Structural Biology News and Research

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New method can accurately, quickly predict which antigens will lead to strong immune response

A cell's secrets can be divulged by its surface, decorated with tens to hundreds of thousands of molecules that help immune cells determine friend from foe.

5 Sep 2022

Study opens a window of opportunity to design RAF1 degraders against lung adenocarcinomas

One of the main challenges in oncology is the development of drugs against KRAS oncogenes. These oncogenes -genes that cause cancer when mutated - are responsible for a quarter of all human cancers, including the three tumor types with the highest mortality rates: lung adenocarcinoma, colorectal carcinoma and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

1 Sep 2022

What lessons can we learn from the COVID-19 pandemic for HIV?

A new study discussed how experiences from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic could be leveraged for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

31 Aug 2022

Evolution can favor flexible proteins, research suggests

When you think of proteins – the enzymes, signaling molecules, and structural components in every living thing – you might think of single strands of amino acids, organized like beads on a string.

26 Aug 2022

Researchers delve deeper into the structure of protein receptor crucial for cardiovascular health

5 Aug 2022

Researchers unravel mechanism of action of bacterial Tc toxin in fatal attacks

A harmful and often deadly substance made by bacteria, a bacterial toxin manipulates host cell functions and disrupts vital cell processes in a living organism.

3 Aug 2022

Jianhua Zhao secures $2.4 million NIGMS grant to study the molecular machinery of proteolysis

Assistant Professor Jianhua Zhao, Ph.D., has been awarded a unique and competitive grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health.

2 Aug 2022

Cross-validation of distance measurements in motile proteins reveals certain inconsistencies

The researchers from PD Dr. Gregor Hagelueken's group at the Institute of Structural Biology of the UKB used so-called PELDOR spectroscopy to study the movement of so-called substrate-binding proteins.

1 Aug 2022

Würzburg scientists are working on the development of new drugs to combat monkeypox

Poxviruses pose a threat to humanity that should be taken seriously, as the current outbreak of monkeypox shows.

1 Aug 2022

Researchers report near-atomic-resolution images of nitrogenase during catalysis using cryo-EM

Previously, it has been impossible to capture the high-resolution images of nitrogenase, the only enzyme capable of reducing nitrogen into ammonia, during catalytic action.

29 Jul 2022

Researchers unravel how one gut bacterium influences immunity

From immunity to metabolism to mental health, it seems like the gut microbiome has been linked to every aspect of human health and disease.

27 Jul 2022

Study suggests ZCB11 as a promising antibody drug against all SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern

Researchers at the AIDS Institute, The University of Hong Kong, Department of Microbiology, School of Clinical Medicine, the LKS Faculty of Medicine of The University of Hong Kong and the State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, HKU, together with structural biologists at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, have demonstrated that ZCB11, a broadly neutralizing antibody derived from a local mRNA-vaccinee against the spreading Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2, displays potent antiviral activities against all variants of concern (VOCs), including the dominantly spreading Omicron BA.1, BA1.1 and BA.2.

13 Jul 2022

Scientists gain unprecedented insight into the key properties of antibody needed to combat cancer

Researchers at the University of Southampton have gained unprecedented new insight into the key properties of an antibody needed to fight off cancer.

8 Jul 2022

Crystal structure of a human endogenous reverse transcriptase revealed

The crystal structure of a human endogenous reverse transcriptase has similarities to HIV reverse transcriptase, a well-known tractable drug target, which will help design drugs to treat cancer and other diseases, according to a study co-authored by a Rutgers researcher.

30 Jun 2022

Immune particles from llama blood could offer protection against several COVID-19 variants

Mount Sinai-led researchers have shown that tiny, robust immune particles derived from the blood of a llama could provide strong protection against every COVID-19 variant, including Omicron, and 18 similar viruses including SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV-1, which was responsible for the 2003 SARS outbreak.

29 Jun 2022

Using artificial intelligence to discover new antivirals against COVID-19 and future pandemics

Research into drugs to treat mosquito-borne flaviviruses such as Zika and dengue as well as COVID-19will benefit from a major funding boost, says a group of international scientists using artificial intelligence to discover new oral antivirals.

10 Jun 2022

Cryo-EM helps scientists to decipher the structure of a key part of RNA degradation machinery

In biology, getting rid of stuff can be just as important as making it. A buildup of cells, proteins, or other molecules that are no longer needed can cause problems, so living things have evolved several ways to clean house.

9 Jun 2022

Artificial intelligence-based computational program predicts the 3D structure of rotavirus spike protein

Of the three groups of rotavirus that cause gastroenteritis in people, called groups A, B and C, groups A and C affect mostly children and are the best characterized.

9 Jun 2022

Studies provide insight into how long COVID-19 immunity lasts and nature of immune recall

How does the immune system remember and recognize viral invaders it has encountered in the past? A trio of newly published studies of people infected with SARS-CoV-2, vaccinated against the virus or both, are providing tantalizing new clues about the factors that influence the speed and magnitude of the immune system's response to subsequent infection with variants of SARS-CoV-2.

19 May 2022

New discovery has potential to stop inflammation at the "growing end"

Redness, swelling, pain - these are signs of inflammation. It serves to protect the body from pathogens or foreign substances.

13 May 2022