https://phys.org/biology-news/molecular-computational/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news on molecular and Computational biology Engineered cells are a high-value genetic asset that is key to many fields, including biotechnology, medicine, aging, and stem cell research, with the global market projected to reach $8.0 trillion USD by 2035. Yet the only ways to keep the cells safe are strong locks and watchful guards. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-hackers-dna-encryption-cells.html Biotechnology Sat, 11 Apr 2026 15:00:05 EDT news694861783 At the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), Jérémie Palacci's research group is venturing into metallurgy—albeit with a twist. Instead of traditional tools, the scientists use E. coli bacteria, often associated with infection linked to contaminated food. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-microbial-hockey-scientists-bacteria-rotate.html Cell & Microbiology Sat, 11 Apr 2026 10:00:03 EDT news694774202 Nicotine, a potent insecticidal alkaloid unique to the nightshade family, has been employed in agriculture as a pesticide since 1690. It also has therapeutic potential for neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and depression. Despite its profound influence on human history, agriculture, and plant evolution, however, the final steps of nicotine biosynthesis have remained unclear until now. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-nicotine-biosynthesis-wild-tobacco-mystery.html Plants & Animals Fri, 10 Apr 2026 19:20:01 EDT news695047138 We thought it was evolution, but an experiment with pencils shows that tips like teeth and thorns may owe their rounded shape to mechanical wear. Most of us have been stung by a bee, bitten by an animal, or scratched by a thorny bush. But very few of us have probably taken a close look at nature's painful, pointed tips. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-teeth-thorns-coincidences-universal-nature.html Evolution Fri, 10 Apr 2026 16:20:02 EDT news695033521 What if the Trojan horse had been pulled to pieces, revealing the ruse and fending off the invasion, just as it entered the gates of Troy? That's an apt description of a newly characterized bacterial defense system that chops up foreign DNA. Bacteria and the viruses that infect them, bacteriophages—phages for short—are ceaselessly at odds, with bacteria developing methods to protect themselves against phages that are constantly striving to overcome those safeguards. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-snipe-bacterial-defense-shreds-phage.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 10 Apr 2026 16:00:10 EDT news695045401 Cases of Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1) are extremely rare in humans, but in those who develop disease, the outcome is severe, almost always resulting in fatal encephalitis or inflammation in the brain. This zoonotic virus belongs to the order Mononegavirales, which includes the lethal viruses responsible for Ebola virus disease, measles, and rabies. The nucleoprotein-RNA complex in these viruses protects its genomic RNA and supports viral RNA synthesis, so understanding the structure of this complex is essential to targeting viral replication. Structural characterization has been completed for several mononegavirus families that more commonly infect humans, but detailed information for the family Bornaviridae has not been sufficiently explored. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-unraveling-complexities-borna-disease-virus.html Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 10 Apr 2026 14:00:05 EDT news694965181 Intracellular transport is a vital process that allows cells to move proteins and other molecules to specific locations. This process is especially important in neurons, which have highly polarized structures with long extensions such as axons and dendrites. For neurons to function properly, proteins must be transported accurately to specific regions, such as the axon initial segment (AIS), a specialized site for initiating electrical signals. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-scientists-kinesin-motor-proteins-specific.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 10 Apr 2026 14:00:03 EDT news695046361 Inspired by the collective dynamics of bacteria like E. coli and Bacillus subtilis, researchers at the University of Twente asked a simple but fundamental question: what happens when artificial swimmers are made rod-shaped rather than spherical, and how does shape control how they move as a group? "These dumb yet active rods follow only the laws of physics, which help to uncover the mechanics of collective bacterial behavior," says Hanumantha Rao Vutukuri. Their findings appear in Science. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-rod-synthetic-swimmers-reveal-sweet.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:00:03 EDT news695039161 All processes such as wound healing, hair growth, and the replacement of old cells with new ones depend on cell division. During this process, chromosomes inside the cell must be evenly divided between two daughter cells. Even slight errors can lead to cellular abnormalities. A research team at POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology) has recently uncovered new clues suggesting that a protein called tau plays an important role in this highly regulated process. The findings were published in the journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-alzheimer-linked-protein-tau-plays.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 10 Apr 2026 12:00:02 EDT news695035861 Living with friends may quietly be altering your gut bacteria, according to a new study from the University of East Anglia. Research on a colony of tiny island birds reveals they share more of their gut bacteria with the birds they spend the most time with. And the team says the same principle almost certainly applies to humans too. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-housemates-gut-bacteria-island-bird.html Ecology Fri, 10 Apr 2026 05:10:02 EDT news694973701 Professor Gyu Rie Lee of the Department of Biological Sciences successfully designed artificial proteins that selectively recognize specific compounds using AI through joint research with Professor David Baker. The research, published in the journal Nature Communications, is characterized by using AI to design proteins that recognize specific compounds from scratch (de novo) and implementing them as functional biosensors. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-ai-proteins-built-specific-compounds.html Biotechnology Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:40:01 EDT news694958188 While precision seems critical for science, researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and Texas A&M University are embracing uncertainty, using it to fine-tune artificial intelligence (AI)-based molecular design models. The resulting models can generate molecules with better predicted properties than those offered by the original models. The work is featured on the February 2026 cover of Molecular Systems Design & Engineering. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-uncertainty-tool-ai-molecules.html Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 09 Apr 2026 18:20:04 EDT news694946605 University of Virginia School of Medicine scientists have developed a bold new approach to drug development and discovery that could dramatically accelerate the creation of new medicines. UVA's Nikolay V. Dokholyan, Ph.D., and colleagues have developed a suite of artificial intelligence-powered tools, called YuelDesign, YuelPocket and YuelBond, that work together to transform how new drugs are created. The centerpiece, YuelDesign, uses a cutting-edge form of AI called diffusion models to design new drug molecules tailored to fit their protein targets exactly, even accounting for the way proteins flex and shift shape during binding. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-ai-diffusion-tailor-drug-molecules.html Biotechnology Thu, 09 Apr 2026 17:00:06 EDT news694968241 DNA inside the nucleus is not packed as a rigid regular fiber—linker histone H1 dynamically binds and loosely "glues" nucleosomes together, creating a dynamic, fluid organization that can still support essential genome functions. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-liquid-histone-h1-nucleosomes-reshaping.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 09 Apr 2026 16:00:06 EDT news694967221 A team of scientists at The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), led by Nikos Vasilakis, Ph.D., and Peter McCaffrey, MD, has developed a new computational pipeline that could dramatically accelerate the development of vaccines against a group of mosquito-borne viruses known as alphavirus. Vasilakis is a professor and the vice chair for research, and McCaffrey is an assistant professor of clinical practice and director of the UTMB AI center, both in the Department of Pathology. The work was conducted in collaboration with the researchers' colleagues in Brazil and Panama. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-smarter-vaccines-scientists-harness-ai.html Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 09 Apr 2026 15:00:01 EDT news694959362 A research group has successfully determined, for the first time in the world, the capsid (outer shell) structure of Melbournevirus—a member of the giant virus family—at a resolution of 4.4 Å using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The work is published in the journal Viruses. The team was led by Project Professor Kazuyoshi Murata at the Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS) / National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), in collaboration with Senior Researcher Kenta Okamoto at Uppsala University and Professor Chantal Abergel at Aix-Marseille University. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-giant-virus-gave-atomic-blueprint.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 09 Apr 2026 14:20:12 EDT news694953722 Like most bacteria, Vibrio cholerae lives under constant attack from viruses. To survive, bacteria equip themselves with antiviral immune systems. Previous work has shown that V. cholerae carries a large genetic element called a sedentary chromosomal integron (SCI). This structure contains hundreds of small mobile DNA units known as "gene cassettes" arranged in a long array, like a chain of pearls. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-phages-cholerae-neighbors-swap-defenses.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 09 Apr 2026 14:00:10 EDT news694879321 Some animals can regrow lost body parts. Salamanders and frog tadpoles can rebuild entire limbs after amputation. Mammals cannot. For decades, biologists have tried to understand why. Now a team led by Can Aztekin at EPFL (now at the Friedrich Miescher Laboratory of the Max Planck Society) has discovered that oxygen plays a crucial role in limb regeneration. By comparing amputated limbs from frog tadpoles and embryonic mice, the researchers found that the way cells sense oxygen determines whether regeneration can even begin. The study is published in Science. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-oxygen-amphibians-regenerate-limbs-mammals.html Plants & Animals Thu, 09 Apr 2026 14:00:01 EDT news694880761 Sometimes, different organisms can evolve the same ability independently, a process called parallel evolution. A new study from Osaka Metropolitan University (OMU) has found that dragonflies sense red light similarly to mammals, including humans. The findings were published in Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-dragonflies-humans-red-wavelengths-nm.html Evolution Thu, 09 Apr 2026 10:20:05 EDT news694946676 Researchers at Bar-Ilan University have discovered that changing just one letter in DNA can completely alter sex development in mice. In the new study, published in Nature Communications, a single-letter insertion in a non-coding regulatory region caused XX mice, which would normally develop as females, to develop instead as males with testis and male genitalia. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-dna-letter-trigger-sex-reversal.html Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 09 Apr 2026 05:00:01 EDT news694794661 Every day, fish caught in oceans and seas around the world pass through a long journey before reaching supermarkets, restaurants, and home kitchens. Along the way, their freshness steadily declines, often in ways that are difficult to detect. Now imagine being able to measure how fresh a fish is at any point along this journey. Researchers at Hokkaido University have developed a mathematical model that can do exactly this. The latest development could help reduce food waste and improve seafood quality. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-mathematical-fish-freshness-real.html Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 08 Apr 2026 18:50:01 EDT news694887121 A specific protein controls mRNA transport in fungi and distinguishes important from unimportant binding sites in the transported mRNAs. Researchers from Würzburg and Düsseldorf have discovered this mechanism. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-sites-fungal-vesicle-hitchhiking-mrna.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 08 Apr 2026 18:20:05 EDT news694878601 Stockholm University and SciLifeLab researchers have uncovered how glucose transporters move nutrients into cells, bridging a long-standing gap between structure and function in membrane biology. "Our study shows that these transport proteins rely on a previously uncharacterized intermediate state that functions much like the 'transition state' in enzyme catalysis. This is a discovery that reshapes our understanding of one of biology's most fundamental processes," says David Drew, professor of biochemistry, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-glucose-hinge-fleeting-transition-state.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 08 Apr 2026 12:40:04 EDT news694866361 Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have discovered thousands of new proteins that protect bacteria from virus attacks using an AI system called DefensePredictor. What would usually take months of lab work can now be narrowed down to promising candidates in minutes. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-ai-uncovers-hidden-immune-defenses.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 08 Apr 2026 11:40:02 EDT news694862556 A new Yale study of flatworms, a species with the unique ability to regenerate, reveals that disruptions in the body's internal map of cellular organization may play a part in age-related decline. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-shift-biology-aging.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 08 Apr 2026 09:40:01 EDT news694858441 A new paper in Molecular Biology and Evolution, finds that changes in animal development induced by climate shock persist generations after the initial event. The escalating effects of climate change are likely to, in effect, speed up evolution. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-climate-evolution-inherited-gene.html Evolution Wed, 08 Apr 2026 00:10:02 EDT news694795921 In December, The Conversation hosted a webinar on AI's revolutionary role in drug discovery and development. Science and technology editor Eric Smalley interviewed Jeffrey Skolnick, eminent scholar in computational systems biology at Georgia Institute of Technology, and Benjamin P. Brown, assistant professor of pharmacology at Vanderbilt University. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-ai-reengineering-drug-discovery-scanning.html Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 07 Apr 2026 18:40:06 EDT news694783619 Researchers at Umeå University have contributed new insights into how cancer cells protect themselves from cell death. The study provides a deeper understanding of how key proteins interact within the cell and could, in the long term, support the development of new cancer therapies. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-protein-cancer-cells-survive-treatment.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 07 Apr 2026 18:40:01 EDT news694792681 Researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have built a molecular "leash" to pull directly on a force-sensing protein called Piezo1, and discovered it switches on at about 15 piconewtons, proving that it can be activated by physical tethers, not only by membrane deformation. The study is published in the journal Nature Sensors. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-molecular-leash-protein-piconewtons.html Biotechnology Tue, 07 Apr 2026 18:00:03 EDT news694791302 The cell's endoplasmic reticulum (ER) plays a central role in protein synthesis, folding, and calcium (Ca²⁺) storage. When damaged, ER-phagy (self-eating) removes affected ER regions via double-membrane vesicles called autophagosomes. However, the mechanisms underlying its initiation, signaling, and membrane origin had previously been unclear. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-cells-endoplasmic-reticulum.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 07 Apr 2026 17:30:03 EDT news694797721