Molecular Biology News and Research

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Molecular biology is the study of biology at a molecular level. The field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry. Molecular biology chiefly concerns itself with understanding the interactions between the various systems of a cell, including the interactions between DNA, RNA and protein biosynthesis as well as learning how these interactions are regulated.

New antibody fragment helps reduce Aβ levels in old mice with Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer's disease is the most common dementia worldwide and it is characterized by learning impairment, memory loss, disorientation, and anxiety, among other behavioral and psychological symptoms.

16 Nov 2020

Researchers identify specific circular RNA that regulates neurogenesis

In a screening for a functional impact to the neuronal differentiation process, Danish researchers identified a specific circular RNA, circZNF827, which surprisingly "taps the brake" on neurogenesis.

16 Nov 2020

Antimalarials could disrupt SARS-CoV-2’s Nsp1 translation termination

A research team from the Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology in Russia have shown that Nsp1 – a non-structured protein present in the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pathogen – stimulates translation termination in the stop codon recognition stage. Studying and developing drugs that compete with Nsp1 for binding with the termination complex could therefore be a potential strategy for fighting against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

15 Nov 2020

MIT researchers unravel the molecular structure of key coronavirus protein

MIT chemists have determined the molecular structure of a protein found in the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This protein, called the envelope protein E, forms a cation-selective channel and plays a key role in the virus's ability to replicate itself and stimulate the host cell's inflammation response.

12 Nov 2020

Researchers discover a mechanism that cells use to degrade microRNAs

UT Southwestern researchers have discovered a mechanism that cells use to degrade microRNAs (miRNAs), genetic molecules that regulate the amounts of proteins in cells.

12 Nov 2020

Biologists investigate how molecular chaperones dissolve protein aggregates linked to Parkinson's

In many neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's, protein aggregates form in the brain and are assumed to contribute to neuronal cell death.

11 Nov 2020

Study: Effect of diabetes medication can be blocked by a molecule from gut bacteria

The action of metformin, the classic drug used to treat diabetes by stabilizing blood sugar, can be blocked by a molecule from the bacteria in our intestines, a University of Gothenburg study shows.

11 Nov 2020

ERC Synergy project explores causes of drug tolerance in intractable fungal infections

Over the next six years, research groups at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Tel Aviv University will study how invasive fungal pathogens are able to evade treatments and develop tolerance to antifungal drugs.

10 Nov 2020

Research uncovers key to piercing dangerous bacteria's armor

Bacteria are single-celled organisms that are essential to human health, both in our environment and inside our own bodies. However, certain bacterial species can make us sick.

9 Nov 2020

Insulin has met an evolutionary cul-de-sac making most people vulnerable to Type 2 diabetes

Scientists have found that insulin has met an evolutionary cul-de-sac, limiting its ability to adapt to obesity and thereby rendering most people vulnerable to Type 2 diabetes.

5 Nov 2020

Case study reports prolonged infectious SARS-CoV-2 shedding from an asymptomatic leukemia patient

The majority of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 appear to actively shed infectious virus for about 8 days, but there is a wide range of variability from person to person.

4 Nov 2020

Synthetic antibody may prevent coronavirus from infecting human cells

By screening hundreds of synthetic antibodies, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and EMBL Hamburg in Germany have identified an antibody that may prevent the new coronavirus from infecting human cells.

4 Nov 2020

New, effective CRISPR-based gene drive approach to control transmission of malaria parasites

Employing a strategy known as "population modification," which involves using a CRISPR-Cas9 gene drive system to introduce genes preventing parasite transmission into mosquito chromosomes, University of California researchers have made a major advance in the use of genetic technologies to control the transmission of malaria parasites.

3 Nov 2020

Estonian researchers provide clues to control the aggressive nature of SARS-CoV-2

Recent study by Estonian researchers in University of Tartu explains how coronavirus is activated before attacking the cell and what could help to impede that.

2 Nov 2020

Two studies find age as a primary factor in melanoma treatment resistance

Age may cause identical cancer cells with the same mutations to behave differently. In animal and laboratory models of melanoma cells, age was a primary factor in treatment response.

2 Nov 2020

Study: COVID-19 lockdowns increase the number of polio cases in Pakistan

A spike in the number of polio cases in Pakistan — the last refuge of the virus in the world along with neighbouring Afghanistan — is being attributed by health experts to disruption in vaccination services caused by lockdowns and restrictions against spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

2 Nov 2020

Addictive drug displays different acute pharmacology and synaptic plasticity

Nucleus accumbens in the brain play a central role in the risk-reward circuit. Their operation is based chiefly on three essential neurotransmitters: dopamine, which promotes desire; serotonin, whose effects include satiety and inhibition; and glutamate, which drives goal-directed behaviors and responses to reward-associated cues and contexts.

30 Oct 2020

Social threat can change a specific brain region

Our brains are wired to protect us from threats. For social animals like humans, threats often come from other members of our own species when there is conflict over food, mates, or territory.

30 Oct 2020

Research shows why certain people infected with COVID-19 show no symptoms

Researchers worldwide have been surprised to see that individuals can be infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus - the virus that produces COVID-19 - without showing symptoms. Since these individuals expose others to infection without knowing it, it is important to find an explanation and hopefully a solution to this.

29 Oct 2020

Scientists use experimental approach to identify genes and interactions

A phage is a virus that invades a bacterial cell. While harmless to human cells, phages are potentially deadly to bacteria since many phages enter a cell in order to hijack its machinery in order to reproduce itself, thus destroying the cell.

28 Oct 2020

Molecular Biology News and Research

Further Reading

New antibody fragment helps reduce Aβ levels in old mice with Alzheimer’s disease

Researchers identify specific circular RNA that regulates neurogenesis

Antimalarials could disrupt SARS-CoV-2’s Nsp1 translation termination

MIT researchers unravel the molecular structure of key coronavirus protein

Researchers discover a mechanism that cells use to degrade microRNAs

Biologists investigate how molecular chaperones dissolve protein aggregates linked to Parkinson's

Study: Effect of diabetes medication can be blocked by a molecule from gut bacteria

ERC Synergy project explores causes of drug tolerance in intractable fungal infections

Research uncovers key to piercing dangerous bacteria's armor

Insulin has met an evolutionary cul-de-sac making most people vulnerable to Type 2 diabetes

Case study reports prolonged infectious SARS-CoV-2 shedding from an asymptomatic leukemia patient

Synthetic antibody may prevent coronavirus from infecting human cells

New, effective CRISPR-based gene drive approach to control transmission of malaria parasites

Estonian researchers provide clues to control the aggressive nature of SARS-CoV-2

Two studies find age as a primary factor in melanoma treatment resistance

Study: COVID-19 lockdowns increase the number of polio cases in Pakistan

Addictive drug displays different acute pharmacology and synaptic plasticity

Social threat can change a specific brain region

Research shows why certain people infected with COVID-19 show no symptoms

Scientists use experimental approach to identify genes and interactions

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