Category Biology/Biotechnology

This is an illustration of a single cellulose nanocrystal and a cross-section. Credit: Robert Sinko

Theoretically, nanocellulose could be the next hot supermaterial. A new computational approach allows researchers to design cellulose nanocomposites with optimal properties. A class of biomaterials in many natural systems like trees, cellulose nanocrystals have captured researchers’ attention for their extreme strength, toughness, light weight, and elasticity. The materials are so strong and tough, in fact, that many people think they could replace Kevlar in ballistic vests and combat helmets for military. Unlike their source material (wood), cellulose nanocrystals are transparent, making them exciting candidates for protective eyewear, windows, or displays.

Although there is a lot of excite...

Highlights •Timeless interacts with PARP-1 independent of poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation •Crystal structures of Timeless PAB in free form and in complex with PARP-1 •Specific recognition of PARP-1 by Timeless does not affect its enzymatic activity •PARP-1 is required for Timeless recruitment to DSB sites to promote HR repair

A new molecular mechanism for DNA repair involving an unexpected interaction between PARP-1 protein and sleep proteins in humans has been found. While it is a well-known fact that sleep is important to the body’s recovery and healing, knowledge of the molecular mechanisms that make this possible is incomplete...

RGFP966 is an HDAC3 inhibitor

Clues to keeping brain cells alive in those with Alzheimer’s. A drug now being used to treat cancer might make it easier to learn a language, sharpen memory and help those with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease by rewiring the brain and keeping neurons alive. New research found that a drug – RGFP966 – administered to rats made them more attuned to what they were hearing, able to retain and remember more information, and develop new connections that allowed these memories to be transmitted between brain cells.”This drug could rescue the ability to make new memories that are rich in detail and content, even in the worst case scenarios.”

What happens with dementias such as Alzheimer’s is that brain cells shrink and die because the synapses that transfer informatio...

In 1953, a man named Henry Molaison underwent a surgery which removed most of his hippocampus in an attempt to cure his epileptic seizures. The surgery was a qualified success though, because in addition to curing him of seizures he also lost the ability to form new long term memories. It was Molaison’s memory problems that led doctors to conclude that the hippocampus was the part of the brain responsible for long term memory.

IBS Center for RNA Research used a tool called Ribosome profiling (RPF) as well as RNA-seq to analyze mouse hippocampi...