Lungless salamanders’ skin expresses protein crucial for lung function

A recent study shows that a gene that produces surfactant protein c — a key protein for lung function — is expressed in the skin and mouths of lungless salamanders, suggesting it also plays an important role for cutaneous respiration.

Peter Reuell • harvard
Jan. 31, 2019 ~8 min

Could an extremophile hold the secret to treatment of devastating injuries?

Proteins produced by the tardigrade are suspected of playing a role in the organism’s resilience, ultimately providing the basis for human therapies that halt tissue damage and prevent cell death.

Ekaterina Pesheva • harvard
Jan. 25, 2019 ~15 min


Enhanced NMR reveals chemical structures in a fraction of the time

Technique could yield insights into complex proteins involved in Alzheimer’s and other diseases.

Anne Trafton | MIT News Office • mit
Jan. 18, 2019 ~5 min

Chaos in our cells keeps immune system running

We tend to think of chaotic dynamics as something that living organisms seek to avoid. New research suggests we need some chaos to stay healthy.

Maria Horneck-Copenhagen • futurity
Jan. 16, 2019 ~3 min

To find new cancer drug targets, reorganize kinases

Grouping protein kinases by how they react to drugs—rather than by their relatedness—could give scientists new leads on cancer drug targets.

Gregory Filiano-Stony Brook • futurity
Jan. 14, 2019 ~2 min

Bad sleep in older adults may signal Alzheimer’s disease

Daytime napping alone is significantly associated with high levels of tau, a sign of Alzheimer’s disease.

Tamara Bhandari-Washington University • futurity
Jan. 11, 2019 ~5 min

Better ‘tagging’ yields detailed look at flu virus

Using an adapted method of "site-specific labeling" overcomes a longstanding challenge in the study of flu viruses.

Brandie Jefferson-WUSTL • futurity
Jan. 4, 2019 ~7 min

Ebola-fighting human protein offers hope for new drugs

During 2014's Ebola outbreak, there were no treatments on hand to fight the virus. Now, researchers have found a human protein that could change that.

Northwestern U. • futurity
Dec. 30, 2018 ~4 min


Bacterial protein can hunt smartphone materials

A bacterial protein's affinity for the rare-earth metals used in smartphones could make it a great way to detect and collect the materials.

Gail McCormick-Penn State • futurity
Dec. 20, 2018 ~6 min

How membranes let microbes live in extreme places

"Archaea are a big area of research now... and they're really cool." New research uncovers how their membranes let them live in extreme environments.

Danielle Torrent Tucker-Stanford • futurity
Dec. 10, 2018 ~7 min

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