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.

Study shows how SARS-CoV-2 evades immune responses

In a recurring pattern of evolution, SARS-CoV-2 evades immune responses by selectively deleting small bits of its genetic sequence, according to new research from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

4 Feb 2021

Sulforaphane prolongs lifespan and healthspan of C. elegans through insulin/IGF-1 signaling

Aging-US published "Sulforaphane promotes C. elegans longevity and healthspan via DAF- 16/DAF-2 insulin/IGF-1 signaling" which reported that the broccoli-derived isothiocyanate sulforaphane inhibits inflammation, oxidative stress and cancer, but its effect on healthspan and longevity are unclear.

4 Feb 2021

Researchers uncover the physics behind formation of branching microtubules during cell division

As any cook knows, some liquids mix well with each other, but others do not. For example, when a tablespoon of vinegar is poured into water, a brief stir suffices to thoroughly combine the two liquids.

30 Jan 2021

Viral ExoN regulates the rate of recombination in SARS-CoV-2

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston have discovered what may be the Achilles' heel of the coronavirus, a finding that may help close the door on COVID-19 and possibly head off future pandemics.

28 Jan 2021

American scientists receive the 2021 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize

FRANKFURT am MAIN. Two American scientists, Bonnie L. Bassler and Michael R. Silverman, receive the 2021 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize, which is endowed with 120,000 €.

28 Jan 2021

New automated measurement system to assess healthy lifespans using nematodes

A research group from Kumamoto University (Japan) has developed an automated measurement system to assess healthy lifespans using nematodes (C. elegans).

27 Jan 2021

Researchers develop new computational method for studying genetic and environmental interactions

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell University's Ithaca campus have developed a new computational method for studying genetic and environmental interactions and how they influence disease risk.

27 Jan 2021

LSD could be a viable and safe therapeutic option for certain psychiatric diseases

Researchers from McGill University have discovered, for the first time, one of the possible mechanisms that contributes to the ability of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) to increase social interaction.

26 Jan 2021

Researchers find microbiome-controlled anti-inflammatory subsets of astrocytes

Astrocytes are the most abundant type of cells within the central nervous system (CNS), but they remain poorly characterized.

26 Jan 2021

New study helps understand molecular profile of tumors in cancer patients

Researchers from the University Hospitals in Zurich and Basel, ETH Zurich, University of Zurich and the pharmaceutical company Roche have set out to improve cancer diagnostics by developing a platform of state-of-the-art molecular biology methods.

21 Jan 2021

Negative childhood experience connected to relatively unfavorable living situation

An adverse upbringing often impairs people's circumstances and health in their adult years, especially for couples who have both had similar experiences.

21 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

Gene-cutting system may play second role as a genetic dimmer switch

In a series of experiments with laboratory-cultured bacteria, Johns Hopkins scientists have found evidence that there is a second role for the widely used gene-cutting system CRISPR-Cas9 -- as a genetic dimmer switch for CRISPR-Cas9 genes.

19 Jan 2021

Closed SARS-CoV-2 spikes could be a valuable component of future vaccines

Now, researchers at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, United Kingdom, reveal that engineered closed S constructs may be valuable immunogens that can induce neutralizing antibodies against a different pattern of epitopes. This allows for the flexibility of vaccines at both the individual and population levels.

18 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

Researchers solve the structure, function of mitochondrial sorting and assembly machinery

Mitochondria are vital for the human body as cellular powerhouses: They possess more than 1,000 different proteins, required for many central metabolic pathways.

16 Jan 2021

Targeting RNA splicing can activate antiviral immune pathways in triple negative breast cancers

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have discovered how therapeutics targeting RNA splicing can activate antiviral immune pathways in triple negative breast cancers (TNBC) to trigger tumor cell death and signal the body's immune response.

15 Jan 2021

LSU Health receives $2.5 million grant to reduce stroke risk for obese women taking birth control pills

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health has awarded Rinku Majumder, PhD, Associate Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, a $2.5 million grant over four years to help reduce the high stroke risk to women with obesity who take estrogen-containing birth control pills.

14 Jan 2021

MIND and Mediterranean diets correlated with later onset of Parkinson's disease

A new study from UBC researchers suggests a strong correlation between following the MIND and Mediterranean diets and later onset of Parkinson's disease (PD).

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.