Scientists develop new method to identify glycosylated proteins
(PhysOrg.com) -- Various processes in our body are controlled by subsequent changes of proteins. Therefore, the identification of such modifications is essential for the further exploration of our...
View ArticleDNA repair protein caught in act of molecular theft
Scientists have observed, for the first time, an intermediate stage in the chemical process that repairs DNA methylation damage and regulates many important biological functions that impact health...
View ArticleLessons learned from yeast about human leukemia
The trifecta of biological proof is to take a discovery made in a simple model organism like baker's yeast and track down its analogs or homologs in "higher" creatures right up the complexity scale to...
View ArticleScientists elevate little-studied cellular mechanism to potential drug target
For years, science has generally considered the phosphorylation of proteins -- the insertion of a phosphorous group into a protein that turns it on or off -- as perhaps the factor regulating a range of...
View ArticleNew technique reveals cross-talk between two essential cellular processes
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have simultaneously mapped two of the most important types of protein-modification in cells, revealing their extensive cooperation during an essential...
View ArticleSelectively manipulating protein modifications
Protein activity is strictly regulated. Incorrect or poor protein regulation can lead to uncontrolled growth and thus cancer or chronic inflammation. Members of the Institute of Veterinary Biochemistry...
View ArticleMajor advance in cell reprogramming technology
In a paper publishing online April 23rd in Cell Stem Cell, a Cell Press journal, Dr. Sheng Ding and colleagues from the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, report an important step...
View ArticleNew laboratory test assesses how DNA damage affects protein synthesis
Transcription is a cellular process by which genetic information from DNA is copied to messenger RNA for protein production. But anticancer drugs and environmental chemicals can sometimes interrupt...
View ArticleHistone-modifying proteins, not histones, remain associated with DNA through...
It's widely accepted that molecular mechanisms mediating epigenetics include DNA methylation and histone modifications, but a team from Thomas Jefferson University has evidence to the contrary...
View ArticleThe role of H3K9 in bringing order to the nucleus
(Phys.org)—Scientists from the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research have elucidated the histone modifications that lead to the sequestration of silent genes at the nuclear periphery. In...
View ArticleResearchers discover molecule that allows for controlling animal movements...
(Phys.org)— A diverse group of researchers from the U.S. and China has discovered a molecule that allows for controlling the movements of animals using only light. In their paper published in the...
View ArticleControlling genes with light
Although human cells have an estimated 20,000 genes, only a fraction of those are turned on at any given time, depending on the cell's needs—which can change by the minute or hour. To find out what...
View ArticleDiscovery spotlights key role of mystery RNA modification in cells
Researchers had known for several decades that a certain chemical modification exists on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), which is essential to the flow of genetic information. But only recently did...
View ArticleResearchers identify new mechanism to aid cells under stress
A team of biologists from NYU and Harvard has identified new details in a cellular mechanism that serves as a defense against stress. The findings potentially offer insights into tumor progression and...
View ArticleA first of its kind tool to study the histone code
University of North Carolina scientists have created a new research tool, based on the fruit fly, to help crack the histone code. This research tool can be used to better understand the function of...
View ArticleDiscovery of a new mechanism used by pathogenic bacteria to disable host...
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich researchers report the discovery of a new mechanism used by pathogenic bacteria to disable host defenses: Addition of a sugar residue at a specific position...
View ArticleEpigenetic 'switch' regulates RNA-protein interactions
Chemical changes - also known as epigenetic modifications - to messenger RNA (mRNA) are thought to play an important role in gene expression, and have recently been found to affect biological processes...
View ArticleSimple method for selective bioconjugation of native proteins
Whether it is for pharmaceuticals, or imaging, or proteomics, many scientists are interested in finding better ways to chemically tweak proteins. However, proteins are chemically complex, and targeting...
View ArticleTeam shows a protein modification determines enzyme's fate
The human genome encodes roughly 20,000 genes, only a few thousand more than fruit flies. The complexity of the human body, therefore, comes from far more than just the sequence of nucleotides that...
View ArticlePackaging and unpacking of the genome
DNA represents a dynamic form of information, balancing efficient storage and access requirements. Packaging approximately 1.8m of DNA into something as small as a cell nucleus is no mean feat, but...
View ArticleNew methods of enhancing efficiency of genetic engineering in mice and rats
A group of researchers led by Tomoji Mashimo, Associate Professor, Institute of Experimental Animal Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University and Kazuto Yoshitomi, Assistant Professor,...
View ArticleProcedure developed to decode histone changes that point out gene regulation
(Phys.org)—A team of researchers with Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and the Broad Institute has developed a procedure to decode histone modifications that point out gene...
View ArticleManipulating gene expression precisely using light
A Hokkaido University researcher has successfully developed a method to accurately manipulate gene expression by light illumination and demonstrated its usability by creating double-headed zebrafish.
View ArticlePlant regulatory proteins 'tagged' with sugar
New work from Carnegie's Shouling Xu and Zhiyong Wang reveals that the process of synthesizing many important master proteins in plants involves extensive modification, or "tagging" by sugars after the...
View ArticleNew test paves way for potential treatments to target Alzheimer's and other...
A simple methodology for capturing proteins implicated in the development of Alzheimer's disease and other conditions has been developed by researchers at the University of Bradford and University of...
View ArticleNovel histone modifications couple metabolism to gene activity
Scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich (LMU) have discovered that two new classes of histone modifications couple cellular metabolism to gene activity. The...
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