Molecular & Structural Biology

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EMBL researchers reveal new structural insights into minor spliceosome function

In human cells, only a small proportion of the information written in genes is used to produce proteins. How does the cell select this information? A large molecular machine called the spliceosome continuously separates the coding and non-coding regions of our genes – and it's doing this even as you read these lines.

12 Feb 2025

New immune map uncovers key pancreatic cancer insights

Researchers determine a complex immune infiltrate pattern based on a newly constructed immune map developed using pancreatic cancer cells.

12 Feb 2025

Adrenomedullin hormone as key driver of insulin resistance in obesity-linked type 2 diabetes

Researchers investigate the underlying mechanisms of endothelial insulin resistance involved in obesity-associated diabetes.

11 Feb 2025

Gut bacteria influence brain protein modifications via glycosylation

Our guts are home to trillions of bacteria, and research over the last few decades has established how essential they are to our physiology – in health and disease.

10 Feb 2025

Collagen's structural diversity may be greater than previously believed, study suggests

Collagen, the body's most abundant protein, has long been viewed as a predictable structural component of tissues.

7 Feb 2025

Gut microbiome shifts from sugary drinks tied to higher diabetes risk

Researchers examine the association between sugar-sweetened beverage intake and gut microbiota-mediated changes that may mitigate the risk of diabetes.

7 Feb 2025

How lymphoid tissues protect against viral infections

Researchers explore the cellular and molecular adaptations associated with human secondary lymphoid tissue in adults during viral infection.

7 Feb 2025

Study unlocks structural secrets of ApoB100 protein linked to heart disease

Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) - commonly known as bad cholesterol - have long been on scientists' radar as a major contributor to heart disease.

3 Feb 2025

Genetic fingerprint could help predict antibiotic resistance in bacteria

Antibiotic resistance is a global public health crisis responsible for more than a million deaths annually. By 2050, the World Health Organization estimates it could surpass cancer and heart disease as the leading cause of death as more bacteria develop defenses to the drugs designed to combat them.

29 Jan 2025

Chickpea germination offers insights into protein breakdown and nutrients

It's well known that sprouting seeds increases their nutritional value. Researchers led by Professor Denis Shields from University College Dublin in partnership with the health food company, The Happy Pear have uncovered some surprising facts about how the sprouting process varies over time and strain of seed.

28 Jan 2025

Research could lead to better medicines and new tools in synthetic biology

Proteins are life's engines, powering processes like muscle movement, vision, and chemical reactions. Their environments-water, lipid membranes, or other condensed phases-are critical to their function, shaping their structure and interactions.

24 Jan 2025

Study reveals new mechanism behind gene expression regulation in animal cells

A research team at KAIST has identified the core gene expression networks regulated by key proteins that fundamentally drive phenomena such as cancer development, metastasis, tissue differentiation from stem cells, and neural activation processes.

24 Jan 2025

Study reveals sex-specific differences in microglial response to CSF1R inhibition

Researchers investigate the sex-dependent microglial response to a colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) inhibitor.

24 Jan 2025

Decades of DNA expansion linked to Huntington’s disease neurodegeneration

Researchers uncover how slow CAG repeat expansions in neurons drive Huntington’s disease over decades.

24 Jan 2025

Scientists discover critical factor in bone remodeling process

Bones are the living tissue on which the human skeleton is constructed and play a key role in enabling physical movements.

21 Jan 2025

NIH provides $14 million to support human genome research diversification

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has received two large grants renewing funding for the Human Pangenome Reference Sequencing Project.

21 Jan 2025

Breakthrough study maps critical structure of Nipah virus polymerase

Scientists at Harvard Medical School and Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine have mapped a critical component of the Nipah virus, a highly lethal bat-borne pathogen that has caused outbreaks in humans almost every year since it was identified in 1999.

20 Jan 2025

New approach combines two methods to study disordered proteins

Researchers of Mainz University and EMBL Hamburg present a new approach to determine the form of disordered proteins by using two different methods simultaneously in a single sample.

20 Jan 2025

Manuka vs. Ohia Lehua honey: Study reveals key antioxidant differences and health benefits

Study compares the antioxidant properties of Manuka honey (MH) and Ohia Lehua honey (OLH), revealing that MH contains ten times more phenolic content, while OLH demonstrates superior in vivo antioxidant activity by reducing oxidative stress and enhancing antioxidant capacity.

19 Jan 2025