Molecular biology
The molecular strings of the zombie ant
That zombie-ant fungi make their hosts climb and bite fast is hardly disputed any longer. What is harder to demonstrate is how they manage it. Recent molecular work has, for the first time, established a direct link between a secreted fungal protein and changes in olfactory perception and social behaviour in ants.
Cells form a protective belt around their DNA under acute stress
When a cell undergoes an abrupt change, a protective actin ring forms around the nucleus, shielding the DNA like a belt.
In response to rapid, abrupt changes that are harmful...
New class of protein-like molecules discovered
Scientists discover more than seventeen hundred new protein-like molecules. Strangely, these protein-like molecules are encoded by DNA fragments that were previously considered non-coding.
Packaged DNA is often only partially locked away
DNA in cells is not simply either completely inaccessible or freely readable. Researchers show that nucleosomes frequently exist in intermediate states in which DNA is only partially available for transcription.
AlphaFold makes millions of 3D protein structures publicly available
The AlphaFold database has made millions of new AI-predicted 3D structures of protein complexes from humans and their pathogens publicly available for research.
Glyco-RNA on the cell surface suppresses blood vessel growth
American researchers show in Nature of 28 January how recently discovered glyco-RNAs influence cell signalling.
Complex life arose earlier than thought – and without mitochondria
The first eukaryotes arose as long as 2.9 billion years ago, nearly a billion years earlier than is commonly assumed.In this process, an archaeal...
The magic bullet
Yet their potential remains limited. The great challenge for new therapeutics: getting proteins to exactly where they are needed.
DNA motor found to have a reverse gear
This illustration shows how DNA is formed into a loop by the SMC motor protein cohesin (in purple/blue). The purple part of the motor...