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Nature Communications is an open access, multidisciplinary journal dedicated to publishing research regarding biological, health, physical, chemical, and earth sciences.
Structural study of mucosal antibody reveals unexpected host-pathogen interactions
Secretory Immunoglobulin A (SIgA), the predominant human mucosal antibody, can bind to bacterial surface proteins and trigger an immune response to...
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Possible genetic basis and mouse model found for severe nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
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.
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Light-activated technique helps bring cell powerhouses back into balance
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.
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SHIELD program a model for effective pandemic management, data show
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.
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Researchers determine Pol III “identity” as important regulatory mechanism and likely disease factor in cancer
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...
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Decoding the molecular clock that controls neurogenesis in visual center of Drosophila
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.
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Researchers explore the molecular mechanisms of a promising antiviral defense system
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...
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Antibodies from original strain COVID-19 infection don't bind to variants, study finds
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...
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Researchers discover widespread, specific lipid binding by a large family of human 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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Cronan lab uncovers mechanism for synthesis of pimelate moiety, the biotin precursor
Professor John. E. Cronan, Microbiology Alumni Professor and professor of biochemistry at the University of Illinois, is a leading researcher and innovator in the field of lipid metabolism. His recent work focuses on the synthesis of biotin and its building blocks across different species of...