Proteins keep our organs functioning, regulate our cells and are the targets for medications that treat a number of diseases, including cancers and neurological diseases. Proteins need to move in order to function. But, because the technology they used to watch proteins doesn't allow it, scientists still know very little about such motions at speeds slower than a nanosecond. That changed last month.
Read moreScientists have constructed synthetic vesicles in which ATP, the main energy carrier in living cells, is produced. The vesicles use the ATP to maintain their volume and their ionic strength homeostasis. This metabolic network will eventually be used in the creation of synthetic cells – but it can already be used to study ATP-dependent processes.
Read moreBiomedical engineers have developed a new platform to create biological drugs using specially engineered bacteria that burst and release useful proteins when they sense that their capsule is becoming too crowded.
Read moreNew results show that human-acquired antibiotic resistance genes are being transmitted to livestock, companion animals and wildlife. Researchers analyzed a global set of 901 genome sequences of the bacteria Streptococcus agalactiae (aka group B Strep) from nine different host species — humans, cows, dogs, fish, frogs, gray seals, dolphins, goats and a camel — to better understand the transmission process. Streptococcus agalactiae can cause life-threatening illnesses.
Read moreA computer generated-simulation allowed researchers to see how a toxin produced by algal blooms in saltwater might cause Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
Read moreAn inter-disciplinary team of researchers has unraveled how a toxin released by Escherichia coli (E. coli) – a human gut bacteria, is connected to colorectal cancer, offering new insights to the health impact of this prevalent bacteria and facilitating future research on the prevention of this third most common cancer worldwide.
Read morePotentially dangerous genes embedded within human DNA were once thought to be locked down by helpful DNA structures called heterochromatin. A researcher disputes that belief and hopes to change the paradigm even further.
Read moreScientists at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona shed light on how the genome organizes groups of genes linked to specific processes, like the release of toxins.
Read moreScientists describe a previously unknown disorder of the immune system: in a distinct subset of immune cells from patients with primary immunodeficiency, cellular respiration is significantly increased. This cellular metabolic overactivity leads to inflammation.
Read moreThe way immune cells pick friends from foes can be described by a classic maths puzzle known as the 'narrow escape problem'.
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