Specimen movement reduces the quality of structural data produced by cryo-EM. Chris Russo’s group presents a physical theory for the causes of this movement, and creates a new specimen support that eliminates it.
Freezing molecules completely still for cryo-EM
Structural clues for influenza virus assembly and disassembly
John Briggs’ group has uncovered the atomic structure of M1 matrix proteins, and their ordered arrangement within the influenza A virus, suggesting mechanisms for two critical processes in the infection cycle.
Catching the ribosome in the act of scanning mRNA
Venki Ramakrishnan’s group has solved the structure of the protein complex formed when mRNA is being scanned to find the start codon, providing new understanding of the molecular mechanisms underpinning initiation of translation.
A synthetic molecule that can restore lost connections in the brain
The brain contains an enormous number of connections, known as synapses. Their loss is associated with many disorders. Radu Aricescu’s group and collaborators in Japan and Germany have designed a molecule that restores synapses in animal disease models, including Alzheimer’s.
A simple, novel mechanism to safeguard the integrity of the human genome
Nearly half of the human genome is composed of various forms of DNA repeat. Pierre Murat in Julian Sale’s group has revealed a mechanism that safeguards the genome from pathological expansion of one group of DNA repeats known as STRs.
Discovery of a chaperone for membrane proteins
Proteins embedded in the cellular membrane perform a wide variety of necessary tasks. Most are folded into complex shapes that pass back and forth across the membrane. Patrick Chitwood and Manu Hegde have discovered a new type of chaperone that helps them assemble correctly.