first time, identified the mechanisms of action of two of these toxins.

18 Mar 2010

Novel interventions for New World hemorrhagic fevers needed

New World hemorrhagic fevers are emerging infectious diseases found in South America that can cause terrible, Ebola-like symptoms. Current treatments are expensive and only partially effective.

9 Mar 2010

Researchers figure out how ATP molecule broken down in cells

Researchers at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center have figured out how ATP is broken down in cells, providing for the first time a clear picture of the key reaction that allows cells in all living things to function and flourish.

1 Mar 2010

Kinesin protein motor shuttles cargo within cells and helps cells divide by rocking like a seesaw

Life's smallest motor, a protein that shuttles cargo within cells and helps cells divide, does so by rocking up and down like a seesaw, according to research conducted by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Brandeis University.

19 Feb 2010

University of Missouri researchers visualize "terminals" inside proline degrading enzyme

If subway terminals didn't exist and people had to exit subway stations to switch subway lines, transit time would increase. People also may encounter distractions, such as grabbing a cup of coffee, instead of getting on the other line. Molecules also use "terminals" to save transit time during enzyme-catalyzed processes. Using advanced X-radiation techniques, University of Missouri researchers were able to visualize one of these terminals inside of an enzyme that degrades proline, which is an amino acid that has a central role in metabolism.

19 Feb 2010

Researchers describe the structure of ToxT that controls virulent nature of Vibrio cholerae

In a new study, Dartmouth researchers describe the structure of a protein called ToxT that controls the virulent nature of Vibrio cholerae, the bacteria that causes cholera. Buried within ToxT, the researchers were surprised to find a fatty acid that appears to inhibit ToxT, which prevents the bacteria from causing cholera.

14 Feb 2010

Research offers new hope for rare metabolic disorder

A research team led by biochemist Scott Garman at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has for the first time determined the mechanism of one of the cell's "recycling" enzymes, human alpha-galactosidase or alpha-GAL, as it breaks down substances in the lysosome, the cell's recycling center.

2 Feb 2010

Antibiotics may be effective in fighting MRSA infections

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Israel's Weizman Institute of Science have found that two antibiotics working together might be more effective in fighting pathogenic bacteria than either drug on its own.

27 Jan 2010

Research provides new insights on VEGF receptor function

Researchers at the University of Helsinki, Finland, and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Villigen, Switzerland, have determined the crystal structure of the ligand binding domain of a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor in complex with one of its ligands (VEGF-C).

21 Jan 2010