Genes on the move help nose make sense of scents

The human nose can distinguish one trillion different scents—an extraordinary feat that requires 10 million specialized nerve cells, or neurons, in the nose, and a family of more than 400 dedicated genes. But precisely ...

Scientists take another step toward creating better pain medications

In the continuing effort to improve upon opioid pain relievers, American and Chinese scientists used cryoEM technology to solve the detailed structures of the entire family of opioid receptors bound to their naturally occurring ...

Brain receptor pulls open electrical gate like a puppet master

For the first time, researchers in the lab of CSHL Professor Hiro Furukawa have been able to track each atom in the NMDA receptor, an important brain protein, as it transmits or inhibits neural signals. Critical for brain ...

Designing and repurposing cell receptors

EPFL scientists have developed a computational method modeling and designing protein allostery that allows the accurate and rational engineering and even repurposing of cell receptors. The method can be a significant tool ...

DNA structure influences the function of transcription factors

Substances known as transcription factors often determine how a cell develops as well as which proteins it produces and in what quantities. Transcription factors bind to a section of DNA and control how strongly a gene in ...

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