Biochemical and genetic tests have revealed that a liver protein called NTCP is a functional receptor for hepatitis B and D viruses, which should lead to an improved understanding of the infections caused by these viruses and assist the development of new intervention strategies.

Structural and functional studies of a potassium ion channel that is opened and closed by different ligands have revealed a novel gating mechanism.

A combination of single-molecule imaging and an in vitro model of the cell cortex has allowed the interactions between actin filaments and filaments made of myosin II to be studied in detail.

Changing the order in which presynaptic and postsynaptic cells are repeatedly activated can change what a mammalian visual cortex neuron communicates to downstream neurons.

The enzyme that collaborates with ubiquitin ligases to promote the release of defective polypeptides from stalled ribosomes in a process named ribosome-associated degradations has been identified as the ATPase Cdc48.

An interaction between two proteins enables the spindle—the structure that segregates chromosome pairs during mitosis—to change size as cells divide.

A transmembrane protein uses distinct mechanisms to regulate the movement of specific toll-like receptors-key immune system components involved in detecting pathogens-to their final locations inside cells.

Structure-function analysis of the super elongation complex formed when HIV replicates inside cells reveals that the HIV-1 Tat protein binds to a cleft between P-TEFb, an enzyme that is involved in normal transcription, and AFF4, a protein that is used to build the super elongation complex

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer has been used to explore the interactions between DNA polymerases, sliding clamps and clamp loaders as DNA is replicated in human cells.

COPII vesicles regulate the metabolism of cholesterol through the selective transport of secretory proteins.