Crystallography News and Research

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Serpin-2 molecule may be a perfect target for preventing mosquito's immunity

Mosquitoes are becoming more resistant to current pesticides. That's troubling to Kansas State University biologist Kristin Michel, as it means malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases will continue spreading. A recent grant from the National Institutes of Health may change all that.

18 May 2011

Computationally designed antiviral proteins may fight against influenza

A research article May 12 in Science demonstrates the use of computational methods to design new antiviral proteins not found in nature, but capable of targeting specific surfaces of flu virus molecules.

16 May 2011

Heptares, Shire sign deal to develop novel A2A antagonist for CNS disease treatment

Heptares Therapeutics today announced it has signed an exclusive option agreement with Shire Pharmaceuticals for a novel adenosine A2A antagonist discovered by Heptares and currently in preclinical development.

9 May 2011

New method helps scientists to determine specific protein molecular structure

The structures of many protein molecules remain unsolved even after experts apply an extensive array of approaches. An international collaboration has led to a new, high-performance method that rapidly determined the structure of protein molecules in several cases where previous methods had failed.

2 May 2011

Biologists determine molecular structure of GluN2D receptor subunit

Structural biologists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in collaboration with colleagues at Emory University have determined the molecular structure of a key portion, or subunit, of a receptor type commonly expressed in brain cells.

27 Apr 2011

Researchers develop protein-based inhibitor that can treat HPV

Human papillomavirus causes cervical cancer, the second most common cause of cancer death for women, and is a common cause of anogenital and some head and neck cancers.

27 Apr 2011

Researchers package drug-loaded 'nanodisks' into vault nanoparticles for therapeutic drug delivery

There's no question, drugs work in treating disease. But can they work better, and safer?

22 Apr 2011

Nature solves complex topological puzzles in DNA substrate recognition with elegant simplicity

A major discovery about an enzyme's structure has opened a window on understanding DNA repair. Scientists at Duke University Medical Center have determined the structure of a nuclease that will help scientists to understand several DNA repair pathways, a welcome development for cancer research.

21 Apr 2011

FEN1 enzyme might serve as anti-cancer therapy target

An enzyme essential for DNA replication and repair in humans works in a way that might be exploited as anti-cancer therapy, say researchers at The Scripps Research Institute and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

15 Apr 2011

Takeda, Heptares collaborate to develop new drugs against CNS disorders

Heptares Therapeutics and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company today announced the formation of a two-year drug discovery collaboration focused on a single G-protein coupled receptor that plays an important role in the pathology of central nervous system disorders.

11 Apr 2011

ASBMB honors Stanford professor with DeLano Award for Computational Biosciences

Stanford University professor Axel T. Brunger has been named the winner of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology's inaugural DeLano Award for Computational Biosciences. Brunger will present his award lecture, titled "Towards Structural Biology with Single Molecules" at 9:03 a.m. on Wednesday, April 13, at the Experimental Biology 2011 conference at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

8 Apr 2011

Biologists decipher molecular code regulating availability of brain channel linked to neuronal excitability

A key question in protein biochemistry is how proteins recognize "correct" interaction partners in a sea of cellular factors. Nowhere is that more critical to know than in the brain, where interactions governing channel protein activity can alter an organism's behavior.

23 Mar 2011

Vitamin A may play key role in sperm cell formation and development of central nervous system

In a recently-published study mapping the structure and function of the so-called "orphan" nuclear receptor TR4, Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) investigators suggest that Vitamin A may play a more direct role than was previously known in certain physiological functions including sperm cell formation and the development of the central nervous system.

18 Mar 2011

New discovery: GPCR family of proteins can recognize and respond to wide array of signals

Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have determined a new structure from a medically important superfamily of proteins. The structure should help instruct the design of a new kind of therapeutics for conditions ranging from Parkinson's disease to inflammation.

11 Mar 2011

LRI announces 12 new research grants to drive innovation in lupus

The Lupus Research Institute today announced the award of 12 new research grants, building on its decade-long commitment to drive innovation and discover novel approaches to understand and treat one of the world's most confounding and elusive diseases - lupus.

9 Mar 2011

Scientist develops cryo-electron microscopy to clarify salmonellae structure

Bacteria like salmonellae infect their host cells by needle-shaped extensions which they create in large numbers during an attack. A group of Vienna-based scientists headed by Thomas Marlovits employed recently developed methods of cryo-electron microscopy and have been able to clarify the structure of this infection apparatus on the near-atomic scale.

4 Mar 2011

Research uncovers new details about protein interactions in retina

Science fiction novelist and scholar Issac Asimov once said, "The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny.' " This recently rang true for an international team of researchers when they observed something they did not expect.

1 Mar 2011

Single molecule FRET techniques combined with wavelet transforms give new view of AMPA receptor

A digital signal processing technique long used by statisticians to analyze data is helping Houston scientists understand the roots of memory and learning, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases and stroke.

8 Feb 2011

Researchers develop hard X-ray laser to determine structure of biomolecules

Unraveling the molecular basis of life is an age-old quest of humanity. A breakthrough towards this goal was reported in a pair of studies published Feb. 3 in the scientific journal Nature, detailing a new method developed to determine structures of biomolecules based on diffraction from protein nanocrystals that are so small that they are not even visible under the microscope.

3 Feb 2011

Acetylation complex fits like a halo over a histone

To understand the emerging science of epigenetics-a field that describes how genes may be regulated without altering the underlying DNA itself-scientists are deciphering the many ways in which enzymes act on the proteins surrounding DNA within cells.

21 Jan 2011