A cell does everything it can to protect its nucleus, where precious genetic information is stored. That includes controlling the movement of molecules in and out using gateways called nuclear pore complexes (NPCs).
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 18, 2015
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146
Not just anything is allowed to enter the nucleus, the heart of eukaryotic cells where, among other things, genetic information is stored. A double membrane, called the nuclear envelope, serves as a wall, protecting the contents ...
Biochemistry
Aug 27, 2015
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3197
The transportation of certain molecules into and out of the cell nucleus takes place via nuclear pores. For some time, detailed research has been conducted into how these pores embedded in the nuclear envelope are structured. ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 26, 2015
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1756
Cells have devised many structures for transporting molecular cargo across their protective borders, but the nuclear pore complex, with its flower-like, eight-fold symmetry, stands out. Monstrously large by cellular standards, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 5, 2015
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885
Facing a challenge akin to solving a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle while blindfolded—and without touching the pieces—many structural biochemists thought it would be impossible to determine the atomic structure of a massive ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 13, 2015
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37
The structure of pores found in cell nuclei has been uncovered by a UCL-led team of scientists, revealing how they selectively block certain molecules from entering, protecting genetic material and normal cell functions. ...
Bio & Medicine
Nov 24, 2014
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(Phys.org) —Proteins known as histones give structure to DNA, which coils around them like string on spools. But as is so often the case in biology, it turns out there is more to these structures than meets the eye. Scientists ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 25, 2014
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Researchers at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research have glimpsed two proteins working together inside living cells to facilitate communication between the cell's nucleus and its exterior compartment, the cytoplasm. ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 10, 2014
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Our genetic heritage is contained—and protected—in the nucleus of the cells that compose us. Copies of the DNA exit the nucleus to be read and translated into proteins in the cell cytoplasm. The transit between the nucleus ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 27, 2013
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Proteins are the chief actors in cells, carrying out the duties specified by information encoded in our genes. Most proteins live only two days or less, ensuring that those damaged by inevitable chemical modifications are ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 3, 2013
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