Nature Communications

Nature Communications is an open access, multidisciplinary journal dedicated to publishing research regarding biological, health, physical, chemical, and earth sciences.

Grosman lab clarifies ‘mechanical link’ behind inter-neuron communication

2026-01-22

In new research, University of Illinois scientists have challenged previously held scientific ideas about loop-C’s functional role within ligand-gated ion channels, deepening biologists’ understanding of the complex neurotransmission process.Their study,...

Structural study of mucosal antibody reveals unexpected host-pathogen interactions

2024-01-23

Researchers in conversation in a biochemistry lab

Secretory Immunoglobulin A (SIgA), the predominant human mucosal antibody, can bind to bacterial surface proteins and trigger an immune response to...

Possible genetic basis and mouse model found for severe nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

2023-02-10

Illustration of a human standing with a DNA strand circling the human. Image by Michael Vincent.

The SRSF1 gene acts as a guardian against DNA damage in the liver, School of MCB researchers found. When it is missing or inactivated, severe nonalcoholic fatty liver disease symptoms develop.

Light-activated technique helps bring cell powerhouses back into balance

2022-08-03

University of Illinois biochemistry professor Kai Zhang and collaborators developed a technique using light to regulate mitochondria, the energy-producing powerhouses inside cells. The technique could address mitochondrial diseases and cancer.

SHIELD program a model for effective pandemic management, data show

2022-06-10

A student holds up a vial with saliva. The vial is sharply in focus, while the student, who is wearing a U of I face mask, is blurred out of focus.

The SHIELD: Target, Test, Tell program combined frequent saliva tests with modeling and an app to keep the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus and surrounding community safe when on-campus operations resumed in fall 2020.

Researchers determine Pol III “identity” as important regulatory mechanism and likely disease factor in cancer

2022-06-01

Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a link between RNA polymerase III subunit composition and transcription, an advancement that has potential implications for future cancer research. Their findings were published in...

Decoding the molecular clock that controls neurogenesis in visual center of Drosophila

2022-04-01

The nervous system is made up of diverse cells that arise from progenitors in a specific time-dependent pattern. In a new study, published in Nature Communications, researchers have uncovered the molecular players involved and how the timing is controlled.

Researchers explore the molecular mechanisms of a promising antiviral defense system

2021-12-02

In the last decade, scientists have discovered that the antiviral system known as cGAS-STING is an important innate immune system in humans because it senses double-stranded DNA in cytoplasm resulting from viral and bacterial infections. Recent research shows that the cGAS-STING system may have its...

Antibodies from original strain COVID-19 infection don't bind to variants, study finds

2021-09-20

Illustration of the ultrastructural morphology exhibited by SARS-CoV-2 and the spike proteins that adorn the outer surface of the virus.

People infected with the original strain of the virus that causes COVID-19 early in the pandemic produced a consistent antibody response, making two main groups of antibodies to bind to the spike protein on the virus’s outer surface. However, those antibodies don’t bind well to newer variants, a...

Researchers discover widespread, specific lipid binding by a large family of human proteins

2021-08-17

Specific PIP binding by full-length human PH domain proteins.

Phospholipid-protein interactions play an essential role in the regulation of many important cellular processes. The largest family of putative lipid-binding proteins contain the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain. Previous studies in the field estimate that approximately 10 percent of the PH protein...

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