Scientists alter membrane proteins to make them easier to study

About 30 percent of the proteins encoded by the human genome are membrane proteins—proteins that span the cell membrane so they can facilitate communication between cells and their environment. These molecules are critical ...

X-ray laser brings cellular messengers into focus

Last year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry – shared by Stanford School of Medicine Professor Brian Kobilka and Robert Lefkowitz of Duke University – recognized groundbreaking research in G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). ...

Odor coding in mammals is more complex than previously thought

A new study in the Journal of General Physiology (JGP) shows that the contribution of odorant receptors (ORs) to olfactory response in mammals is much more complex than previously thought, with important consequences for ...

Cryo-EM reveals structure and mechanism of the 5-HT3 receptor

In November 2017, a Titan Krios cryo-electron microscope (cryo-EM) was inaugurated at the ESRF, the European Synchrotron, France. Data collected on this cryo-EM features in a Nature publication describing the activation cycle ...

Membrane protein analogs could accelerate drug discovery

Many drug and antibody discovery pathways focus on intricately folded cell membrane proteins: when molecules of a drug candidate bind to these proteins, like a key going into a lock, they trigger chemical cascades that alter ...

page 4 from 7