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SARS-CoV-2 spike pocket is a putative target for antiviral design

In a methodologically rigorous study, researchers from the University of Oxford have recently shown how the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike glycoprotein harbors a lipid-binding pocket which modulates the stability of the prefusion trimer and provides conformational shielding from antibodies. Their findings are currently freely available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

16 Aug 2020

Study shows how viruses operate and evade the immune system

University of Otago researchers have learnt more about how viruses operate and can evade the immune system and are now using their discovery to help learn more about COVID-19.

13 Aug 2020

Thermo Fisher Scientific launches two breakthrough imaging filters that take cryo-EM to a new level

Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world leader in serving science, today introduced two breakthrough imaging filters, the Thermo Scientific Selectris Imaging Filter and the Thermo Scientific Selectris X Imaging Filter, taking cryo-electron microscopy to a new level, making it possible to view proteins at true atomic resolution.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 13 Aug 2020

C-type lectin receptors play a role in SARS-CoV-2 infection

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in August 2020 confirms and extends earlier findings showing that a type of sugar-based receptor on innate immune cells promotes the entry of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) into other cells that carry the viral receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2).

12 Aug 2020

Can SARS-CoV-2 be transmitted via feces?

A new study by researchers at the University of Oxford and the Trip Medical Database and published on the preprint server medRxiv* in August 2020 as part of the ongoing Open Evidence Review on Transmission Dynamics of COVID-19 reports the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in feces and the need for precautions to prevent orofecal spread in the surroundings of confirmed or suspected cases.

12 Aug 2020

Researchers reveal molecular workings of a key system in learning and memory formation

One of the new realities in biomedical research is that it's increasingly difficult to use a general approach to score advances. Now, investigations into disease mechanisms, for example, are often conducted at the molecular level by specialists who dedicate years to interrogating a single protein or signaling pathway.

10 Aug 2020

Finned nanoporous catalyst facilitates molecular transport

Thousands of chemical processes used by the energy industry and for other applications rely on the high speed of catalytic reactions, but molecules frequently are hindered by molecular traffic jams that slow them down.

10 Aug 2020

Speed of Novavax vaccine development does not compromise quality of the SARS-CoV-2 immunogen

A new study by researchers from the Scripps Research Institute and Novavax Inc. in the US affirms the structural integrity of the full-length SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein immunogen. It enables the interpretation of immune responses to this multivalent nanoparticle immunogen. Their results are currently available on bioRxiv preprint server.

9 Aug 2020

Coronavirus-specific structure in cells may lead to new antiviral strategies

By visualizing coronavirus replication in an infected host cell, researchers may have answered a long-standing question about how newly synthesized coronavirus components are able to be incorporated into fully infectious viruses.

7 Aug 2020

Study shows how amyloid fibrils in Alzheimer's dissociate with infrared laser irradiation

The agglomeration of proteins into structures called amyloid plaques is a common feature of many neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's.

4 Aug 2020

Remnants of bird ovaries can be preserved in the fossil record, confirms study

A research team led by Dr. Alida Bailleul from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has put one controversy to rest: whether or not remnants of bird ovaries can be preserved in the fossil record.

29 Jul 2020

Study provides insight into evolution of amyloid-β oligomer with temporary salt crystals

Alzheimer's disease is the leading cause of dementia worldwide and a major cause of disability. Now, researchers at Osaka University and Hokkaido University have shown that repeated precipitation-dissolution events of salt crystals do occur even at low salt concentrations in nanoscales, and that it can accelerate the aggregation of the neurotoxic amyloid-β peptides implicated in its pathogenesis.

27 Jul 2020

Study captures unexpected features of SARS-Cov-2 spike protein

The rod-like spike proteins on the surface of SARS CoV-2 are the tip of the spear of the COVID-19 pandemic.

22 Jul 2020

Harvard scientists uncover the real reason behind goosebumps

If you've ever wondered why we get goosebumps, you're in good company -- so did Charles Darwin, who mused about them in his writings on evolution.

20 Jul 2020

Involvement of nicotine receptors in COVID-19

Researchers from the University of Bristol, Oxford Brookes University and the University of California San Diego neatly demonstrated how the spike protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) exhibits high affinity for nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), with significant implications for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pathology and infectivity. Their findings are published on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

20 Jul 2020

'Smart nanosheets' can help quickly isolate new types of proteins from mixtures

An interdisciplinary team from Frankfurt and Jena has developed a kind of bait with which to fish protein complexes out of mixtures.

20 Jul 2020

Researchers determine how SARS-CoV-2 inhibits protein synthesis

Researchers from Munich and Ulm have determined how the pandemic coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 inhibits the synthesis of proteins in infected cells and shown that it effectively disarms the body's innate immune system.

19 Jul 2020

Novel nanospectroscopy measures biomolecular changes induced by drugs in human cells

Synchrotron InfraRed Nanospectroscopy has been used for the first time to measure biomolecular changes induced by a drug (amiodarone) within human cells (macrophages) and localized at 100 nanometre scale, i.e. two orders of magnitude smaller than the IR wavelength used as probe.

17 Jul 2020

Pioneering method reveals the dynamics of HIV Gag lattice structure

Viruses are scary. They invade our cells like invisible armies, and each type brings its own strategy of attack. While viruses devastate communities of humans and animals, scientists scramble to fight back.

16 Jul 2020

Cold sensitivity of SARS-CoV-2 could impact vaccine studies

Researchers at Duke University in Durham, USA, have made an important discovery about the spike protein on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that could have a broad impact on vaccine studies.

14 Jul 2020