Bioscience News - GEG Tech top picks

Using 3D electron microscopy, structural biologists from the University of Zurich succeeded in elucidating the architecture of the lamina of the cell nucleus at molecular resolution for the first time.

A team led by researchers from Tianjin University (P.R. China) has solved the structure of the Zika virus helicase, which is a key target for antiviral development. The research is published in Springer's journal Protein & Cell.

Researchers from the University of Chicago have described the three-dimensional, atomic structure of an important cell receptor molecule linked to the development of several diseases, including melanoma, acute myeloid leukemia and bilateral frontoparietal polymicrogyria, a debilitating developmental brain disorder. The study, published Sept. 21, in Neuron, also describes an engineered protein molecule that turns off the receptor. The report lays the groundwork for future development of pharmaceutical treatments that target the diseases mediated by these proteins, called adhesion G protein-coupled receptors, or aGPCRs.