In October 2023, the Advanced Photon Source (APS), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility at DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory, officially launched a new initiative to expand biological and environmental research at the world leading X-ray and analysis facility.
Tag: Molecular Biology
Small but mighty: the hidden power of broccoli sprouts
Broccoli sprouts have been discovered to contain seven times more polysulfides than mature broccoli
RPI Researcher of Circadian Rhythms Receives $2 Million Grant
With daylight savings time ending soon, we anticipate a change in the timing of daylight hours with the sunrise occurring earlier in the morning.
Scientists Reveal Intricate Mechanisms Cells Use to Build Protein Destruction Signals
Scientists revealed the intercellular choreography that governs protein regulation, including how unwanted proteins are tagged for degradation, an important player in human health and disease.
UT Southwestern biochemist Zhijian ‘James’ Chen to receive prestigious Horwitz Prize
Zhijian “James” Chen, Ph.D., Professor of Molecular Biology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, has been awarded the 2023 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize in recognition of his groundbreaking work on innate immunity.
Cancer-causing mutations rewire growth signalling in prostate cancer model
Experts in cell signalling at the Babraham Institute have identified how prostate cancer cells achieve cell growth free from the usual growth cues and regulators.
UTSW researchers identify driver of inflammatory bowel disease
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered an intracellular mechanism that converts protective intestinal cells into disease-driving pathogenic cells, a finding that could lead to improved treatments for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
New LJI research has major implications for controlling T cell activity
According to new research in the journal Immunity, T cells have a nuclear receptor doing something very odd—but very important—to help them fight pathogens and destroy cancer cells.
New Resource Harmonizes 16S and Shotgun Sequencing Data for Microbiome Research
UC San Diego scientists debut Greengenes2, a massive reference database that could be used to reconcile years of microbiome studies.
Collection of Articles Reports Advances in Building Cellular Organization Maps of the Human Body
A set of nine scientific papers was released today in the Nature family of journals and the journal Cell Reports describing breakthroughs in creating an open framework for scientists to map the individual cells of the human body in two and three dimensions.
A new sensor shows brain cells making and then breaking contact
Researchers from SANKEN (The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research) and the Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences at Osaka University reported the development of a sensor to look at Pcdh interactions in live neurons, which brings us closer to understanding this mystery.
Drug precursor biosynthesis hinges on carrier-mediated ring formation
The entire biosynthetic pathway of actinopyridazone has been unveiled, revealing that an unprecedented carrier protein-mediated ring-forming step is key to its synthesis.
Public-private consortium will fund three gene therapy clinical trials at UT Southwestern and Children’s Health
A consortium of government, industry, and nonprofit partners will fund gene therapy clinical trials for three different rare diseases at UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children’s Health, where scientists are working on gene therapies to treat neurodevelopmental disorders in children.
UW–Madison researchers reveal how key protein might help influenza A infect its hosts
Influenza A is one of two influenza viruses that fuel costly annual flu seasons and is a near constant threat to humans and many other animals. It’s also responsible for occasional pandemics that, like the one in 1918, leave millions dead and wreak havoc on health systems and wider society. Influenza A was first identified as a health threat nearly a century ago, but only in the last decade have scientists identified one of the virus’s key proteins for infiltrating host cells and short-circuiting their defenses.
Public-private consortium will fund three gene therapy clinical trials at UT Southwestern
A consortium of government, industry, and nonprofit partners will fund gene therapy clinical trials for three rare diseases at UT Southwestern Medical Center, where scientists are working on gene therapies to treat neurodevelopmental disorders in children.
Noboro Mizushima, M.D., Ph.D., awarded inaugural Beth Levine, M.D. Prize in Autophagy Research from UT Southwestern
Japanese biochemist and molecular biologist Noboru Mizushima, M.D., Ph.D., has been named the inaugural recipient of the Beth Levine, M.D. Prize in Autophagy Research from UT Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. Mizushima is an internationally recognized scientist who has made significant strides in unraveling the complex processes of mammalian autophagy, a fundamental cellular mechanism responsible for maintaining cellular health and functionality.
When Water Temperatures Change, the Molecular Motors of Cephalopods Do Too
Working with live squid hatchlings at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego scientists find the animals can tune their proteome on the fly in response to changes in ocean temperature via the unique process of RNA recoding. The findings inspire new questions about basic protein function.
Young researchers win grants to work in labs in North America
ASBMB travel awards support biomedical research projects and career development for trainees from Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Uruguay and Spain to work in labs in North America
A New Map Reveals the Complicated World in Which Cells Seek to Repair Damaged DNA
UC San Diego scientists develop an interactive software that enables scientists to better investigate the DNA damage response.
Alternative fuel for string-shaped motors in cells
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG), the Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life (PoL) and the Biotechnology Center (BIOTEC) of the TU Dresden in Dresden, Germany, and the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bangalore, India, discovered a novel molecular system that uses an alternative chemical energy and employs a novel mechanism to perform mechanical work.
UTSW researchers generate cattle blastoids in lab to aid farm animal reproduction
UT Southwestern Medical Center stem cell and developmental biologists and colleagues have developed a method to produce bovine blastoids, a crucial step in replicating embryo formation in the lab that could lead to the development of new reproductive technologies for cattle breeding.
Structural insight into process of gene regulation
In the cell nucleus, numerous proteins bind to the DNA molecule in order to regulate the activity of certain genes. One such is the TATA-box binding protein (TBP), which binds to a specific DNA sequence and constitutes an initial signal for the reading of DNA.
ASBMB calls for 10% budget increase for NIGMS
In testimony to federal appropriators, the ASBMB argues a big boost for NIGMS is long overdue and calls for a 10% increase
To Ward Off Aging, Stem Cells Must Take Out the Trash
UC San Diego researchers find stem cells use a surprising system for discarding misfolded proteins. This unique pathway could be the key to maintaining long-term health and preventing age-related blood and immune disorders.
Scientists create antibody ‘cocktail’ to fight deadly Lassa virus
A group of researchers have used the Advanced Photon Source to look at monoclonal antibodies to subvert the “shield” of the Lassa virus, potentially paving the way for new therapies.
Potential genetic regulators of the heartbeat identified by UT Southwestern researchers
UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have mapped gene control elements in specialized cardiac cells responsible for coordinating heartbeats. The findings of the genome exploration study, published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, provide insight into how heartbeats are regulated and could impact diagnosis and risk prediction for a variety of common arrhythmias.
UT Southwestern researchers discover gene regulation mechanism
UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have discovered a method cells use to turn genes on and off that involves portions of proteins whose function has long been a mystery. The findings, reported in Cell, could lead to new ways of controlling gene regulation and may one day lead to new treatments for a broad array of diseases.
UT Southwestern cardiologist receives NIH Outstanding Investigator Award
UT Southwestern physician-scientist Hesham Sadek, M.D., Ph.D., has received the prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) Outstanding Investigator Award to support his ongoing research into mechanisms behind heart regeneration that could lead to treatments for heart failure.
UT Southwestern biochemist, molecular biologist to receive HHMI Emerging Pathogens awards
Two of UT Southwestern’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers in biochemistry and molecular biology will lead separate teams as part of HHMI’s Emerging Pathogens Initiative (EPI) targeting infectious diseases that pose a threat to human health.
Gene editing halts damage in mice after heart attacks in UT Southwestern study
Editing a gene that prompts a cascade of damage after a heart attack appeared to reverse this inevitable course in mice, leaving their hearts remarkably unharmed, a new study by UT Southwestern scientists showed. The findings, published in Science, could lead to a new strategy for protecting patients from the consequences of heart disease.
Stress-Tolerant Cells Drive Tumor Initiation in Pancreatic Cancer
UC San Diego scientists discover a molecular pathway critical to the initiation of pancreatic tumors. The findings may inspire new chemotherapeutic drugs targeting early stages of tumor formation and spread.
Beyond the average cell
Models based on an average cell are useful, but they may not accurately describe how individual cells really work. New possibilities opened up with the advent of single-cell live imaging technologies. Now it is possible to peer into the lives of individual cells. In a new paper in PLOS Genetics, a team of biologists and physicists from Washington University in St. Louis and Purdue University used actual single-cell data to create an updated framework for understanding the relationship between cell growth, DNA replication and division in a bacterial system.
Tissue-Specific Immunity May Be the Future, if We Can First Learn its Rules
UC San Diego study reveals critical insights into the complex biology of tissue-specific T cells, paving the way for a new branch of precision therapeutics in immunity, autoimmunity, and cancer.
Rewriting the Textbook on Gene Regulation: It’s the Big Picture That Counts
For the first time, researchers at UC San Diego have shown that changes in gene expression happen almost entirely during the transcription stage while the cells are growing. The researchers have provided a simple quantitative formula linking regulatory control to mRNA and protein levels.
Gene therapy corrects mutation responsible for common heart condition, UT Southwestern research shows
Using the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system, UT Southwestern researchers corrected mutations responsible for a common inherited heart condition called dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in human cells and a mouse model of the disease.
New Look at an Ancient Disease: Study Finds Novel Treatment Targets for Gout
UC San Diego scientists identify a new molecular model and potential therapeutic target for gout, the most common form of inflammatory arthritis.
UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Institute Launches Stem Cells Into Space
The UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Institute leads its first space launch, sending stem cells into space aboard the International Space Station. The NASA-partnered study will take advantage of the microgravity environment of space to study accelerated aging in stem cells.
Brain Organoids Reveal in Detail the Harms of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure
UC San Diego researchers used human brain organoids to study the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on neural development, revealing significant harms in molecular detail.
UT Southwestern scientists among top 1% of highly cited researchers across the globe
More than 20 UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists are among the 2022 Highly Cited Researchers listed in the top 1% of researchers from across the globe
Cedars-Sinai Cancer Leaders Assume New Roles
Lali Medina-Kauwe, PhD, former co-leader of the Cancer Biology Program in Cedars-Sinai Cancer, has assumed a new role as associate director for Basic Research.
UC San Diego Joins NIH ‘Bridge to Artificial Intelligence’ Program
UC San Diego scientists will lead several components of Bridge2AI, a new NIH-funded program to promote the use of AI in health and research.
Call for Papers – The International Halal Science and Technology Conference 2022 (IHSATEC): 15th Halal Science Industry and Business (HAISB)
The Halal Science Center, Chulalongkorn University, and Research Synergy Foundation, invites all to attend “The International Halal Science and Technology Conference 2022 (IHSATEC): 15th Halal Science Industry and Business (HAISB)” and has opened up a call for papers. The conference sessions will be on December 15-16, 2022 at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Key Mechanisms of Airway Relaxation in Asthma Revealed in New Study
Many therapeutics for asthma and other obstructive lung diseases target the β2-adrenergic receptor (β2AR), a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that rapidly supports airway relaxation when stimulated. Yet, overuse of these agents is associated with adverse health outcomes, including death, which has limited their utility as frontline therapies. Now, a mouse model study published in today’s issue of Molecular Cell, from investigators at University Hospitals (UH) and Case Western Reserve University, identifies a novel strategy to isolate the beneficial effects of β2AR stimulation. This suggests a new therapeutic approach to airway diseases as well as numerous other conditions involving the aberrant function of GPCRs.
Did Gonorrhea Give Us Grandparents?
UC San Diego researchers tracked the evolution of a gene variant that supports cognitive health in older humans, but may have first emerged to protect against bacteria.
10 scientists elected leaders of the ASBMB
Voting members of the scientific society chose a new secretary, re-elected three people to the governing council, and selected new committee members.
National Researcher of the Year 2022 Decodes Drug Resistance in Animals – A Step towards Sustainable Solutions
Chula Veterinary Lecturer and “National Outstanding Researcher 2022” has revealed the genetic code that causes drug resistance in animals that affects human health, animals, and the environment, and suggests comprehensive solutions under the concept “One Health”.
ASBMB honors 14 scientists for scientific and community contributions
Biochemists and molecular biologists will give award lectures at #DiscoverBMB, the society’s annual meeting, in March in Seattle.
DNA evolves at different rates, depending on chromosome structure
The structure of how DNA is stored in archaea makes a significant difference to how quickly it evolves, according to a new study by Indiana University researchers.
Gene Therapy Reverses Effects of Autism-Linked Mutation in Brain Organoids
UC San Diego scientists use lab-grown human brain tissue to identify neural abnormalities in Pitt-Hopkins Syndrome and show gene therapy tools can rescue neural structure and function.
Unravelling the origins of the human spine
The spinal column is the central supporting structure of the skeleton in all vertebrates.