Crystallography News and Research

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Researchers unravel the molecular basis of how Mtb uses and transports an essential sugar

Tuberculosis is a devastating disease that claims over 1.5 million lives each year. The increase in TB cases that are resistant to the current antibiotics means that novel drugs to kill Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) are urgently needed.

15 Apr 2021

Massive X-ray screening identifies several candidates for drugs against novel coronavirus

A team of researchers has identified several candidates for drugs against the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 at DESY´s high-brilliance X-ray lightsource PETRA III.

3 Apr 2021

Study reveals the structure of key enzyme that may advance cancer research

In order to develop more effective drugs against a range of cancers, researchers have been investigating the molecular structure of many diseased-linked enzymes in the body. An intriguing case in point is Taspase 1, a type of enzyme known as a protease.

30 Mar 2021

Researchers examine acriflavine's antiviral potential against SARS-CoV-2

Acriflavine is traditionally employed as a topical antiseptic, though has more recently been implicated as an antiviral agent at low doses, potentially by stimulating the production of interferon. In a new study recently uploaded to the bioRxiv* preprint server, the application of the drug to SARS-CoV-2 infection is investigated, demonstrating a broad activity towards a range of other betacoronaviruses.

24 Mar 2021

Study maps structure and mechanism of a membrane enzyme that plays role in inflammation, cancer

Most drugs operate via the membranes that surround the body's cells. A study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has now mapped the structure and mechanism of MGST2, a membrane enzyme that, amongst other things, plays a part in chronic inflammation and cancer.

20 Mar 2021

Insights into elusive protein complex can help find novel treatments for chromosomal disorders

The cells in our body are constantly fighting off the threat of cancer by repairing damaged DNA. In a new study, scientists from Tokyo University of Science investigate the structure of an elusive protein complex that plays a key role in the activation of the "Fanconi anemia pathway" involved in DNA repair, and report on the factors governing its stability.

17 Mar 2021

Mosquito protein study could lead to therapeutics against deadly viruses

The mosquito protein AEG12 strongly inhibits the family of viruses that cause yellow fever, dengue, West Nile, and Zika and weakly inhibits coronaviruses, according to scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and their collaborators.

10 Mar 2021

Proteomics shows SARS-CoV-2 NSP7 and NSP8 forms stable dimeric unit

A new preprint, released on the bioRxiv* preprint server, describes the structure of part of the dynamic protein-RNA complex known as the replication-transcription complex (RTC), which is crucial in the replication of the large ribonucleic acid (RNA) genome of this virus.

9 Mar 2021

Critical mechanism allows deadly bacteria to gain resistance to antibiotics

Researchers have identified a critical mechanism that allows deadly bacteria to gain resistance to antibiotics.

9 Mar 2021

Structural insights into glycine transporter open new avenues to find effective psychiatric drugs

Glycine can stimulate or inhibit neurons in the brain, thereby controlling complex functions. Unraveling the three-dimensional structure of the glycine transporter, researchers have now come a big step closer to understanding the regulation of glycine in the brain.

4 Mar 2021

Researchers identify drug target to fight Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease

Neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease are in the firing line after researchers identified an attractive therapeutic drug target.

3 Mar 2021

Understanding Absolute Stoichiometry of Oligomeric Protein Complexes Using SEC-MALS

News-Med interviews .... about using SEC-MALS to characterize the native oligomeric state of Nap proteins and their complexes.

24 Feb 2021

Three decades-old antibiotics could offer an alternative to opioid-based painkillers

Three decades-old antibiotics administered together can block a type of pain triggered by nerve damage in an animal model, UT Southwestern researchers report.

23 Feb 2021

New insights on structural biology may help design more efficient antibodies

In structural biology, some molecules are so unusual they can only be captured with a unique set of tools.

18 Feb 2021

World's first fully reversible manipulation of the circadian clock

The Nagoya University Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules research team of Designated Associate Professor Tsuyoshi Hirota, Postdoctoral Fellow Simon Miller, Professor Kenichiro Itami and graduate student Tsuyoshi Oshima (Research Fellowship for Young Scientists, JSPS), in collaboration with the group of Professor Ben Feringa and Postdoctoral Fellow Dušan Kolarski of Groningen University in the Netherlands, have achieved a world first: fully reversible manipulation of the period of the circadian clock using light, by exchanging part of a compound with a light-activated switch.

25 Jan 2021

Scientists uncover elusive mechanism behind the most severe cases of blood disorder

With a name like glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, one would think it is a rare and obscure medical condition, but that's far from the truth.

19 Jan 2021

Study improves understanding of the chemistry behind potent antibiotic synthesis

Images of a protein involved in creating a potent antibiotic reveal the unusual first steps of the antibiotic's synthesis.

18 Jan 2021

Study reports promising new monoclonal antibody against SARS-CoV-2’s spike protein

An encouraging new study describes a promising new therapeutic antibody that shows potent neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19.

15 Jan 2021

New UK-derived SARS-CoV-2 variant does not affect neutralizing antibodies efficiency, study says

A team of scientists conducted structural analysis of a newly emerged UK variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). They present evidence that suggests that while the new variant has increased infectivity it is not resistant to neutralizing antibodies.

13 Jan 2021

New results help understand biological phenomena mediated by cell membrane integrin receptors

Researchers at Tampere University, Finland, have published new results in collaboration with an international research network that help to understand the biological phenomena mediated by cell membrane integrin receptors and contribute to the development of methods for the treatment of cancer.