Proteins known as transcription factors act as switches that regulate the expression of nearby genes, but the identity of some of these genetic levers has so far remained mysterious. Now, researchers from the Schübeler group ...
Biotechnology
Jul 8, 2021
0
30
The protein actin is ubiquitous and essential for life. In mammals, every cell expresses two of its forms, beta-actin and gamma-nonmuscle-actin. Despite having distinct roles, the two forms are nearly identical, sharing 99% ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 7, 2021
0
20
Proteins have been quietly taking over our lives since the COVID-19 pandemic began. We've been living at the whim of the virus's so-called "spike" protein, which has mutated dozens of times to create increasingly deadly variants. ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jun 30, 2021
0
226
How can proteins bind DNA in the cell nucleus, where it is present in form of chromatin, tightly wrapped around histones and therefore mostly inaccessible? Recently, several studies began to uncover the various strategies ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 29, 2021
0
9
The SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease (PLpro) plays an essential role in processing viral proteins needed for replication. In addition, the enzyme can cut and inactivate some human proteins important for an immune response. ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 9, 2021
0
6
A bacterial protein helps to stop transcription—the process of making RNA copies of DNA to carry out the functions of the cell—by causing the cellular machinery that transcribes the DNA to pause at the appropriate spots ...
Biotechnology
May 7, 2021
0
82
A research group working at Uppsala University has succeeded in studying 'translation factors' – important components of a cell's protein synthesis machinery—that are several billion years old. By studying these ancient ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Apr 29, 2021
0
42
A combined team of researchers from the University of Geneva and the University of Tampere has identified a protein that plays a major role in enabling cells to perceive their environment and also to anchor in the right places. ...
In preparation for cell division, cells need to replicate the DNA that they contain. A team of researchers from TU Delft, collaborating with investigators from the Francis Crick Institute in London, has now shown that the ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 30, 2021
0
167
The creation of genes with new functions is a major driver of developmental innovation in all living organisms. How these genes acquire new functions over evolutionary time scales, however, is unclear.
Plants & Animals
Mar 29, 2021
0
48
