Crystal study may resolve DNA mystery

Rice lab captures unseen details of replication, clues to how mutations can happen

12-May-2022 - When cells reproduce, the internal mechanisms that copy DNA get it right nearly every time. Rice University bioscientists have uncovered a tiny detail that helps understand how the process could go wrong. Their study of enzymes revealed the presence of a central metal ion critical toDNA ...

The protective armor of superbug C.difficile revealed

Spectacular structure of chain-mail may explain the success of C.diff at defending itself against antibiotics and immune system molecules

01-Mar-2022 - The spectacular structure of the protective armour of superbug C.difficile has been revealed for the first time showing the close-knit yet flexible outer layer – like chain mail. This assembly prevents molecules getting in and provides a new target for future treatments, according to the ...

Keeping a cell’s powerhouse in shape

12-Jul-2019 - A German-Swiss team around Professor Oliver Daumke from the MDC has investigated how a protein of the dynamin family deforms the inner mitochondrial membrane. Mitochondria are the powerhouses of our cells, generating energy in the form of chemical compounds such as ATP. To do this job ...

Neutrons observe vitamin B6-dependent enzyme activity useful for drug development

18-Oct-2017 - Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have performed neutron structural analysis of a vitamin B6-dependent protein, potentially opening avenues for new antibiotics and drugs to battle diseases such as drug-resistant tuberculosis, malaria and ...

Nanoscale virus features reconstructed from correlations of scattered X-rays

16-Oct-2017 - As part of an international research team, Jeff Donatelli, Peter Zwart and Kanupriya Pande of the Center for Advanced Mathematics for Energy Research Applications (CAMERA) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) contributed key algorithms which helped achieve a goal first proposed ...

Spotting the invisible

Mapping structures and functions of a transient enzyme state

02-Jun-2017 - Chemists at Umeå University have succeeded in mapping structures and functions of a transient enzyme state. By modifying the enzyme adenylate kinase, researchers were able to isolate the molecule and study it using the quantitative techniques X-ray crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance ...

Taking a closer look at genetic switches in cancer

24-May-2017 - Many things go wrong in cells during the development of cancer. At the heart of the chaos are often genetic switches that control the production of new cells. In a particularly aggressive form of leukemia, called acute myeloid leukemia, a genetic switch that regulates the maturation of blood stem ...

Biophysicists say iodine is the solution of biomolecule structures

18-May-2017 - An international team including researchers from MIPT has shown that iodide phasing--a long-established method in structural biology--is universally applicable to membrane protein structure determination. Knowledge of these structures enables a molecular-level understanding of the workings of ...

Unexpected protein structure findings could lead to new therapies

07-Apr-2017 - Scientists have determined unexpected characteristics of a key protein linked to blood pressure control and to nerve growth, pain control and heart tissue regeneration. The findings opens doors to potential new therapies to control cardiovascular disease and pain. The protein, called AT2, is one ...

X-ray pulses reveal structure of viral cocoon

15-Feb-2017 - An international team of scientists has used high-intensity X-ray pulses to determine the structure of the crystalline protein envelope of an insect virus. Their analysis reveals the fine details of the building blocks that make up the viral cocoon down to a scale of 0.2 nanometres (millionths of ...