Lipids influence the formation of protein clumps. After Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s is the most common neurodegenerative disease in the world. More than six million people worldwide suffer from it. In this disease, alpha-synuclein proteins form thread-like structures called fibrils. When these fibrils clump together, they probably damage nerve cells. A research team has now shown for the first time how lipids bind to the fibril surface and influence the arrangement of the synuclein proteins within the fibrils. As it demonstrated, the…
How does manganese get to where it needs to go in plants? The protein BICAT3 is one of the most important manganese distributors in plants. If defective, this can have devastating effects on a plant’s growth; its leaves grow significantly smaller and it produces fewer seeds than usual. A team led by Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) has recently uncovered a transport pathway for manganese in plants and the role that BICAT3 plays in this process. The results could lay…
Research offers additional insights into the reproductive process. The behavior of sperm cells is due, in part, to the individual DNA make-up of these cells, rather than only to the genetics of males, finds a team of scientists. Its results, which provide a new understanding of the competition among sperm cells to fertilize the egg, have larger implications for the reproductive process. The study, which centers on the swimming behavior of sperm cells, is the first to establish a direct…
The better we understand cellular processes such as RNA regulation, the better molecular therapies can be developed. Until now, it has been especially difficult to track the regulation of non-coding RNA, which is RNA that is not further converted into proteins. A research team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Helmholtz Munich has now developed a minimally invasive reporter system that enables highly sensitive monitoring of RNA production of both coding and non-coding RNA. For cellular processes, our…
Oregon State University scientists have invented a way to make magnetic nanoparticles that get hotter than any previous nanoparticle, improving their cancer fighting ability. Faculty from the OSU College of Pharmacy spearheaded a collaboration that developed an advanced thermal decomposition method for producing nanoparticles able to reach temperatures in cancer lesions of up to 50 degrees Celsius, or 122 degrees Fahrenheit, when exposed to an alternating magnetic field. Findings of the preclinical study led by Oleh Taratula and Olena Taratula…
First insights into engineering crystal growth by atomically precise metal nanoclusters have been achieved in a study performed by researchers in Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Finland. The work was published in Nature Chemistry on November 10, 2022. Ordinary solid matter consists of atoms organized in a crystal lattice. The chemical character of the atoms and lattice symmetry define the properties of the matter, for instance, whether it is a metal, a semiconductor or and electric insulator. The lattice symmetry may…
… for treating inflammatory bowel diseases. Like elite firefighters headed into the wilderness to combat an uncontrolled blaze, probiotic bacteria do a better job quelling gut inflammation when they’re equipped with the best gear. A new study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison demonstrates just how much promise some well-equipped gut-friendly bacteria hold for improving treatments of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Led by Quanyin Hu, a biomedical engineer and professor in the UW–Madison…
Researchers at the Eelkema Lab have discovered a new process that uses fuel to control non-living materials, similar to what living cells do. The reaction cycle can easily be applied to a wide range of materials and its rate can be controlled – a breakthrough in the emerging field of such reactions. The discovery is a step towards soft robotics; soft machines that can sense what is happening in their environment and respond accordingly. The chemists published their findings in…
Free-living great tits differ considerably in the level of stress hormones in their blood. A research project at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence (in foundation) studied the birds over several years. The scientists observed large differences in how strongly glucocorticoid hormone levels fluctuated in individual great tits, as the birds experienced different environmental temperatures. Such differences among individuals can make it easier for bird populations to adapt to changing conditions – such as more frequent temperature extremes due…
… using a non-toxic version of their deadly toxin. A delicacy in Japanese cuisine, puffer fish (fugu) also contain a lethal toxin. Improperly prepared puffer fish can cause the person eating it to experience food poisoning and a swift death. Such a terrible event can happen because the fish’s liver and ovaries contain a powerful neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin (TTX). However, though its purpose is unclear, puffer fish also have analogs of TTX that are non-toxic. Now, in a new study…
Hate needles? These researchers do too. Researchers at UC Riverside are paving the way for diabetes and cancer patients to forget needles and injections, and instead take pills to manage their conditions. Some drugs for these diseases dissolve in water, so transporting them through the intestines, which receive what we drink and eat, is not feasible. As a result, these drugs cannot be administered by mouth. However, UCR scientists have created a chemical “tag” that can be added to these…
Human homolog in C. elegans opens new window on diseases such as ALS and Alzheimer’s. In new peer-reviewed research published Nov. 3rd, 2022 in Nature Communications, Emily Spaulding, PhD. and Dustin Updike, PhD. reveal the homolog of a well-known human protein, Nucleolin, in the tiny, transparent roundworm, C. elegans. Nucleolin is linked to human neurodegenerative disease and cancer. But the new finding challenges recent theories of the role structures inside the nucleus may play in such disorders – and surfaces…
New technique can detect damage to children’s kidneys earlier than current tests. Early diagnosis of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is key to managing progression of the disease. A new technique analyzing urine extracellular vesicles (uEVs) — cell-derived nanoscale spherical structures involved in multiple biological functions — in urine samples identifies changes in the kidneys earlier than conventional methods and can also predict renal function decline. A team at the University of Tokyo studied urine samples from children with and without…
… to evade the immune system. Using DNA barcodes to track cancer cells through time, Garvan scientists have shown that cells within a cancer have diverse abilities to escape immune system defences. Some cancer cells can deploy parallel mechanisms to evade the immune system’s defences as well as resist immunotherapy treatment, according to a new study from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. By suppressing the action of killer T-cells and hindering the ability of the immune system to flag tumour cells…
… for mass data storage of the future from synthetic biology. Within the project “BIOSYNTH- Modular High-throughput Micro-Platform for Future Mass Data Storage from Synthetic Biology”, funded by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in an internal program, an innovative microchip platform for efficient cell-free and digitally controllable biosynthesis will be developed. The Fraunhofer FEP is the consortium leader and will work together with the Fraunhofer Institutes for Photonic Microsystems IPMS, for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM, for Cell Therapy and Immunology, Bioanalytics and…
… unveiling new discoveries and potential drug targets. Structural insights reveal new potential drug targets for the development of novel antiviral drugs to inhibit influenza virus replication. A team of scientists at University of Oxford have worked with multiple techniques at Diamond Light Source, the UK’s national synchrotron, to solve the structure of the influenza replication machinery and to determine how it interacts with cellular proteins. This new research furthers understanding of influenza replication and how the virus adapts to…
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