From Velcro to solar cells, many technological innovations have been inspired by nature. In medical diagnostics, researchers also draw inspiration from biological principles. A research team from the University of Freiburg ...
Biotechnology
18 hours ago
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1
Compounds and proteins are the two most fundamental entities in drug discovery. Modeling their interactions is crucial for drug discovery. Although no universal computational method currently exists to predict and explain ...
Biotechnology
Sep 24, 2024
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Transcription factors regulate gene expression by binding specific sequences on DNA, which is an essential step to producing messenger RNAs from protein-coding genes. Denes Hnisz's lab, in collaboration with Martin Vingron's ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 5, 2024
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Proteins are workhorses that carry out most of the biological functions in our cells. While the genes we inherit from our parents, our so-called genome, are fixed and usually remain unchanged throughout our lives, proteins ...
Biotechnology
Jun 12, 2024
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A team of researchers has recently demonstrated the utility of employing a previously established screening system to probe the interactions between small molecules and RNA. Their study is published in Communications Chemistry.
Biochemistry
May 21, 2024
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The decay of ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a crucial mechanism for controlling gene expression in response to environmental stresses. Researchers from the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) and the Julius-Maximilians-Universität ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 28, 2024
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25
A recent study by an international research team has unveiled an exciting discovery about how our cells defend themselves during stressful situations. The research, published in EMBO Reports, shows that a tiny modification ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 27, 2024
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Bacteria of the genus Shigella, closely related to the well-known Escherichia coli, are the second most common cause of fatal bacterial diarrheal diseases, with over 200,000 victims worldwide every year. There are repeated ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 19, 2024
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1
Thanks to technological advances, scientists have access to vast amounts of data, but in order to put it to work and draw conclusions, they need to be able to process it.
Molecular & Computational biology
Jan 8, 2024
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257
New findings published in Molecular Cell provide details about the hidden organization of the cytoplasm—the soup of liquid, organelles, proteins, and other molecules inside a cell. The research shows it makes a big difference ...
Cell & Microbiology
Dec 21, 2023
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Carrier proteins are proteins that transport a specific substance or group of substances through intracellular compartments or in extracellular fluids (e.g. in the blood) or else across the cell membrane. Some of the carriers are water-soluble proteins that may or may not interact with biological membranes, such as some transporters of small hydrophobic molecules, whereas others are integral transmembrane proteins.
Carrier proteins transport substances out of or into the cell by facilitated diffusion and active transport. Each carrier protein is designed to recognize only one substance or one group of very similar substances. The molecule or ion to be transported (the substrate) must first bind at a binding site at the carrier molecule, with a certain binding affinity. Following binding, and while the binding site is facing, say, outwards, the carrier will capture or occlude (take in and retain) the substrate within its molecular structure and cause an internal translocation, so that it now faces the other side of the membrane. The substrate is finally released at that site, according to its binding affinity there. All steps are reversible.
For example:
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