Although researchers have learned much about SARS-CoV-2, the vast array of unexplained symptoms associated with acute and post-acute ("long") COVID-19 warrants the search for additional biochemical pathways involved. On the basis of amino-acid sequence analyses and computational approaches, it has...

When the coronavirus causing COVID-19 infects human cells, the cell’s protein-processing machinery makes modifications to the spike protein that render it more flexible and mobile, which could increase its ability to infect other cells and to evade antibodies, a new study from the University of...

Many researchers have postulated that the lipid composition of the membrane containing ion channels is critical for function. However, there are limited data about the structure and function of natively bound lipids. Some molecular simulation experiments have provided some insight; but, data from...

Researchers from the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, including several faculty in the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology, in collaboration with scientists at Oxford University have published a paper in Cell reporting the function of LanCL proteins. These proteins are found in...

Cells communicate with each other by sending, receiving, and decoding signals. Signals that cannot cross the cell membrane directly – such as ions, water-soluble small molecules, and peptides – need to be detected by receptor proteins on the cell’s outer surface.

The Tajkhorshid lab used computational microscopy to investigate how lipids can influence the structure and function of protein channels in cells. Their findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Researchers report that a protein known to be important to protein synthesis also influences muscle regeneration and regrowth in an unexpected manner. The discovery, reported in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, could one day lead to new methods for treating disorders that result in muscle...