Scientific Highlights

  Serine hydroxymethyltransferase 2 (SHMT2) is a mitochondrial protein with a critical role in amino acid and nucleotide metabolism – both of which are essential for cell growth and proliferation. In recent years, it has also been postulated...

To ensure cell survival, growth and differentiation, gene expression must be continuously modulated. Not all gene products are useful at every stage of cell life and the bulk of the genome is silent, packaged as chromatin (DNA wrapped around histone proteins),...

Influenza (commonly known as the flu) is an acute, respiratory infection responsible for over 3 million cases of severe illness each year. Most clinical cases of flu are caused by Influenza A viruses, which are also responsible for widespread outbreaks...

During cell division, duplicated DNA needs to be evenly distributed between two daughter cells so that each receives a single, complete set of chromosomes. When chromosome segregation fails, the consequences can be catastrophic - causing genetic disorders,...

Double-stranded (ds)RNA viruses are a large and diverse group of viruses that infect a range of hosts, including animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria. Members of the dsRNA viruses include rotaviruses (a common cause of gastroenteritis), bluetongue virus...

A recently developed scientific technique is allowing researchers at Instruct Centre IT to investigate proteins in their natural state. Traditional structural studies could only take place in vitro, which may result in improper protein folding and a lack...

Just like other animals, bees can contract viruses from parasites such as mites. A virus of particular significance is the Deformed Wing Virus (DWV), which has been causing epidemics in Western honey bee populations. As the name suggests, DWV causes pupae...

Our ability to fight bacteria using antibiotics is limited by the rise of resistant strains. However, understanding the mechanisms of bacteria’s natural enemy, the bacteriophage, may lead to new treatments. “Bacteriophage phi812 … can...

Bacteriophages are viruses that infect and replicate within bacteria and archaea. Recent work at the Instruct-ES Centre (CNB-CSIC) in collaboration with the IRB-CSIC centre in Barcelona, has elucidated critical aspects of the T7 tail protein structure...

Viruses are nearly always the villain – causing death and disease, but if they are understood well enough, scientists can use them as a cancer treatment. Scientists working at Instruct Centre FR2 have created a detailed picture of how one particular...

Currently there is no treatment for the deadly Hantaan infection, but new information about the virus structure could allow researchers to design a specific antiviral drug to target the virus. In an important step towards new therapies, Benoît Arragain...

Mitochondria generate energy for the body by making ATP (adenine triphosphate) from ADP (adenine diphosphate). For this to happen, cells must shuttle ADP from the cell cytoplasm into the mitochondria across the mitochondrial membranes. Similarly, once...

The World Health Organization ranks bacterial infections among the leading causes of illness and death worldwide. As infectious diseases continue to evolve and spread at an unprecedented rate, structural biologists are working to decipher how bacteria...

Every second, the human body sends thousands of messages between cells in order to regulate the functions of the body. Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are messaging signals that are involved in a number of critical metabolic processes...