Beige fat cells with a “Sisyphus mechanism”

A new class of fat cells makes people healthier: The cells consume energy and produce heat through seemingly pointless biochemical reactions.

16-Aug-2024 - Fat cells come in three colours: white, brown, and beige. White fat cells store fat in our body as an energy reserve. We need these cells, but having too many creates health problems. Brown fat cells are particularly active in infants. They produce heat and thus maintain the baby’s body ...

Scientists successfully simulate protein complex that initiates fertilisation

Research team has visualised the fertilisation dynamics of human egg cell for the first time using simulations on high-​performance computers.

06-Feb-2024 - Researchers at ETH Zurich recently developed highly realistic simulations of the proteins on sperm and egg cells coupling together before they fuse. These findings enabled the research team to solve several mysteries of fertilisation at once, which could help to accelerate development of more ...

Halting a malformation of the heart

24-Nov-2023 - Researchers at ETH Zurich have now shown that a previously unknown protein plays a key role in a congenital malformation of the heart. Their findings point the way towards new treatment options. Through the experiments on the genetically modified mice, her team determined which molecular switches ...

Harnessing the organisation of the cell surface

07-Dec-2021 - Scientists at ETH Zurich have developed a new method to determine how proteins are organised on the surface of cells. Insights gained with the technology could lead to the development of novel drugs to fight cancer. Biological cells have multiple functions, and they need to communicate with each ...

The protein engineer

Spin-off to further develop protein cages and get them ready to go to market

18-Oct-2021 - Tom Edwardson modified a tiny artificial protein structure so it could be used as a vehicle for RNA molecules and other active substances. He now aims to create a spin-​off to bring his development to market. It’s not always easy to get molecules of an active substance to where they need to be in ...

A protein that self-replicates

01-Mar-2018 - Long regarded as a biological aberration, amyloids are fibrous aggregates of short protein fragments. Amyloids have a bad reputation because they are thought to be the cause of multiple neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. It was only ...

Proteome atlas for the tuberculosis pathogen

17-May-2013 - Photographers know the problem all too well: with the naked eye, you can see which branch a bird is sitting on, but spotting the bird in the blur of branches through the telephoto lens for high-magnification images requires considerable skill. It is a similar story for researchers who are looking ...