A combination of molecular dynamics simulations and X-ray diffraction data has been used to construct more realistic models of proteins and to provide new insights into their interactions with other proteins and biomolecules.
The discovery of a fluorescent protein that can be rapidly switched between long-lived ‘on’ and ‘off’ states will lead to a new generation of super-resolution imaging experiments on living cells.
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.
Simulations and experiments on systems containing two different populations of microorganisms show that interactions that benefit at least one of the populations can lead to communities with stable compositions, and that strong cooperation between two populations can lead to communities in which both populations are mixed together.
Verena Pawlak, David S Greenberg ... Jason ND Kerr
Changing the order in which presynaptic and postsynaptic cells are repeatedly activated can change what a mammalian visual cortex neuron communicates to downstream neurons.
Tijana Ivanovic, Jason L Choi ... Stephen C Harrison
Long-lived intermediate states formed by glycoprotein catalysts are an essential part of the process used by influenza virus particles to infect cells.
A protein complex that enables cells to transport substances across their membranes, and that typically consists of four subunits, can also function as two hemicomplexes, each with two subunits.
Rajika L Perera, Rubben Torella ... Luca Pellegrini
The details of how the enzyme DNA polymerase α initiates the polymerization of nucleotides in DNA replication, a critical step in the synthesis of new chromosomal DNA, have been revealed in atomic detail.
