Structural Biology News and Research

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Study paves way for revolutionizing the management of muscle disorders

The type 1 ryanodine receptor (RyR1) is an important calcium release channel in skeletal muscles essential for muscle contraction.

18 Sep 2024

Genome-wide association study identifies genetic risk factors for dementia

In landmark research, scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) have reported the largest-ever genome-wide association study of dementia from all causes, revealing an overlap of genetic risks including neurodegeneration, vascular factors and cerebral small-vessel disease.

18 Sep 2024

OU Health Sciences receives major cancer research grant

A $5.3 million National Institutes of Health grant awarded to the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences will support advanced cancer research in Oklahoma. The Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) grant is designed to build research capacity and help early-career researchers establish independently funded laboratories.

18 Sep 2024

A new genetic perspective on monilethrix

From infancy and usually for life, some families suffer from broken hair due to a congenital form of hair loss called monilethrix. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn and the University of Bonn have now identified causative mutations in another keratin gene, KRT31. They hope that this will improve the diagnosis of this rare disease. Their results have now been published in the renowned "British Journal of Dermatology".

5 Sep 2024

Novel intermediate form of serotonin receptor identified as therapeutic target for psychiatric disorders

Misha Kudryshev's lab at the Max Delbrück Center has identified a molecular intermediate of a serotonin receptor that is involved in diseases such as depression and schizophrenia.

4 Sep 2024

AI unveils secrets of protein stability

Researchers at the Center for Algorithmic and Robotized Synthesis within the Institute for Basic Science have taken a significant step forward in understanding the stability of proteins by leveraging the power of AI. The research team used AlphaFold2 to explore how mutations affect protein stability-; a crucial factor in ensuring proteins function correctly and do not cause diseases like Alzheimer's.

29 Aug 2024

Study reveals how avian flu adapts to mammalian cells

In recent years, public health measures, surveillance, and vaccination have helped bring about significant progress in reducing the impact of seasonal flu epidemics, caused by human influenza viruses A and B.

19 Aug 2024

New histone tag discovery offers hope for myelin repair in neurodegenerative diseases

In a groundbreaking study, researchers with the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center (CUNY ASRC) have identified a distinct histone tag in adult oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) that may pave the way for innovative therapies targeting myelin repair, a critical target for several neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders, including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and schizophrenia.

12 Aug 2024

DeepPBS: A geometric AI model for accurate prediction of protein-DNA binding specificity

A new artificial intelligence model developed by USC researchers and published in Nature Methods can predict how different proteins may bind to DNA with accuracy across different types of protein, a technological advance that promises to reduce the time required to develop new drugs and other medical treatments.

9 Aug 2024

How machine learning is accelerating research in structural biology

For Lucas Farnung, there is no question more fascinating than how a single fertilized egg develops into a fully-functioning human.

2 Aug 2024

Challenging antibiotic resistance with dual-action macrolones

A new antibiotic that works by disrupting two different cellular targets would make it 100 million times more difficult for bacteria to evolve resistance, according to new research from the University of Illinois Chicago.

24 Jul 2024

Cryo-EM reveals structural dynamics of RNAP-DNA interactions during transcription initiation

Every living cell transcribes DNA into RNA. This process begins when an enzyme called RNA polymerase (RNAP) clamps onto DNA. Within a few hundred milliseconds, the DNA double helix unwinds to form a node known as the transcription bubble, so that one exposed DNA strand can be copied into a complementary RNA strand.

10 Jul 2024

New study reveals how RNA polymerase opens the transcription bubble in real time

Every living cell transcribes DNA into RNA. This process begins when an enzyme called RNA polymerase (RNAP) clamps onto DNA.

3 Jul 2024

Decoding the viscoelastic properties of biomolecular condensates

Biomolecular condensates are membraneless hubs of condensed proteins and nucleic acids within cells, which researchers are realizing are tied to an increasing number of cellular processes and diseases.

2 Jul 2024

Modulating gene expression using small molecules

The correct functioning of cells relies heavily on the ability to finely control gene expression, a complex process by which the information contained in DNA is copied into RNA to eventually give rise to all the proteins and most of the regulatory molecules in the cell.

2 Jul 2024

LJI study details measles virus neutralization

What happens when measles virus meets a human cell? The viral machinery unfolds in just the right way to reveal key pieces that let it fuse itself into the host cell membrane.

28 Jun 2024

Breakthrough in enzyme communication could pave the way for new drugs

A mechanism that could help scientists harness enzymes for use in drug discovery has been discovered in a research breakthrough at the University of Birmingham.

20 Jun 2024

Discovery paves the way for more specific cancer drugs with fewer side effects

The small protein ubiquitin is involved in almost every cellular process in our body: it orchestrates the stability and function of the vast majority of proteins.

6 Jun 2024

Study reveals new insight into how human telomeres function at the molecular level

The length of telomeres that protect the ends of our chromosomes should be tightly regulated. Those that are too long predispose to cancer, and those that are too short lose their protective ability, resulting in telomere disorders with serious health consequences.

4 Jun 2024

New research center delves into ubiquitin's role in cancer

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has now approved a new Collaborative Research Centre in the search for innovative therapies against cancer: Researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Goethe University Frankfurt and Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) have joined forces for this purpose.

31 May 2024