Molecular Biology News

December 5, 2023

Top Headlines

From Infamy to Ingenuity: Bacterial Hijack Mechanisms as Advanced Genetic Tools

Dec. 5, 2023 — Researchers have uncovered the intricate molecular mechanism used by parasitic phytoplasma bacteria, known for inducing 'zombie-like' effects in ...

Sugar Permeation Discovered in Plant Aquaporins

Dec. 4, 2023 — Aquaporins, which move water through membranes of plant cells, were not thought to be able to permeate sugar molecules, but researchers have observed sucrose transport in plant aquaporins for the first time, challenging this ...

Researchers Have Cracked the Cellular Code on Protein Folding, Offering Hope for New Therapeutic Avenues for Many Diseases

Dec. 4, 2023 — While we often think of diseases as caused by foreign bodies -- bacteria or viruses -- there are hundreds of diseases affecting humans that result from errors in cellular production of its proteins. ...

New Technique Efficiently Offers Insight Into Gene Regulation

Dec. 4, 2023 — Researchers have developed a new technique called MAbID. This allows them to simultaneously study different mechanisms of gene regulation, which plays a major role in development and disease. MAbID offers new insights into how these mechanisms work ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:08pm EST

Macrophages 'Eat' Insulin-Producing Cells to Regulate Insulin After Mice Have Given Birth

Dec. 4, 2023 — Pregnancy brings a rise in pancreatic beta cells -- the cells that produce insulin. Shortly after birth, these cells return to their normal levels. ...

Unlocking the Secret Strength of Marine Mussels

Dec. 1, 2023 — How do you create strong, yet quick-release connections between living and non-living tissues? This is a question that continues to puzzle bioengineers who aim to create materials that bond together ...

Scientist Discovers Potential Brain Link Between Stress, Emotional Eating

Nov. 27, 2023 — Scientists describe how they identified a molecule that may trigger over-consumption of comfort foods after a threatening ...

Key Protein in Blood Vessel's Growth Identified

Nov. 29, 2023 — New research identifies the class II PI3K-C2b protein, a member of the PI3 family of kinases, as one of the key regulators of blood vessels growth in humans and other mammals. Mutations in these ...

Clever Dosage Control Mechanism of Biallelic Genes

Nov. 29, 2023 — Researchers have uncovered a mechanism that safeguards the biallelic expression of haploinsufficient genes, shedding light on the importance of having two copies of each chromosome. A study ...

Scientists Harness Flower 'Super Power' to Pave the Way for New Drug Treatments

Nov. 28, 2023 — Researchers have developed a way of joining up the head and tail of a protein, making it more stable and easier to get into ...

Coffee Grounds May Hold Key to Preventing Neurodegenerative Diseases

Nov. 21, 2023 — A team of researchers found that caffeic-acid based Carbon Quantum Dots (CACQDs), which can be derived from spent coffee grounds, have the potential to protect brain cells from the damage caused by ...

Nutrient Found in Beef and Dairy Improves Immune Response to Cancer

Nov. 22, 2023 — Trans-vaccenic acid (TVA), a long-chain fatty acid found in meat and dairy products from grazing animals such as cows and sheep, improves the ability of CD8+ T cells to infiltrate tumors and kill ...

Team Discovers Rules for Breaking Into Pseudomonas

Nov. 22, 2023 — Researchers report that they have found a way to get antibacterial drugs through the nearly impenetrable outer membrane of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium that -- once it infects a person -- is ...

New Clues Into the Head-Scratching Mystery of Itch

Nov. 22, 2023 — Scientists show for the first time that bacteria can cause itch by activating nerve cells in the skin. The findings can inform new therapies to treat itch that occurs in inflammatory skin conditions ...

Earlier Headlines

Summaries
Headlines

Releasing Brakes on Biocatalysis

Nov. 29, 2023 — Enzymes from microorganisms can produce hydrogen (H2) under certain conditions, which makes them potential biocatalysts for biobased H2 technologies. In order to make this hydrogen production ...

Laser-Powered 'Tweezers' Reveal Universal Mechanism Viruses Use to Package Up DNA

Nov. 21, 2023 — Researchers have used laser-powered ‘optical tweezers’ to reveal a universal motor mechanism used by viruses for packaging their DNA into infectious ...

Unearthing How a Carnivorous Fungus Traps and Digests Worms

Nov. 21, 2023 — A new analysis sheds light on the molecular processes involved when a carnivorous species of fungus known as Arthrobotrys oligospora senses, traps and consumes a ...

Heart Repair Via Neuroimmune Crosstalk

Nov. 17, 2023 — Unlike humans, zebrafish can completely regenerate their hearts after injury. They owe this ability to the interaction between their nervous and immune systems, as researchers now ...

New Method to Help With Analysis of Single Cell Data

Nov. 17, 2023 — CITE-seq (cellular indexing of transcriptomes and epitopes) is an RNA sequencing-based method that simultaneously quantifies cell surface protein and transcriptomic data within a single cell readout. ...

Genomic Tug of War Could Boost Cancer Therapy

Nov. 16, 2023 — Researchers have discovered a 'genomic tug of war' in animal studies that could influence how well certain patients -- or certain cancers -- respond to decitabine, a drug used to treat ...

How Cell Identity Is Preserved When Cells Divide

Nov. 16, 2023 — A new theoretical model helps explain how epigenetic memories, encoded in chemical modifications of chromatin, are passed from generation to generation. Within each cell's nucleus, researchers ...

Much More Than Waste: Tiny Vesicles Exchange Genetic Information Between Cells in the Sea

Nov. 16, 2023 — Researchers take a look at data that has so far been mostly discarded as contamination, revealing the previously underestimated role of extracellular vesicles (EVs). These are important for the ...

Hormones Have the Potential to Treat Liver Fibrosis

Nov. 16, 2023 — Researchers have discovered previously unknown changes in a specific type of liver cells, potentially opening avenues for a new treatment for liver fibrosis, a potentially life-threatening condition. ...

How Bacteria Recognize Viral Invasion and Activate Immune Defenses

Nov. 15, 2023 — Bacteria have an array of strategies to counter viral invasion, but how they first spot a stranger in their midst has long been a ...

Colliding Ribosomes Activate RNA Repair

Nov. 15, 2023 — Researchers discover how ribosomes contribute to the recognition and removal of RNA crosslinking ...

Novel C. Diff Structures Are Required for Infection, Offer New Therapeutic Targets

Nov. 15, 2023 — Newly discovered iron storage 'ferrosomes' inside the bacterium C. diff -- the leading cause of hospital-acquired infections -- are important for infection in an animal model and could ...

A Tale of Two Proteins: Fundamental Research Could Make Growing Better Crops Like Clockwork

Nov. 14, 2023 — Rhomboid-like protein 10, or RBL10, is thought to be an enzyme that degrades other proteins in the chloroplast membrane, but its function is largely unknown. Researchers are studying how RBL10 ...

New Discovery on How Green Algae Count Cell Divisions Illuminates Key Step Needed for the Evolution of Multicellular Life

Nov. 13, 2023 — An international research team has made an unexpected discovery of a biased counting mechanism used by the single-celled green alga Chlamydomonas to control cell ...

How Marine Bristle Worms Use a Special Protein to Distinguish Between Sunlight and Moonlight

Nov. 13, 2023 — A research team has presented its findings on the functioning of an atypical cryptochrome protein (Cry). These proteins are found in a variety of organisms, and they are often involved in ...

Ground-Breaking Discovery Could Pave the Way for New Therapies to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke

Nov. 13, 2023 — Researchers have discovered the mechanism by which cholesterol in our diet is absorbed into our cells. This discovery opens up new opportunities for therapeutic intervention to control cholesterol ...

The Goldilocks Effect: Researchers Establish Framework for Protein Regulation

Nov. 13, 2023 — Researchers are working to understand how protein quality control works in ...

New Drug-Like Molecule Extends Lifespan, Ameliorates Pathology in Worms and Boosts Function in Mammalian Muscle Cells

Nov. 13, 2023 — Having healthy mitochondria, the organelles that produce energy in all our cells, usually portends a long healthy life whether in humans or in C. elegans, a tiny, short-lived nematode worm often used ...

The Mystery of Phosphite -- A Scientific Detective Story

Nov. 10, 2023 — Biologists have discovered a phosphorus-based bacterial metabolism that is both new and ancient. In a special role: a calculation from the 1980s, a sewage plant, a new bacterial organism, and a ...

Yeast Cells Can Produce Drugs for Treatment of Psychotic Disorders

Nov. 10, 2023 — An international team of researchers has demonstrated that genetically engineered yeast cells can produce the natural plant product alstonine, which has shown positive effects in treating ...

Wednesday, November 29, 2023