Structural Biology News and Research

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Right time for NCKU to jump into cryo-electron microscopy

"Now is really the perfect time in history for the university here in Tainan to jump into the field of cryo-EM (cryo-electron microscopy)," said Dr. Robert M. Glaeser, Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural Biology, UC Berkeley, USA, at a symposium held at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Tainan, Taiwan, March 4th.

5 Mar 2014

Bruker announces successful installation of World’s First compact 900 MHz actively refrigerated magnet for NMR spectroscopy at UCSD

Bruker today announced the successful installation of an Ascend™ Aeon 900 magnet, the world’s first compact, single-story NMR magnet with active refrigeration at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) in La Jolla, CA.

4 Mar 2014

Bruker launches new, improved customer-driven products at Pittcon 2014

At Pittcon 2014, Bruker today announced new product introductions and enhancements for improved performance and customer experience in research, industrial and applied markets.

4 Mar 2014

Scientists unveil role of microRNAs in regulating neuroblastoma, pointing to new therapeutic possibilities

Neuroblastoma is one of the most common and lethal types of childhood cancers. In a paper published online today in OncoTarget, a researcher at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio unveils the important role of microRNAs in regulating neuroblastoma development, pointing to new therapeutic possibilities.

3 Mar 2014

Heat shock protein may be involved in folding processes of tau protein

Proteins like the so-called heat shock protein Hsp90 play an important role in almost all processes within human cells. They help other proteins fold into their three-dimensional structure or return damaged proteins back into their proper shape.

3 Mar 2014

Study uncovers how gut bacteria metabolize complex dietary carbohydrates in fruits, vegetables

We are all aware of the health benefits of dietary fiber. But what is dietary fiber and how do we metabolize it?

13 Feb 2014

TSRI scientists discover unusual protein that probably helps some bacteria evade immune response

A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has discovered an unusual bacterial protein that attaches to virtually any antibody and prevents it from binding to its target. Protein M, as it is called, probably helps some bacteria evade the immune response and establish long-term infections.

7 Feb 2014

TSRI scientists design artificial proteins as a candidate vaccine against RSV

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have invented a new method for designing artificial proteins, and have used it to make key ingredients for a candidate vaccine against a dangerous virus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a significant cause of infant mortality.

6 Feb 2014

New insight into how gut bacteria digest fibre

New insight into how gut bacteria digest fibre could lead to advances in areas as diverse as health and environmentally-friendly biofuels.

31 Jan 2014

Researchers determine structure of proteins in the cell

Researchers from Konstanz develop method to exactly determine the structure of proteins in their natural environment.

27 Jan 2014

Scientists uncover how microbiota metabolise complex dietary carbohydrates found in fruits, vegetables

We are all aware of the health benefits of "dietary fibre". But what is dietary fibre and how do we metabolise it?

20 Jan 2014

New imaging technique captures vibrations of proteins, tiny motions critical to human life

Like the strings on a violin or the pipes of an organ, the proteins in the human body vibrate in different patterns, scientists have long suspected.

16 Jan 2014

Texas researcher receives U.S. patent for new class of compounds that protect against TBI

A researcher in the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio received a U.S. patent Dec. 31 for his discovery that a class of compounds is protective against traumatic brain injury.

13 Jan 2014

Unprecedented, atom-scale simulation of G protein-coupled receptor site's transformation

Roughly 40 percent of all medications act on cells' G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). One of these receptors, beta 2 adrenergic receptor site (B2AR), naturally transforms between two base configurations; knowing the precise location of each of approximately 4,000 atoms is crucial for ensuring a snug fit between it and the drug.

28 Dec 2013

Kolltan Pharmaceuticals signs license agreement with University of Toronto for novel anti-KIT antibodies

Kolltan Pharmaceuticals, a privately held biopharmaceutical company, today announced the Company has signed a license agreement with the University of Toronto for novel anti-KIT receptor tyrosine kinase antibodies identified in the laboratories of Dr. Sachdev Sidhu at the University of Toronto and the laboratory of Dr. Joseph Schlessinger of Yale University.

6 Dec 2013

New research finds that H7N9 still mainly adapted for infecting birds, not humans

Avian influenza virus H7N9, which killed several dozen people in China earlier this year, has not yet acquired the changes needed to infect humans easily, according to a new study by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute. In contrast to some initial studies that had suggested that H7N9 poses an imminent risk of a global pandemic, the new research found, based on analyses of virus samples from the Chinese outbreak, that H7N9 is still mainly adapted for infecting birds, not humans.

6 Dec 2013

New research offers fresh insights to drug designers searching for better pain treatments

In a technical tour de force, UC San Francisco scientists have determined, at near-atomic resolution, the structure of a protein that plays a central role in the perception of pain and heat.

5 Dec 2013

Scientists receive $12.5M NIH grant to continue research on targeted therapies for melanoma

Despite recent advances in therapy, melanoma remains the deadliest, most aggressive form of skin cancer as incidence rates continue to climb. Now, a team of melanoma scientists from The Wistar Institute and the University of Pennsylvania received a $12.5 M, five-year program project grant (P01) from the National Institutes of Health to continue trailblazing research on targeted therapies in melanoma.

4 Dec 2013

Study brings effective hepatitis C cure closer to reality

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have determined the most detailed picture yet of a crucial part of the hepatitis C virus, which the virus uses to infect liver cells. The new data reveal unexpected structural features of this protein and should greatly speed efforts to make an effective hepatitis C vaccine.

29 Nov 2013

NIAID awards $4.4M grant to study unknown gene function in bacteria that cause plague, brucellosis

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has awarded the University of Chicago $4.4 million over five years to study genes of unknown function in bacteria that cause plague and brucellosis.

20 Nov 2013