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Categories: Biology: Molecular, Chemistry: Thermodynamics

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A research team has uncovered a treasure trove of uncharacterized proteins. Embracing the recent deep learning revolution, they discovered hundreds of new protein families and even a novel predicted protein fold.

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As summer turns to fall, many people will be turning off the air conditioning and firing up heaters instead. But traditional heating and cooling systems are energy intensive, and because they typically run on fossil fuels, they aren't sustainable. Now, by mimicking a desert-dwelling chameleon, a team has developed an energy-efficient, cost-effective coating. The material could keep buildings cool in the summers -- or warm in the winters -- without additional energy.

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Scientists have synthesized spider silk from genetically modified silkworms, producing fibers six times tougher than the Kevlar used in bulletproof vests. The study is the first to successfully produce full-length spider silk proteins using silkworms. The findings demonstrate a technique that could be used to manufacture an environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic commercial fibers such as nylon.

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A team has used neutron crystallography to image all of the atoms in a radical intermediate of a copper amine oxidase enzyme. They disclosed previously unknown details, such as precise conformational changes, that help to explain the enzyme's biochemistry. This work might help researchers engineer enzymes that facilitate unusual chemistry or are highly efficient at room temperature that are useful in chemical industry.

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A study showing how electrons flow around sharp bends, such as those found in integrated circuits, has the potential to improve how these circuits, commonly used in electronic and optoelectronic devices, are designed.

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A new study sheds new light on the origins of modern brain cells. Researchers find evidence that specialized secretory cells found in placozoans, tiny sea creatures the size of a grain of sand, have many similarities to the neuron, such as the genes required to create a partial synapse. From an evolutionary point of view, early neurons might have started as something like these cells, eventually gaining the ability to create a complete synapse, form axons and dendrites and create ion channels that generate fast electrical signals -- innovations which gave rise to the neuron in more complex animals such as jellyfish. Though the complete story of how the first neuron appeared remains to be told, the study demonstrates that the basic building blocks for our brain cells were forming in the ancestors of placozoans grazing inconspicuously in the shallow seas of Earth around 800 million years ago.

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Scientists are investigating the previously largely unknown biosynthetic pathway that leads to the formation of cardenolides in plants. In a new study, they present two enzymes from the CYP87A family as key enzymes that catalyze the formation of pregnenolone, the precursor for the biosynthesis of plant steroids, in two different plant families. The discovery of such enzymes should help to develop platforms for the cheap and sustainable production of high quality steroid compounds for medical use.

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A research team has made a significant breakthrough in thin film deposition technology.

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Researchers have developed a novel genome editing technique known as NICER, which results in significantly fewer off-target mutations than CRISPR/Cas9 editing. The technique uses a different type of enzyme that makes single-stranded 'nicks' in the DNA. Repair of these nicks is more efficient and accurate than repair of double-strand breaks caused by the current CRISPR/Cas9 editing. This technique represents a novel approach for the treatment of genetic diseases caused by heterozygous mutations.

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Researchers have genetically engineered a marine microorganism to break down plastic in salt water. Specifically, the modified organism can break down polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a plastic used in everything from water bottles to clothing that is a significant contributor to microplastic pollution in oceans.

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Researchers have identified a backup mechanism of protein quality control which prevents the toxic effects of protein aggregation in specific tissues when normal methods of molecular monitoring fail. By understanding how different tissues tackle protein build up, this research could accelerate the identification of ways to protect tissues that are vulnerable to protein build up, possibly tackling both disease-associated protein aggregates and also age-dependent aggregates that accelerate the functional decline of tissues.

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A research team has achieved significant breakthroughs in harnessing low-grade heat sources (<100 °C) for efficient energy conversion.

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Researchers have successfully demonstrated that hagfish slime proteins can accurately replicate membranes in the human eye. Scientists were able to properly grow retinal cells on hagfish slime proteins and prove that the protein's behavior changes as the membrane mimics stages of aging and disease.

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During a bout of influenza, B cells interact with other immune cells and then take different paths to defend the body. One path is the B cells that differentiate into lung-resident memory B cells, or lung-BRMs, that are critical for pulmonary immunity. These long-lived, non-circulating lung-BRMs migrate to the lungs from draining lymph nodes and reside there permanently as the first layer of defense that can quickly react to produce antibodies in a future infection.

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Some crop pathogens use a clever trick to multiply and spread infection: they hijack the plant's cellular plumbing. In a new study, researchers unveil a class of bacterial proteins that fold into a straw-like shape and insert themselves into the plant cell membrane, allowing the inside of the leaf to become waterlogged. The researchers also figured out a possible way to block the water channel proteins and prevent infection.

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Scientists identify a new and surprising function of a membrane protein on the surface of cancer cells: It supports and stabilizes an important 'co-stimulatory' factor that enhances the activation of T cells, thus improving the immune response against the tumor.

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HIV anti-retroviral therapy is considered a treatment and not a cure because patients usually carry a reservoir of HIV-infected cells that can re-emerge if treatment stops. These reservoirs have long been thought to be dormant, but two independent groups of researchers report that a subset of these cells spontaneously produce HIV RNA and proteins that may impact patients' HIV-specific immune responses.

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Researchers have produced a comprehensive picture of insulin signalling in mice and suggest that it is shaped by entangled effects of genetics and diet.

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Researchers have focused on the moisture present in the air as a potential source of drinking water for drought-stressed populations. They reached a significant breakthrough in their efforts to create drinkable water out of thin air: a molecularly engineered hydrogel that can create clean water using just the energy from sunlight.

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A new material that packs deadly heat for viruses on its outer surface while staying cool on the reverse side could be used to make sustainable, multiuse personal protective equipment.