Comparison of two nano rulers

Study compares two methods for distance measurement in motile proteins

08-Aug-2022 - In the Middle Ages, every city had its own system of measurement. Even today, you can sometimes find iron rods in marketplaces that determined the length measurement valid for the city at that time. In science, however, there is no room for such uncertainties, and no matter what method you use to ...

Molecular scales on biological membranes: Mass-Sensitive Particle Tracking

New method to determine location and size changes of unlabeled proteins on membranes via their mass

06-Oct-2021 - A large proportion of biologically relevant processes take place at membranes. Studying the dynamics of these processes in real time and without disturbing the biological system is still a major methodological challenge. A team led by Petra Schwille, director at the MPI of Biochemistry (MPIB), ...

First 3D Images of a Giant Molecule

Resolution up to a millionth of a millimeter

26-Mar-2021 - Capturing the structure of large molecular complexes with variable shape is an extremely difficult task. Scientists from Würzburg and Montpellier now have been able to do it – thanks to a new approach regarding an important protein machine. SMN or in full Survival Motor Neuron: Professor Utz ...

Could the blood of COVID-19 patients be used to predict disease progression?

Study discovers differences in the blood samples of severe and mild cases

09-Jun-2020 - Researchers from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the Francis Crick Institute have identified 27 proteins which are present at different levels in the blood of COVID-19 patients, depending on the severity of their symptoms. These biomarker profiles could be used to predict disease ...

A molecular map for the plant sciences

First comprehensive map of the proteome of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana

16-Mar-2020 - Plants are essential for life on earth. They provide food for essentially all organisms, oxygen for breathing, and they regulate the climate of the planet. Proteins play a key role in controlling all aspects of life including plants. Under the leadership of the Technical University of Munich ...

Observing proteins in their natural environment

11-Feb-2020 - Proteins can be responsible for the fact that the active ingredients of drugs are simply released from the target cells. You can watch them do this now. Certain medications, such as those used to treat cancer, lose their effect because proteins in the membrane of the target cell simply expel them ...

All in a flash! Eliminate proteins from cells with a flash of light

24-Jan-2020 - LMU scientists have developed a tool to eliminate essential proteins from cells with a flash of light. The new method makes it possible to study the function of essential proteins. Proteins not only provide much of the structural architecture of cells, they also perform most of the executive ...

Tiny “blinkers” reveal molecules inside cells

18-Mar-2019 - LMU physicists led by Ralf Jungmann introduce an entirely new approach to super-resolution microscopy: Tiny ‘blinkers’ enable simultaneous imaging of multiple biomolecules. In everyday life, blinking lights can send signals – for example, that a car is going to turn. Now, researchers have ...

New insights into the structure of a killer protein

01-Oct-2018 - The protein Bax is responsible for programmed cell death. Because it is constantly changing its location, its structure has so far been difficult to determine. Researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum and the University of Tübingen have gained new insights into the structure of the killer protein ...

How herpesviruses escape from the immune system

06-Jul-2018 - Herpesviruses are the cause of many diseases, such as shingles or mononucleosis ('kissing disease') that compromise our quality of life. While the human immune system can usually prevent the spread of herpesviruses, it cannot entirely eliminate them from our bodies. This is because these viruses ...