Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have published the first detailed atomic-level model of the SARS-CoV-2 "envelope" protein bound to a human protein essential for maintaining ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jun 8, 2021
1
173
The protection of genome integrity of germ cells is essential for animal fertility. Researchers from the Grosshans group characterized a defense mechanism against selfish genetic elements in the C. elegans germline. They ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 14, 2021
0
65
One surprising star of the coronavirus pandemic response has been the molecule called mRNA. It's the key ingredient in the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. But mRNA itself is not a new invention from the lab. It evolved ...
Biotechnology
Apr 12, 2021
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89
The first systematic study of its kind describes how human viruses including SARS-CoV-2 are better adapted to infecting certain types of tissues based on their ability to hijack cellular machinery and protein synthesis.
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 16, 2021
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39
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 ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 11, 2021
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120
One thing that makes SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, elusive to the immune system is that it is covered in sugars called glycans. Once SARS-CoV-2 infects someone's body, it becomes covered in that person's unique ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 25, 2021
0
53
Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines to prevent COVID-19 have made headlines around the world recently, but scientists have also been working on mRNA vaccines to treat or prevent other diseases, including some forms of cancer. Now, ...
Bio & Medicine
Feb 17, 2021
1
1286
There are many mechanisms by which the body responds to foreign invaders. One of these involves the T-cells of the immune system, which have a number of different proteins on their surface called 'checkpoint proteins.' These ...
Bio & Medicine
Feb 2, 2021
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153
Editor's note: In this interview, Nathan Ahlgren, assistant professor of biology at Clark University, uses 3-D-printed models to explain what proteins do in viruses, how they interact with human cells, how the vaccine delivers ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 26, 2021
0
4
For about one in 13 children in the U.S., normally harmless foodstuffs such as milk, eggs and peanuts can send the body's natural defenses into overdrive.
Bio & Medicine
Jan 15, 2021
0
551
