Structural biology
The latest chemistry news and research on structural biology, including x-ray crytallography, cryoelectron microscopy and bio-imaging, from the Royal Society of Chemistry's magazine, Chemistry World
-
ResearchStretching spider silk increases hydrogen bonding, improving mechanical strength
Computational analysis provides new insights into silk’s mechanical properties that was unavailable experimentally
-
OpinionTunnelling to the heart of cell communication
Nanotubes are being found in an increasing number of biological contexts, including the developing heart
-
ResearchClearest ever picture of worms’ surface chemistry deepens evolutionary understanding
Cutting-edge mass spectrometry of nematodes’ ‘skin’ may reveal new ways to control parasitic infections
-
Research‘Hidden grammar’ explains proteins’ distribution into sub-cellular condensates
Proteins’ amino-acid sequences appear to guide their access to blob-like aggregates involved in many cell processes
-
ResearchParrots’ vibrant plumage controlled by single enzyme
Mutation in gene reveals control of red and yellow pigments specific to parrots
-
OpinionThis year’s chemistry Nobel proves it’s hard to make predictions
It’s been a long journey from the myoglobin model
-
FeatureHow AI protein structure prediction and design won the Nobel prize
David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper won this year’s Nobel prize in chemistry. Jamie Durrani investigates the origins of a biochemistry revolution
-
ResearchStudy shows how bacterium tweaks its lipopolysaccharides to survive chill of Antarctic lake
Adaptations seem at odds with survival strategies adopted by related species
-
NewsExplainer: Why have protein design and structure prediction won the 2024 Nobel prize in chemistry?
Research that has taken us from sequence to structure and back again
-
NewsProtein design and structure prediction wins chemistry Nobel prize
David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper were rewarded for creating computational tools to design proteins and predict their structures that have ‘revolutionised biological chemistry’
-
OpinionEnormous enzymes expand the limits of molecular biology
Identifying the PKZILLAs, used by algae to make toxins, stretched the capabilities of current analytical methods – and the limits of our preconceptions
-
ResearchIron coatings help Komodo dragons maintain their sharp ziphodont teeth
Research sheds light on structure–function relationships in teeth of carnivorous reptiles
-
ResearchRodents’ striking orange teeth not down to iron-rich enamel as thought
Metal provides strength but the colour is the result of something else
-
ResearchUltracold snapshots reveals in exquisite detail how a bacterial flagellum rotates
Studies explain how motor can flip from clockwise rotation to anticlockwise
-
ResearchFirst regular molecular fractal in nature
Scientists have identified a protein that has a fractal structure and find that it was simply an evolutionary accident
-
ResearchMicroscopy structures reveal mechanism behind bitter taste
Cryo-EM images provide a detailed picture of bitter taste receptors
-
ResearchBlueberries’ blue is just skin deep, depending on structure not pigments
Non-spherical nanostructures explain the fruit’s colour
-
FeatureMore than a mirror-image: left-handed nucleic acids
Now a biological reality, researchers are starting to figure out the many roles of left-handed nucleic acids such as Z-DNA – from immunity to controlling our genetics. Rachel Brazil reports
-
ResearchInvasive zebra mussels’ unique sticky threads unraveled
New understanding of byssal threads finds similarities with spider silk making them unlike any other mussels’
-
ResearchMolecular movie captures DNA repair from start to finish
Study spans pico- to microsecond timescales to uncover enzymatic process