Small Angle X Ray Scattering (SAXS) News and Research

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Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) is an analytical technique used to identify differences in density within a sample with nanoscale resolution. It works by analyzing the elastic scattering angles of X-rays.

Researchers capture a ribozyme in motion for the first time

RNA is a central biological macromolecule, now widely harnessed in medicine and nanotechnology. Like proteins, RNA function often depends on its precise three-dimensional structure.

27 Nov 2025

Peptide nanostructures block amyloid buildup and boost neuron survival in lab tests

Researchers developed trehalose-functionalized peptide amphiphiles (TPAs) that self-assemble into supramolecular nanostructures and demonstrated these TPAs can inhibit amyloid beta aggregation. In vitro, TPAs significantly improved survival of human neurons exposed to amyloid-induced neurotoxicity, suggesting therapeutic potential for neurodegenerative diseases.

15 May 2025

Scientists unveil dynamic structure of protein key to vision

Scientists have for the first time looked deep into the protein structure that may determine our vision - and discovered that it is much more dynamic than previously thought.

4 Apr 2025

Unraveling the role of liquid-liquid phase separation in neurodegenerative diseases

Liquid-liquid phase separation is not a precursor to formation of amyloid fibrils, a pathological hallmark of Parkinson's disease, shows study.

15 Jul 2024

Study provides insight into potential mechanisms underlying diabetes-related disc tissue damage

Type 2 diabetes alters the behavior of discs in the vertebral column, making them stiffer, and also causes the discs to change shape earlier than normal.

13 Feb 2024

Revolutionary self-folding nanoscale MRI agent sharpens cancer imaging

Study introduces a novel self-folding nanoscale contrast agent for MRI, enhancing tumor visualization with lower gadolinium loads and reduced risk of adverse effects.

5 Dec 2023

Research opens up new directions to develop drugs for stopping cytokine storms

Constant exposure of cells to stressing agents, such as pathogens, may disturb an organism's normal functioning. To fight stress, cells have developed several coping mechanisms, including the inflammatory response.

14 Sep 2023

Study sheds light on how SARS-CoV-2 virus switches between replication and packaging

Immediately after the infection of a cell in the throat or lungs, the SARS-CoV-2 virus works very hard to replicate, using the human cell's metabolic pathways to produce its proteins and make sure that its genetic material (the RNA genome) is copied.

21 Aug 2023

Berkeley Lab and Genentech collaborate to develop new lipid nanoparticles for drug delivery

Many diseases can be successfully treated in the simple environment of a cell culture dish, but to successfully treat real people, the drug agent has to take a journey through the infinitely more complex environment within our bodies and arrive, intact, inside the affected cells.

17 Jul 2023

Analyzing the conformational dynamics of a human tRNA using high hydrostatic pressure

Just as space holds infinite mysteries, when we zoom in at the level of biomolecules (one trillion times smaller than a meter), there is still so much to learn.

23 Jun 2023

Using the origami technique to design RNA nanostructures

Researchers from Aarhus University and Berkeley Laboratory have designed RNA molecules, that folds into nanoscale rectangles, cylinders, and satellites, and have studied their 3D structure and dynamics with advanced nanotechnological methods.

28 Feb 2023

Evolution can favor flexible proteins, research suggests

When you think of proteins – the enzymes, signaling molecules, and structural components in every living thing – you might think of single strands of amino acids, organized like beads on a string.

26 Aug 2022

Structural and biochemical traits of main protease-mediated SARS-CoV-2 polyprotein processing

A recent article illustrated the structural and biochemical characteristics of the processing of SARS-CoV-2 polyproteins by Mpro.

1 Jun 2022

Study explores favorable signatures for specific RNA motif recognition by SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid

A new study evaluated the N terminal domain of the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein. It presented the targeted characteristics for selective ribonucleic acid identification by SARS-CoV-2 N in its 5'-genomic end.

24 Mar 2022

Scientists deconstruct the protein-based machine responsible for SARS-CoV-2 replication

In February 2020, a trio of bio-imaging experts were sitting amiably around a dinner table at a scientific conference in Washington, D.C., when the conversation shifted to what was then a worrying viral epidemic in China.

19 Jul 2021

New imaging technique helps reveal the best antibodies for COVID-19 detection

Vaccines are turning the tide of the pandemic, but the risk of infection is still present in some situations. If you want to visit a friend, get on a plane, or go see a movie, there is no highly accurate, instant test that can tell you right then and there whether or not you have a SARS-CoV-2 infection.

18 May 2021

SARS-CoV-2 anti-N rigid monoclonal antibodies provide accurate early diagnosis

An interesting new preprint research paper that was posted on the bioRxiv* server recently describes the use of rigid monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in contrast to flexible mAbs, and how this affects the binding of multiple mAbs to the same antigen.

17 Jan 2021

Designed proteins assemble antibodies into modular nanocages

With cues from nature, designing functional molecules enables scientists to nanoengineer and customize for specific uses.

3 Dec 2020

Scientists create 3D images of unique RNA molecule critical for stem cell programming

Scientists at Los Alamos and international partners have created the first 3-D images of a special type of RNA molecule that is critical for stem cell programming and known as the "dark matter" of the genome.

10 Jan 2020

Nanotechnology-based compound used to deliver hepatitis B vaccine

Nanotechnology-based compounds are now being tested as a possible delivery vehicle for vaccines. A team of researchers demonstrated how the oral delivery vehicle SBA-15, one such nanotechnology-based compound can deliver an oral vaccine against hepatitis B to the immune system.

11 Jul 2019