Uncovering the structure and gating mechanism of a7 protein

UT Southwestern researchers have identified the structure of a key member of a family of proteins called nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in three different shapes. The work, published online today in Cell, could eventually ...

Plant immunity requires two-step detection of invaders

Plants perceive pathogens and activate immunity using two very different types of receptors. Receptors at the cell surface detect pathogen-derived molecules that accumulate outside plant cells, activating pattern-triggered ...

Why bacterial toxins are 'fascinating machines of death'

The coronavirus pandemic is a daily reminder of the consequences brought by a successful invasion of human cells by a pathogen. As new research on bacterial toxins shows, it does not take much for these encounters to turn ...

Researchers light cells using nanosheets for cancer treatment

Scientists in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University are developing new ways to advance the field of regenerative medicine and cancer treatment. They are developing a 2-D nanosheet that is 1,000 ...

Catch and release: Collagen-mediated control of PEDF availability

Cells are like tiny self-contained machines that are constantly fine-tuned in response to both internal and external signals. Some of these signals are induced by extracellular ligands, specialized proteins that bind to specific ...

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