Molecular & Structural Biology

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Common bug repellent may chemically 'cloak' humans from malaria-carrying mosquitos

Since its invention during the Second World War for soldiers stationed in countries where malaria transmission rates were high, researchers have worked to pinpoint precisely how DEET actually affects mosquitos.

17 Oct 2019

Skin's circadian clock is independent of the eyes or brain, study finds

Squids, octopuses, cuttlefish, amphibians, and chameleon lizards are among the animals that can change the color of their skin in a blink of an eye. They have photoreceptors in their skin that operate independently of their brain. The photoreceptors are part of a family of proteins known as opsins.

16 Oct 2019

Stony Brook-led study reveals how proteome collapse process drives cell death and aging

Cells undergo natural aging and death, processes that impact a multitude of cellular factors. A new Stony Brook University-led study, to be published in PNAS, provides a biophysical model that reveals how damage accumulates in the shapes of cellular proteins with age and is a trigger to death.

16 Oct 2019

Scientists decipher assembly line of glutamate receptors

Rapid communication of neurons in the brain, as well as the ability to learn, fundamentally rely on neurotransmitter receptors located in the contact sites of neurons, the synapses. The most important receptors in the mammalian brain are glutamate receptors of the AMPA-type that generate the electrical signal required for fast communication between neurons.

16 Oct 2019

New technique reveals how the brain responds to light signals received by the retina

In recent decades, scientists have learned a great deal about how different neurons connect and send signals to each other. But it's been difficult to trace the activity of individual nerve fibers known as axons, some of which can extend from the tip of the toe to the head.

15 Oct 2019

Simpler and direct method for producing lipidated proteins

Some of the body's proteins are not just made up of amino acids, they are also 'decorated' with lipid chains, which significantly influence the biological functions of the protein.

15 Oct 2019

Study suggesting that CRISPR babies are likely to die early has been retracted

A research paper that sparked concerns about the lifespan of China's first gene-edited babies has been retracted due to technical errors.

15 Oct 2019

'Tricked' bacteria open door to new antimicrobial therapies

Scientists have developed a new technique to trick bacteria into revealing hundreds of holes in their cell walls, opening the door for drugs that destroy bacteria’s cells.

14 Oct 2019

Genetic oscillator captures changes in gut microbiome growth patterns

For all the attention the human microbiome has been getting over the last few years, one aspect of such research rarely makes headlines: the difficulty of observing how it changes over time in response to various stimuli.

11 Oct 2019

Jumping genes can contribute to rare childhood developmental disorders

The largest study of its kind into childhood developmental disorders has discovered that jumping genes cause genetic changes in some patients with undiagnosed neurodevelopmental diseases.

11 Oct 2019

Research may help explain how liquid organelles in cells coexist without merging

New research may help to explain an intriguing phenomenon inside human cells: how wall-less liquid organelles are able to coexist as separate entities instead of just merging together.

10 Oct 2019

Low-dose exposure to antibiotics can have major impacts on gut bacteria

An antibiotic commonly found at low concentrations in the environment can have major impacts on gut bacteria, report researchers at the University of Oregon.

10 Oct 2019

A Lego-like approach to enhance nature's own ability to attack bacteria

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers antibiotic resistance one of the most urgent public health threats, one that affects communities worldwide. The ramifications of bacteria's ability to become resistant to antibiotics can be seen in hospitals, public places, our food supply, and our water.

10 Oct 2019

CRISPR RNA-cutting enzyme programmed to destroy viruses in human cells

Many of the world's most common or deadly human pathogens are RNA-based viruses -- Ebola, Zika and flu, for example -- and most have no FDA-approved treatments.

10 Oct 2019

MDI Biological Laboratory scientist awarded federal grant for aging research

The MDI Biological Laboratory has announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded a grant in the amount of $373,500 per year for five years to Aric Rogers, Ph.D., to support his research on the cellular and molecular mechanisms governing aging.

10 Oct 2019

Cell death 'blocker' could speed recovery and save lives

Scientists in Australia have shown that they can successfully stop the process of cell death (apoptosis) through a revolutionary new compound.

9 Oct 2019

Need to feel balanced drives development of limb-body coordination, study finds

The need to feel balanced drives the development of coordination between body and limbs as zebrafish larvae learn to swim, a new study by NYU School of Medicine finds.

9 Oct 2019

New antibiotic discovered in Mexican tropical forest

Scientists from Rutgers University and around the world have discovered an antibiotic produced by a soil bacterium from a Mexican tropical forest that may help lead to a "plant probiotic," more robust plants and other antibiotics.

8 Oct 2019

Histone modifications play important role in 'zygotic genome activation'

Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology observed changes to the gene-regulating factors during zebrafish development and discovered that modifications to "histone H3", one of the proteins around which DNA is bound, play an important role in "zygotic genome activation" or transition of control of zebrafish embryonic development from maternal material to the zygote .

8 Oct 2019

Study presents a new view on how mitochondrial dysfunction may contribute to aging

Disturbances in the function of mitochondrial DNA can accelerate the aging process in ways that are different than previously thought, according to a new Finnish study published in Nature Metabolism.

8 Oct 2019