Proteins

Infographic: Macedo Veiga Junior (Valve)

The body as a roadmap: New algorithm unlocks the secrets of our proteins

  • No comments
An illegible microscopy image with overlapping fluorescent labels of seven proteins (left) was translated with great precision using CombPlex into an image that allows the different proteins to be distinguished (right)

All embroidery colors

AI-based technology developed in Dr. Liat Keren's lab enables an unprecedented view of processes in body tissues
Yeast cells before (left column) and after (right column) protein knockdown. In each row, a different representative of a protein family (marked in green) was knocked down that was found to shape the structure of mitochondrial organelles (marked in purple). In total, 220 different proteins were discovered whose absence causes structural disruptions in these essential organelles.

Protein Flash Strike: Unveiling the Secrets of Cellular Life

chromatin structure. Illustration: depositphotos.com

How proteins and DNA shape cell identity

  • One response
New research reveals a fascinating mechanism of "guided search," in which DNA and chromatin structure act as a "road map," directing proteins to specific genetic targets. The mechanism provides new insights into the acquisition of cellular identity that may promote
A sample from a tumor of a human patient with the most common lung cancer (adenocarcinoma). The presence of senescent cells expressing the proteins P16 (in red) and PD-L1 (in green) can be detected. The cell nuclei in the sample are marked in blue

to open blockages in the immune system

Geoffrey Hinton and John Hopfield, two of the main researchers in the field of artificial intelligence, won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2024. The image was prepared using DALEE and is not a scientific image

Artificial intelligence plays a major role in two categories of the 2024 Nobel Prizes. This is a sign of things to come

  • No comments
It is likely that we will see more Nobel medals awarded to researchers who used AI tools. As this happens, we may find that the scientific methods honored by those Nobel Prize committees will move away from the simple categories of "physics," "chemistry," and "physiology."
Couple therapy of bacteria. Weizmann Institute illustration

in couples therapy

The list of crystals in the zebrafish: in the gill covers (top row) - long and narrow crystals, in the eye of the fish (middle row) shorter crystals, and in the skin (bottom row) - the shortest

The animals' secret recipe book for creating colorful and versatile crystals has been revealed

Molecular Systems Biology portal showing eCIS injects AI-predicted toxins. Artist's impression by Dr. Yitzhak Yadgari

Identifying new toxins using machine learning

  • No comments
New research at the Hebrew University reveals how bacteria use a special mechanism, like a tiny syringe, to inject toxins into other organisms. Using artificial intelligence, the researchers identified over 2,000 possible toxins that may be injected through
Imaging of human small intestine tissue using a fluorescence staining method that allows marking a large number of proteins at the same time and thus mapping which proteins are produced in the entire basal area of ​​the intestine

navigate the digestive tract

the muscles and the skeleton. Illustration: depositphotos.com

between the muscles and the skeleton

Researchers discovered that in mice lacking a protein that is responsible for muscle contraction, fusion developed between the vertebrae of the spine, which may lead to scoliosis and other orthopedic diseases
Link to the image of the spinal cords (photo: Dr. Linor Alfahal, from the journal Cell (Reports Medicine. On the left - a section of the spinal cord of a mouse expressing the disease without treatment, and on the right a section of the spinal cord of a mouse expressing the disease and treated with MIF:

An innovative approach to ALS disease: increasing MIF protein levels in nerve cells

  • No comments
An international study by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in collaboration with colleagues from Germany, the USA and Canada, delved into the potential of increasing protein levels (MIF) as a new approach to dealing with muscular dystrophy (ALS). The findings of the innovative study have been published
Photo 190541348 | Virus © Ponsuwan | Dreamstime.com

The coronavirus toolbox

About two components that help COVID-19 make its proteins and multiply
scientific picture. A XNUMXD model system of human neurons in a dish. In green and purple: nerve cells expressing a protein that is defective in the ubiquitin system. As a result of this expression, the pathology that characterizes Alzheimer's patients is created - the formation of amyloid clusters (in red) outside the cells

Technion researchers have identified the mechanism leading to the formation of protein aggregates involved in the development of Alzheimer's disease

  • One response
Toxic proteins accumulate in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. In the familial Alzheimer's patients, the accumulation mechanism is clear since there is a circumstantial relationship between the mutations and the identity of the defective proteins. In the random disease, on the other hand, the cause of the accumulation of proteins
Bacterial cells before phage infection (left) and after (right). The virus replicates itself inside them and leads to the explosion of the cells and the spilling of their contents (in red - the bacterial DNA spilled from the cell)

Survive with 0% battery: an immune system that drains the cell of energy has been discovered

The new system was discovered in bacteria - but is also used in corals, bees and others
Lung macrophages infected with human cytomegalovirus. In bright green - the cells where there is an active infection

On dormant viruses and protective proteins

New discoveries about how the result of infection with a virus from the herpes family is determined and where dormant viruses may hide in the body
Left: cells with a mutant FUS protein that causes accumulations (in green) and leads to ALS disease. Right: the cells with the protein/chaferon (in pink) that manages to prevent the accumulations

fight degenerative diseases

The proteins and mechanisms required to fight the protein accumulations that lead to neurodegenerative diseases have been identified
Protein G. Courtesy of Dr. Moshe Ferns, Tel Aviv University

get used to the smell

A story about a protein that doesn't feel electric voltage
Tilapia fish that were affected by the virus and died. Courtesy of the researchers

Between viruses and fish

The genetic sequence of a virus that caused the morbidity and mortality of tilapia fish is not similar to any known genetic sequence
Like Lego figures, proteins can don a variety of costumes - chemical tags that change them beyond recognition. The new method makes it possible to identify about 30 tags within six hours, compared to only three tags within two weeks with the existing methods

The protein wears Prada

In response to environmental and intracellular changes, the proteins in our body don a variety of costumes that change their properties and make their identification difficult. The institute's scientists have developed a ground-breaking search engine capable of efficiently identifying these proteins
XNUMXD structure of an enzyme from the versatile peroxidase family generated through artificial intelligence-based prediction. The yellow dots mark mutations introduced by the algorithm developed in Prof. Fleishman's laboratory, with the aim of increasing the stability of the enzyme

The proteins of the future are already here

A combination of artificial intelligence and protein design algorithms allows for the first time access to a gold mine: millions of natural proteins that can be used in a variety of environmental, medical and industrial applications
DNA molecule. Image: depositphotos.com

The loom of evolution

A new method makes it possible to locate points of similarity between gene control molecules of different species - from lizards to humans - and thus reveal essential sections that have been preserved throughout evolution
Corona viruses in the bloodstream. Illustration: shutterstock

A scientist from Tel Aviv University received approval for a patent he submitted for a corona vaccine

  • 14 תגובות
From the right: Dr. Akiva Feintoch, Prof. Daniela Goldfarb and Dr. Angeliki Giannoulis. See closed protein. Photo: Weizmann Institute Spokesperson

Close, open, close

  • 3 תגובות
When disordered segments of protein molecules were first discovered in the late 80s, scientists used to cut them out and throw them away. Illustration: Dr. Hagen Hoffman's laboratory, Weizmann Institute

Not arranged and not by chance

  • No comments
A view of a cluster of young stars (million years old), known as the North American Nebula or the Plesian Nebula (top right). This is a clean and processed version of the original Spitzer Space Telescope image. NASA/JPL-Caltech. Illustration: shutterstock

Did the building blocks of life form in interstellar clouds?

  • One response
A diagram showing the development of life throughout the geological periods. Source: United States Geological Survey / Wikimedia.

How were the first cells formed? with protein

  • 6 תגובות
Formation of complex protein clusters. / through precise tuning of chemical processes with the help of organometallic complexes Illustration: Prof. Ashraf Barik, Technion

A new and effective way to create complex proteins

  • One response
Quantum tunneling. Illustration: shutterstock

Does quantum tunneling play a role in the activity of biological molecules?

  • One response
A farmer works land using a tractor. Image: from pixabay.com

Increasing crop production by accelerating the process of light breathing

  • No comments
Alina Pushkarb. Photo: Max Apertin

A new family of light-sensing proteins was discovered in the waters of the Sea of ​​Galilee

  • One response
Illustration. Credit: Darryl Leja, NHGRI.

The cell's rule book

  • No comments
Cellular "selfie": an mTEC cell that was photographed using the new method called PLIC. The green dots indicate an interaction between proteins that helps prevent an autoimmune attack. Source: Weizmann Institute magazine.

Security selfie

  • No comments
The discovery will make it possible to treat a series of diseases that arise as a result of the accumulation of proteins in cells. Illustration: pixabay.

Researchers have identified a biological mechanism for breaking down protein clumps

  • No comments
Metastatic melanoma cells. Illustration image. Source: National Cancer Institute.

The central role of the sherpin protein in the development of cancerous tumors has been revealed

  • 3 תגובות
Although their name was given to them due to their function on the tongue, the bitter and sweet taste receptors were recently discovered in various tissues and organs that do not come into contact with food. In at least some of these areas of the body, especially the respiratory tract, these taste receptors play an important role in the immune response. Illustration: pixabay.

preserves the bitter taste

  • No comments
Comparison between computer models (in green) and experimental structures (in purple). Accuracy at the single atom level in both the overall structure (left) and the loop segments (right). Source: Weizmann Institute magazine.

A computerized method for the production of artificial proteins

  • No comments
Humans share with fish about 70% of the genes that encode proteins, but only 0.5% of the genes belonging to the control group that produce lncRNA. Image: pixabay.

Genetic recycling: new roles for ancient genes

  • No comments
The fibers look like Legos in an electron microscope. Source: Weizmann Institute magazine.

Self-assembling proteins

  • One response
This is not a new version of the national flag of The Gambia, but a lining of the intestine as seen under a microscope. Messenger RNA molecules of two different genes (red and green) are located on both sides of the cell nucleus (blue). Source: Weizmann Institute magazine.

Intestinal economy

  • One response
squid. Photography: Richard.

The DNA secrets of the squid

  • One response
Illustration: numb3r.

zero time

  • 36 תגובות
Schematic representation of the passage of light through the detector complex of a photoreceptor and the progress of the light to the effector (courtesy: © TU Graz/IBC).

A biological system with a light switch

  • One response
Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. Source: NIAID.

The poisoned arrow of the golden bacterium

  • 2 תגובות
Diagram of 3-GSK enzyme. How do complex molecules like proteins work together? Source: Boghog, Wikimedia.

When proteins manage to surprise

  • No comments
The upper part from the original photograph from the study: in both photographs, animal cells from two populations are visible - one was colored red and the other green. The purple color paints the cell cytoplasm, while the green color paints the cytoplasm and the cell nucleus, which is seen as a circle with a denser color in the cells. In the top photo, each cell maintains its separate identity. Credit: Technion barges.

Researchers publish dramatic findings concerning the intercellular fusion process

  • No comments
Photo from a malaria vaccination project in the Solomon Islands. Source: Jeremy Miller, AusAID, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Flickr.

I know you from where?

  • 3 תגובות
Model with dyed green hair. Illustration: shutterstock

Unique identification of people with the help of hair

  • 4 תגובות
Diagram of a catalase-type protein. Source: Wikimedia / Vossman.

How is protein born?

  • No comments
Illustration of acetylcholinesterase. Source: pdb101.

between calculation and delay

  • No comments