https://phys.org/biology-news/molecular-computational en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news on molecular and Computational biology The amount of dietary sugars and the administration of lithium both impact the lifespan of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. It is noteworthy that lithium is attributed with insulin-like activity as it stimulates protein kinase B/Akt and suppresses the activity of glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3). However, its interaction with dietary sugar has largely remained unexplored. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-dietary-sucrose-lithium-gene-lifespan.html Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 21 Jun 2024 05:50:21 EDT news638167815 Artificial intelligence continues to squirm its way into many aspects of our lives. But what about biology, the study of life itself? AI can sift through hundreds of thousands of genome data points to identify potential new therapeutic targets. While these genomic insights may appear helpful, scientists aren't sure how today's AI models come to their conclusions in the first place. Now, a new system named SQUID arrives on the scene, armed to pry open AI's black box of murky internal logic. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-tool-ai-genomics.html Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 21 Jun 2024 05:00:01 EDT news638112738 Superbug infections are taking a disproportionate toll in sub-Saharan Africa where there is "extremely concerning" levels of multi-resistant bacterial strains among young children, two studies warned Thursday. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-antibiotic-resistance-saharan-africa-alarming.html Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 20 Jun 2024 16:30:01 EDT news638113284 University of Manchester scientists have linked one of the ways that cells respond to stressful conditions with restricted healthy hair growth. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-scientists-link-ancient-biology-restricted.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 20 Jun 2024 15:18:03 EDT news638115481 New strains of yeast for brewing lager beers, created by hybridizing wild strains of yeast from Patagonia with brewer's yeast, can yield novel flavors and aromas, reports a new study by Jennifer Molinet and Francisco Cubillos of the Universidad de Santiago de Chile, published June 20 in the journal PLOS Genetics. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-wild-yeasts-patagonia-yield-flavors.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 20 Jun 2024 14:00:02 EDT news638091421 Kara Andres, a postdoctoral fellow with the Living Earth Collaborative at Washington University in St. Louis, collected samples of water from Simpson Lake, in Valley Park, Mo., as part of a coordinated global effort to use environmental DNA—genetic material shed by organisms into the environment—to document the current state of biodiversity. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-citizen-scientists-edna-samples-global.html Ecology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 20 Jun 2024 13:04:01 EDT news638107439 Waterlogged conditions, a consequence of heavy rainfall or inadequate drainage, disproportionately affect crops with delicate root systems like cucumbers. These conditions not only impede root respiration and plant development but also threaten agricultural productivity on a global scale. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-uncovers-genetic-key-stress-cucumbers.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Thu, 20 Jun 2024 12:03:03 EDT news638103782 Understanding the genetic mechanisms behind leaf development is crucial for improving crop yields and resilience. In Chinese cabbage, the formation of leafy heads involves complex gene interactions that determine leaf shape and orientation. Despite progress in model plants like Arabidopsis, the molecular basis of these processes in Brassica species remains less clear. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-transcriptomic-insights-chinese-cabbage-unique.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Thu, 20 Jun 2024 11:59:02 EDT news638103541 A mechanism that could help scientists harness enzymes for use in drug discovery has been discovered in a research breakthrough at the University of Birmingham. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-uncover-enzyme-communication-mechanism-aid.html Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 20 Jun 2024 11:42:03 EDT news638102521 Amino acids are vital for plant growth and significantly influence tea flavor and health benefits. Tea plants, particularly Camellia sinensis, exhibit unique amino acid profiles that contribute to their distinctive taste and nutritional value. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-tea-leaf-secret-decoding-amino.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Thu, 20 Jun 2024 09:41:03 EDT news638095262 Scientists have prototyped a new method for "rationally engineering" enzymes to deliver improved performance. They have devised an algorithm, which takes into account an enzyme's evolutionary history, to flag where mutations could be introduced with a high likelihood of delivering functional improvements. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-scientists-algorithm-enzymes.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 20 Jun 2024 05:00:01 EDT news638014321 An important breakthrough in efforts to halt the advance of wheat blast, an emerging threat to international food security, has come from a surprising source. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-unexpected-source-global-wheat-blast.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Wed, 19 Jun 2024 12:29:03 EDT news638018941 Northeastern researcher Kim Lewis is spearheading an effort to accelerate discovery of new antibiotics as part of a multi-institutional project to tackle the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-soil-bacteria-discovery-antibiotics.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 19 Jun 2024 11:42:03 EDT news638016121 Looking under the microscope, a group of cells slowly moves forward in a line, like a train on the tracks. The cells navigate through complex environments. A new approach by researchers involving the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) now shows how they do this and how they interact with each other. The experimental observations and the following mathematical concept are published in Nature Physics. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-railroad-cells-simulations-cell-movement.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 19 Jun 2024 05:00:01 EDT news637940162 A new study from the Zaher Lab at Washington University in St. Louis, published in Molecular Cell, dives into the mechanisms behind the ways cells respond to stress. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-biologists-closer-stress-response-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 18 Jun 2024 15:28:02 EDT news637943281 Frogs have maintained a surprising diversity of light-sensing proteins over evolutionary time, according to a new study led by a Penn State researcher. Light-sensing proteins, called opsins, enable vision in sighted animals, and are responsible for many more biological functions including regulating circadian rhythms. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-unexpected-diversity-proteins-vision-frogs.html Evolution Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 18 Jun 2024 11:32:04 EDT news637929122 Formation of the body axes is a critical part of embryonic development. They guarantee that all body parts end up where they belong and that no ears grow on our backs. The head-tail axis, for example, determines the orientation of the two ends of the body. It was previously assumed that this axis is largely determined by the interplay between the Nodal and BMP signals. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-tail-factor-formation-body-axes.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 18 Jun 2024 11:11:03 EDT news637927861 Opera singers have to use the extreme limits of their voice range. Many pedagogical and scientific sources suggest that the highest pitches reached in classical singing can only be produced with a so-called "whistle" voice register, in analogy to ultrasonic vocalizations of mice and rats. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-biomechanics-production-high-pitched-classical.html Other Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 18 Jun 2024 10:20:03 EDT news637924802 A new way to study protein movements has been developed by researchers at Umeå University and the MAX IV Laboratory in Lund. The method enables significantly more experiments than before and allows us to learn more about vital processes in the cells of humans, animals, and plants. The work is published in the journal Structure. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-door-protein-movements.html Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 18 Jun 2024 10:18:03 EDT news637924681 The relationship between mother and child may offer clues to the mystery of why humans live longer lives than expected for their size—and shed new light on what it means to be human. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-maternal-central-factor-animal-human.html Evolution Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 17 Jun 2024 17:05:04 EDT news637862701 Ophiocordyceps sinensis, known for its extensive use in traditional Asian medicine, grows in high-altitude regions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. This rare and expensive fungus has generated increasing global demand, leading to the need for artificial cultivation techniques to produce bioactive compounds. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-potential-caterpillar-fungus-production-bioactive.html Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 17 Jun 2024 16:59:03 EDT news637862341 Researchers at the University of Bonn have developed software that can simulate the growth of field crops. To do this, they fed thousands of photos from field experiments into a learning algorithm. This enabled the algorithm to learn how to visualize the future development of cultivated plants based on a single initial image. Using the images created during this process, parameters such as leaf area or yield can be estimated accurately. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-ai-field-crops-software-simulate.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Mon, 17 Jun 2024 16:24:04 EDT news637860241 One of the most beautiful aspects of nature is the endless variety of shapes, colors and behaviors exhibited by organisms. These traits help organisms survive and find mates, like how a male peacock's colorful tail attracts females or his wings allow him to fly away from danger. Understanding traits is crucial for biologists, who study them to learn how organisms evolve and adapt to different environments. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-scientists-language-organismal-traits.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 17 Jun 2024 15:50:19 EDT news637858215 Rubus rosaefolius, a red raspberry, is valued for its nutritional and medicinal properties, containing bioactive compounds like anthocyanins. Despite its potential, there is limited genomic information available. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-unveil-high-quality-genome-rubus.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Mon, 17 Jun 2024 14:20:24 EDT news637852816 Drought stress poses a significant challenge to plant survival, affecting growth and productivity. Transcription factors, particularly NAC proteins, play vital roles in plant responses to abiotic stress. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-phosphorylation-molecular-key-birch-trees.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Mon, 17 Jun 2024 14:19:03 EDT news637852741 Using genome reconstruction, scientists unveiled a once "invisible" fish parasite present in many marine fish world-wide that belongs to the apicomplexans, one of the most important groups of parasites at a clinical level. However, it had gone unnoticed in previous studies. The parasite is geographically and taxonomically widespread in fish species around the planet, with implications for commercial fishing and oceanic food webs. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-genome-reconstruction-reveals-previously-uncharacterized.html Ecology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 17 Jun 2024 12:42:41 EDT news637846955 Could measuring protein clumps in our cells be a new way to find out our risk of getting age-related diseases? Professor Dorothee Dormann and Professor Edward Lemke of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), who are also adjunct directors at the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) in Mainz, propose the concept of a "protein aggregation clock" to measure aging and health in a new perspective article published in Nature Cell Biology. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-aging-disease-protein-aggregation-clock.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 17 Jun 2024 12:29:37 EDT news637846175 Researchers are using the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan to study how enzymes found in all forms of life (called ribonucleases) can be modified to work to our advantage. This technology could have wide-ranging applications, from better cancer treatments and more effective pharmaceuticals to more efficient and environmentally friendly industrial catalysts. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-scientists-function-common-enzymes-hacking.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 17 Jun 2024 12:19:14 EDT news637845550 Using computer-designed proteins, researchers have now shown they are able to direct human stem cells to form new blood vessels in the lab. This milestone in regenerative medicine offers new hope for repairing damaged hearts, kidneys, and other organs. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-proteins-stem-cells-blood-vessels.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 17 Jun 2024 12:18:30 EDT news637845506 Neanderthals, the closest cousins of modern humans, lived in parts of Europe and Asia until their extinction some 30,000 years ago. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-modern-human-dna-bits-neanderthal.html Evolution Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 17 Jun 2024 12:00:04 EDT news637844402