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Researcher uses microscale technology to isolate rare cells

In a blood sample taken from a cancer patient, there may be a single circulating tumor cell among hundreds of thousands of other cells. These tumor cells can provide valuable information about how...

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Scientists unveil the structure of myelin

New research has shed light on the way in which our nerves conduct electrical signals around our bodies. The structure of myelin, the layer of insulating fat surrounding nerve cells of vertebrates, has...

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Researchers develop pioneering new method to map enzyme activity

Researchers from Cardiff University have pioneered a new technique that will enable scientists to precisely pinpoint the areas on an enzyme that help to speed up chemical reactions.

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Faster, not stronger: How a protein regulates gene expression

Inside the cell, DNA is tightly coiled and packed with several proteins into a structure called "chromatin", which allows DNA to fit in the cell while also preventing genes from being expressed at the...

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Disabling antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Dreaded bacterial-related diseases have killed untold numbers of humans over the centuries. Today, two million illnesses and nearly 23,000 deaths can be attributed to antibiotic-resistant bacteria...

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Study points to unexplored realm of protein biology, drug targets

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have devised a powerful set of chemical methods for exploring the biology of proteins.

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Study leads to 3-D structures of key molecule implicated in diseases of the...

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have teamed up with several other institutions and pharmaceutical companies, including the University of Southern California (USC), San Diego's...

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Researchers bring to life proteins' motion

Advancing the field of structural biology that underpins how things work in a cell, researchers have identified how proteins change their shape when performing specific functions. The study's fresh...

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Scientists find evidence of key ingredient during dawn of life

Before there were cells on Earth, simple, tiny catalysts most likely evolved the ability to speed up and synchronize the chemical reactions necessary for life to rise from the primordial soup. But what...

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Expanding the DNA alphabet: 'Extra' DNA base found to be stable in mammals

Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the Babraham Institute have found that a naturally occurring modified DNA base appears to be stably incorporated in the DNA of many mammalian tissues,...

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Researchers create synthetic membranes that grow like living cells

Chemists and biologists at UC San Diego have succeeded in designing and synthesizing an artificial cell membrane capable of sustaining continual growth, just like a living cell.

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X-raying ion channels

The Nobel Prize winner Roderick MacKinnon suggested that ion channels were like rigid tubes through which molecules of varying size move. Now it seems that he was wrong: a team of scientists from SISSA...

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Researchers develop a new family of bioinspired antibiotic compounds

A group of researchers, led by Francesc Rabanal, professor in the Department of Organic Chemistry of the University of Barcelona (UB), has published the first results of a study of a new antibacterial...

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Rapid chemical synthesis of proteins by a new amino acid partner

The development of new methods for the chemical synthesis of proteins is highly significant to access a range of proteins inaccessible by conventional approaches. Dr. Ivano Pusterla and Prof. Jeffery...

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Synthetic biology used to engineer new route to biochemicals

Living cells can make a vast range of products for us, but they don't always do it in the most straightforward or efficient way. Shota Atsumi, a chemistry professor at UC Davis, aims to address that...

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A person's diet, acidity of urine may affect susceptibility to UTIs

The acidity of urine—as well as the presence of small molecules related to diet—may influence how well bacteria can grow in the urinary tract, a new study shows. The research, at Washington University...

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A gel that can make drugs last longer

Researchers at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) of A*STAR have developed a drug-delivering hydrogel to treat chronic diseases such as hepatitis C, a liver disease that kills...

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Using bacterial 'fight clubs' to find new drugs

Creating bacterial "fight clubs" is an effective way to find new drugs from natural sources.

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OU professor developing vaccine to protect global communities from malaria

A University of Oklahoma professor studying malaria mosquito interaction has discovered a new mosquito protein for the development of a new vaccine that is expected to stop the spread of the disease in...

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A single molecule in the building blocks of life

The world is built up of molecules that join together and form different building blocks. New software makes it easier to zoom right in to the individual molecule.

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Scientists unravel elusive structure of HIV protein

HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, is the retrovirus that leads to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or AIDS. Globally, about 35 million people are living with HIV, which constantly adapts and...

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What makes fireflies glow?

As fireflies are delighting children across the country with their nighttime displays, scientists are closing in on a better understanding of how the insects produce their enchanting glow. They report...

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Marine biologists clarify how specialized cells in squid skin are able to...

Perhaps not the brightest of cephalopods, the California market squid (Doryteuthis opalescens) has amazing light-manipulating abilities. While this species shares the gift of camouflage with most other...

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Scientists advance cancer drug design with image of key protein

Scientists have pioneered the use of a high-powered imaging technique to picture in exquisite detail one of the central proteins of life – a cellular recycling unit with a role in many diseases.

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The bioprinted 'play dough' capable of cell and protein transfer

Scientists have developed a new technique allowing the bioprinting at ambient temperatures of a strong paste similar to 'play dough' capable of incorporating protein-releasing microspheres.

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'Invisible' protein structure explains the power of enzymes

A research group at Umeå University in Sweden has managed to capture and describe a protein structure that, until now, has been impossible to study. The discovery lays the base for developing designed...

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How cancer cells avoid shutdown

A mechanism beyond the level of gene regulation, which is often the underlying reason for changes in protein levels, does enable the strong accumulation of a tumour promoting protease in stressed...

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Protein suggests a new strategy to thwart infection

The newfound ability of a protein of the intestines and lungs to distinguish between human cells and the cells of bacterial invaders could underpin new strategies to fight infections.

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Ion channel mechanics yield insights into optogenetics experiments

Optogenetics techniques, which allow scientists to map and control nerve cells using light stimulation, are being used to study neural circuits in the brain with unprecedented precision. This...

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Killer sea snail a target for new drugs

University of Queensland pain treatment researchers have discovered thousands of new peptide toxins hidden deep within the venom of just one type of Queensland cone snail.

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