Biochemistry

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Study shows JNK protein as a stress sensor in synapses

New study from Eleanor Coffey's lab at Turku Bioscience Centre in Finland identifies that the JNK protein triggers nerve cells to withdraw their synapses when stressed.

11 Mar 2020

Researchers visualize first structure of key enzyme that helps make triglycerides

The first structure of a lipin enzyme, which carries out an important step in the production of triglycerides, the main reservoir for long-term energy storage, will help scientists to better understand how lipins regulate the production of triglycerides.

11 Mar 2020

A copper-binding protein influences breast cancer cell migration

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have shown that the Atox1 protein, found in breast cancer cells, participates in the process by which cancer cells metastasise.

10 Mar 2020

Study uncovers novel relationships between SLCs and cytotoxic drugs in human cells

Solute carriers represent the largest family of transmembrane transporters in the human genome, with over 400 members arranged into 65 families.

9 Mar 2020

New discovery could lead to better strategies for preventing breast cancer metastasis

New discovery in breast cancer could lead to better strategies for preventing the spread of cancer cells to other organs in the body, effectively reducing mortality in breast cancer patients.

8 Mar 2020

Research sheds light on molecular mechanisms that enable bacteria to compete and establish symbiosis

Two factors that control the expression of a key gene required by luminescent bacteria to kill competing bacterial cells have been identified.

7 Mar 2020

New route for total synthesis of tetrodotoxin

In Japan, puffer fish is considered a delicacy, but the tickle to the taste buds comes with a tickle to the nerves: fugu contains tetrodotoxin, a strong nerve toxin.

6 Mar 2020

Microbiome research uncovers new form of antibiotic tolerance

Antibiotics can make easy work of infections. But how do they affect the complex ecosystems of friendly bacteria that make up our microbiome?

5 Mar 2020

Researchers find previously unknown response within gut microbiome

The gut microbiome, which is a collection of numerous beneficial bacteria species, is key to our overall well-being and good health. Recent studies have linked the gut microbiome with several beneficial properties, such as aiding in the development of our immune system and warding off pathogen infections.

5 Mar 2020

Breakthrough technology identifies proteins' nearest neighbors on cell surfaces

When corporate partners in the Princeton Catalysis Initiative sat down two years ago with David MacMillan, they presented him with a biological challenge at the heart of potential cancer medicines and other therapeutics: which proteins on a cell's surface touch each other?

5 Mar 2020

Molecule-sized drills can target diseased cells and kill them in minutes

Molecule-sized drills do the damage they are designed to do. That's bad news for disease.

5 Mar 2020

Researchers uncover novel neurotransmitter system in the brain

Neurotransmitters are chemicals that transmit signals between neurons or from neurons to other cells. They interact with specific receptors found in the brain of humans and animals, controlling a variety of biological processes, e.g. fear, anger, pleasure, memory, energy, appetite and sleep.

5 Mar 2020

New repair mechanism for alcohol-induced DNA damage discovered

Researchers of the Hubrecht Institute in Utrecht, The Netherlands, and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, United Kingdom, have discovered a new way in which the human body repairs DNA damage caused by a degradation product of alcohol.

4 Mar 2020