When a virus infects a bacterial cell, the viral genome is the first component to be fully injected into the cell, making it an ideal immune target. A bacterial enzyme anchored to the membrane ...

In the evolutionary history of life, the ability of a cell to separate its inner world from the external environment was an ...

Cell membranes protect and organize cells. All cells have an outer plasma membrane that regulates not only what enters the cell, but also how much of any given substance comes in. Unlike prokaryotes, ...

A simulated cell in the early stages of division. Left half shows membrane (green cubes), and ribosomes (yellow/purple) interwoven through in the cell’s chromosome (red). Right side shows all the ...

Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have built a computer simulation that tracks the entire life cycle ...

T cell activation—the process by which these key immune defenders recognize threats and mobilize against them—depends on exquisitely timed molecular signals. Now researchers have captured one of the ...

Researchers shifted the focus to the internal properties of the membrane itself, specifically its viscosity, highlighting its critical role in controlling deformation and dynamics during essential ...

Previously unknown access points in cell membrane proteins have been discovered, enabling laboratory-developed drugs to modify cell function. The discovery was made possible through computer ...

An enduring challenge for the commercialization of genetic therapies is delivering the therapeutic molecules to the proper destination within the body. Viruses are natural delivery systems for nucleic ...

Graphical illustration of multiple proteins being recruited from across the interior of a yeast cell to help repair the cell membrane at the site of damage.

Researchers at the University of Michigan have revealed that cells use a previously unknown feat of molecular craftsmanship ...