https://phys.org/biology-news/molecular-computational en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news on molecular and Computational biology 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 A decade-long collaborative study has discovered huge genetic potential that is untapped in modern wheat varieties. The international study which appears in Nature reveals that at least 60% of the genetic diversity found in a historic collection of wheat is unused, providing an unprecedented opportunity to improve modern wheat and sustainably feed a growing global population. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-hidden-genetic-treasure-uncovers-untapped.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Mon, 17 Jun 2024 11:53:05 EDT news637843982 New groundbreaking images of one of the brain's fastest-acting proteins are providing critical clues that may lead to the development of targeted therapies to treat epilepsy and other brain disorders. The findings are published in the journal Nature. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-scientists-fast-brain-protein-capture.html Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 17 Jun 2024 11:26:04 EDT news637842362 Disease-causing microbes have evolved sophisticated strategies for invading the body, flourishing in often hostile environments and evading immune defenses. In a new study, Professor Cheryl Nickerson, her Arizona State University colleagues and collaborators at the University of Cincinnati and NASA Johnson Space Center delve into the physical forces guiding this behavior in a multidrug-resistant strain of salmonella, a bacterial pathogen. Their insights may accelerate the design of new therapies to address life-threatening bacterial infections, such as sepsis. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-deadly-strain-salmonella-fine-tunes.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 17 Jun 2024 11:12:05 EDT news637841521 Research at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB) of the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH) and at the University of Cologne, published in Cell Reports, reveals that germline reproductive signals impact the ability of somatic tissues to induce the mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt). https://phys.org/news/2024-06-uncovers-link-reproduction-key-mitochondrial.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 17 Jun 2024 10:26:13 EDT news637838771 Newfound evidence reveals that the upsurge of the exotic Nile perch in Lake Victoria had long-lasting effects on the genetic diversity of various local cichlid species, report scientists from Tokyo Tech. Through large-scale comparative genomic analyses, the researchers found concrete proof in the collective genome of multiple species that this artificially introduced perch decimated many local fish populations, causing a "bottleneck effect." https://phys.org/news/2024-06-nile-perch-invasion-triggered-genetic.html Ecology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 17 Jun 2024 09:15:04 EDT news637834501 Filamentous cyanobacteria buckle at a certain length when they encounter an obstacle. This was discovered by the research group of Stefan Karpitschka, group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization and professor at the University of Konstanz. The results, appearing in eLife, provide an important basis for the use of cyanobacteria in modern biotechnology. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-bacteria-buckling-propulsion-based-adhesion.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 17 Jun 2024 09:06:03 EDT news637833962 CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing has made possible a multitude of biomedical experiments, including studies that systematically turn off genes in cancer cells to look for ones that the cancer cells heavily depend on to survive and grow. These genes, or "cancer dependencies," are often promising drug targets. But new research shows that many of these CRISPR screening experiments rely on components, called CRISPR/Cas9 guides, that do not perform equally well in cells from people of all ancestries, which can cause CRISPR screens to miss cancer dependencies. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-crispr-screens-cancer-drug.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Sat, 15 Jun 2024 03:11:44 EDT news637639897 Scientists from the University of Groningen (the Netherlands), together with colleagues from the University of Montpellier (France) and the University of Oldenburg (Germany), have tested how a fever could affect the development of antimicrobial resistance. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-weapon-antibiotic-resistance-temperature.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 14 Jun 2024 12:29:04 EDT news637586942 Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have reported a way to improve molecular scale distance measurements using single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (smFRET). smFRET quantifies the excitation and emission properties of chemicals called fluorophores. The findings were published in Nature Methods. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-insights-fluorescent-dark-states-illuminate.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 14 Jun 2024 11:44:10 EDT news637584244 University of Minnesota researchers have successfully mapped the complete genome of the endangered Przewalski's horse. Once extinct in the wild, the species now has a population of around 2,000 animals thanks to conservation efforts. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-genome-wild-horse-species.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 14 Jun 2024 11:16:03 EDT news637582561 Sweaty cows may not sound like the most exciting company, but in a warming world, researchers can't get enough of them. When cattle are too hot, they tend to stop eating, said Raluca Mateescu, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) professor in the department of animal science. This affects the cattle's health and growth and threatens the longevity of the food supply coming from that herd. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-sweaty-cattle-boost-food-world.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Thu, 13 Jun 2024 17:06:03 EDT news637517161 Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) can dynamically change their conformations depending on their external environment and can, therefore, bind to different compounds. However, they are difficult to analyze. Now, Tokyo Tech researchers have addressed this issue with a novel pipeline that enables a rapid crystal structure analysis of IDPs via a cell-free protein crystallization technique. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-method-enables-fast-crystal-analysis.html Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 13 Jun 2024 14:18:00 EDT news637507077