Proteomics
Study Reveals How Enzymes ‘Walk’ on DNA
April 19, 2024 11:44 am | News | CommentsScientists have revealed how a bacterial enzyme has evolved an energy-efficient method to move long distances along DNA. The findings present further insight into the coupling of chemical and mechanical energy by a class of enzymes called helicases, a widely-distributed group of proteins, which in human cells are implicated in some cancers.
‘Protein Switch’ Can Pinpoint Cancer’s Key Players
April 11, 2024 10:28 am | News | CommentsResearchers have “rationally rewired” some of the cell’s smallest components to create proteins that can be switched on or off by command. These “protein switches” can be used to interrogate the inner workings of each cell, helping scientists uncover the molecular mechanisms of human health and disease.
‘Bio-batteries’ Use Clean Electricity from Bacteria
March 26, 2024 10:09 am | News | CommentsScientists have made an important breakthrough in the quest to generate clean electricity from bacteria. Findings show that proteins on the surface of bacteria can produce an electric current by simply touching a mineral surface.
Scientists Uncover Nuclear Life of Actin
March 25, 2024 10:22 am | News | CommentsA key building block of life, actin is one of the most abundant and highly conserved proteins in eukaryotic cells.
Synthesized DNA Can Act as Protein
March 19, 2024 11:32 am | News | CommentsChemists have used DNA to do a protein’s job, creating opportunities for DNA to find work in more areas of biology, chemistry and medicine than ever before.
Protein “Mousetrap” Stops Cancer-driving Enzyme
March 14, 2024 11:26 am | News | CommentsA seemingly obscure gene in the female fruit fly that is only active in cells that will become eggs has led researchers to the discovery of an atypical protein that lures, traps and inactivates the powerful Polo kinase, widely considered the master regulator of cell division.
Protein Creation Rate Mystery Solved
March 14, 2024 10:51 am | News | CommentsScientists have solved a problem that has frustrated biologists for years: Why different parts of proteins are made at different rates.
Bacteria Tricked to Deliver Safer Vaccine
March 13, 2024 10:26 am | News | CommentsVaccines that employ weakened but live pathogens to trigger immune responses have inherent safety issues but researchers have developed a new trick to circumvent the problem— using bacteria’s own cellular mistakes to deliver a safe vaccine.
‘Red Flag’ of Early Kidney Injury Identified
March 13, 2024 10:13 am | News | CommentsA guidance cue that helps kidneys form may also be a red flag that they are in danger, researchers report.
Exploring New Uses for DNA Building Blocks
March 13, 2024 10:00 am | News | CommentsFor decades, Nadrian C. "Ned" Seeman has studied ways to assemble DNA strands into geometric shapes and 3-D crystals with applications in biology, biocomputing and nanorobotics. Now, his team studied DNA structures using smaller crystals in solution at room temperature.
Cancer-Promoting Protein Doubles as Cell Suppressant
March 8, 2024 9:58 am | News | CommentsSome cellular proteins have multiple, and occasionally opposing, functions. Researchers demonstrated that the oncogenic protein SRSF1 can also trigger a stop in cell growth and prevent cancerous proliferation by stabilizing p53, the powerful tumor-suppressor protein.
Study Connects Molecular Dots of Taste to Brain
March 7, 2024 9:59 am | News | CommentsSaying that the sense of taste is complicated is an understatement, that it is little understood, even more so. Exactly how cells transmit taste information to the brain for three out of the five primary taste types was pretty much a mystery, until now.
Stressed Blood Proteins Cause Clots for Hours
March 6, 2024 11:31 am | News | CommentsNew research has revealed how stresses of flow in the small blood vessels of the heart and brain could cause a common protein to change shape and form dangerous blood clots, and the proteins could remain in the dangerous, clot-initiating shape for up to five hours before returning to their normal, healthy shape.
Protein Discovery Opens Door to New Drugs
March 5, 2024 11:23 am | News | CommentsResearchers have discovered how oxidative stress can turn to the dark side a cellular protein that’s usually benign, and make it become a powerful, unwanted accomplice in neuronal death. This finding could ultimately lead to new therapeutic approaches to many of the world’s debilitating or fatal diseases.
Mutation Enables Bird Flu Infection of Mammals
March 1, 2024 10:41 am | News | CommentsA single mutation in the H5N1 avian influenza virus that affects the pH at which the hemagglutinin surface protein is activated simultaneously reduces its capacity to infect ducks and enhances its capacity to grow in mice according to new research.
3-Billion-Year-Old Antibiotic-Resistant Proteins Resurrected
February 28, 2024 10:54 am | News | CommentsScientists are reporting ‘laboratory resurrections’ of several 2-3-billion-year-old proteins that are ancient ancestors of the enzymes that enable today’s antibiotic-resistant bacteria to shrug off huge doses of penicillins, cephalosporins and other modern drugs.
Stolen Proteins Crucial to HIV Surivival
February 28, 2024 10:29 am | News | CommentsStudying HIV-1, the most common and infectious HIV subtype, scientists have identified 25 human proteins ‘stolen’ by the virus that may be critical to its ability to infect new cells.
Odor Sensor in Blood Vessels Regulates Pressure
February 27, 2024 10:20 am | News | CommentsResearchers have discovered that a specialized receptor, normally found in the nose, is also in blood vessels throughout the body, sensing small molecules created by microbes that line mammalian intestines, and responding to these molecules by increasing blood pressure.
Superbug Has Protein Soft Spot
February 27, 2024 9:24 am | News | CommentsThe overuse of antibiotics has created strains of bacteria resistant to medication, making the diseases they cause difficult to treat, or even deadly. Now, a research team has identified a weakness in at least one superbug that scientists may be able to medically exploit.
Instrument Trick Can Accelerate Cancer Diagnosis
February 25, 2024 11:41 am | News | CommentsResearchers have found a new way to accelerate a workhorse instrument that identifies proteins. The high-speed technique could help diagnose cancer sooner and point to new drugs for treating a wide range of conditions.
Harnessing The Power Of Peacocks To Make Colorful Images
February 22, 2024 4:05 pm | by Joel N. Shurkin | News | CommentsThe gloriously colored, iridescent feathers of the male peacock aren't what they seem on the surface. They look that way largely because the feathers contain nanometer-scale protein structures that break up incoming light waves, recombine, and reflect them as rich, vibrant colors.
Codon Speeds Dictate Protein Performance
February 20, 2024 10:10 am | News | CommentsA team of researchers has shown that the concept of how the speed of creation affects performance also applies to how a protein they studied impacts circadian clock function.
Tiny Capsule Effectively Kills Cancer Cells
February 7, 2024 11:15 am | News | CommentsDevising a method for more precise and less invasive treatment of cancer tumors, a team led by researchers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science has developed a degradable nanoscale shell to carry proteins to cancer cells and stunt the growth of tumors without damaging healthy cells.
Caught in the Act: Researchers Capture Key Moments in Cell Death
February 4, 2024 11:20 am | News | CommentsScientists at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute have for the first time visualized the molecular changes in a critical cell death protein that force cells to die. The finding provides important insights into how cell death occurs, and could lead to new classes of medicines that control whether diseased cells live or die.
DNA-Repairing Protein May Be Key to Preventing Recurrence of Some Cancers
January 28, 2024 11:42 am | News | CommentsJust as the body can become resistant to antibiotics, certain methods of killing cancer tumors can end up creating resistant tumor cells. But a University of Central Florida professor has found a protein present in several types of cancer, including breast and ovarian cancer, which could be helpful in preventing tumors from coming back.
