Browse our latest Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics articles

A novel region in the CaV2.1 α1 subunit regulates coupling of synaptic vesicles to CaV2.1 calcium channels, synaptic vesicle release and docking, and the size of the fast and total releasable pools of synaptic vesicles.

The structures of photosystem II, with the water-oxidizing Mn4CaO5-cluster fully removed and in an intermediate assembly state, show that photoassembly is facilitated by perfectly pre-arranged protein ligands of the five metal ions.

Agonist and antagonist peptides of the corticotropin-releasing factor receptor type 1 adopt different folds and stabilize distinct conformations of the receptor transmembrane domain, which involves tilting of helices VI and VII around conserved glycine hinges.

Sequence conservation in Ras depends strongly on the biochemical network in which it operates, providing a framework for understanding the origin of global selection pressures on proteins.

Single molecule microscopy combined with biochemical analyses show that a two-step lipid-binding mechanism of the SRP receptor balances the trade-off between speed and specificity during co-translational protein targeting.

While HIV-1 Gag protein binds tightly to several RNAs, it binds to the viral RNA 'packaging signal' with higher specificity than to control RNAs.

The integration of structural data from different imaging scales requires the development of standards and tools for representing the segmentation and transformation of data, and for the annotation of biological structures.

Integration of complementary computational approaches reveals an evolutionarily conserved interaction interface between molecular chaperones Hsp70 and Hsp40, rationalizing previous observations.

Using both electron cryo-tomography and helical reconstruction, the first structure of the entire archaellum machinery with an assembled filament has been determined, providing the structural basis for our understanding of archaeal motility.

A novel membrane, formed by a monolayer of lipids in a U-shaped conformation, envelops a virus that can withstand extremes of temperature and acidity.