Researchers from the University of Leeds have revealed the structure of a virus which affects kidney and bone marrow transplant patients in near-atomic levels of detail for the first time. This detailed information serves as a molecular-level structural visualisation, allowing scientists to study several potential targets for antiviral therapies or drugs. Read the full press...
Dan Hurdiss, a microbiologist working in the University’s Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, has just been invited to take part in this year’s Nobel Laureate Meeting in Lindau, Germany. He was selected from thousands of applicants after impressing organisers with his application and commitment to his subject area. Read the full press release on...
You could fit ten thousand microbubbles into a single full stop. But now a team of researchers at Leeds is hoping to use these tiny bubbles as a drug delivery device to treat cancer and other serious diseases. Read more on the Leeds Microbubble Consortium website
A new vaccine that could spell the end of polio has been produced using a genetically modified “drug factory” plant. The leaves of the plant, a close relative of tobacco, contain virus-like particles (VLPs) that mimic the polio pathogen but are incapable of causing a harmful disease. In animal tests, the viral particle vaccine tricked...
Professor Sheena Radford, Professor of Biophysics and Director of the Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, has been announced as one of the Biophysical Society’s 2018 Society Fellows. The award honours the Society’s distinguished members who demonstrated excellence in science, contributed to the expansion of the field of biophysics, and supported the Biophysical Society. Professor...
Scientists have developed a new biological tool for examining molecules – the building blocks of life. It could provide new insights and benefits such as reducing numbers of animals used in research. The University is working in collaboration with Avacta Life Sciences, a Leeds spin-out company, and has developed a tool called Affimer technology. The...
A major new insight into how Hepatitis B Virus works could pave the way for new drug treatments for the infection which is the major cause of liver cancer worldwide. The team at the Universities of Leeds and York identified an 'assembly code' in the genetic material of Hepatitis B Virus that allows it to...
Scientists have created a new method to structure peptides, which they say will be cheaper and make the process of using stapled peptides in drug discovery much more widely available. The method developed by the nine-strong University of Leeds team, and exploiting synthetic chemistry developed at University College London, is more versatile, cheaper, completely reversible...
Scientists have uncovered why the Zika virus may specifically target neural stem cells in the developing brain, potentially leading to microcephaly. The study shows that the Zika virus hijacks a human protein called Musashi-1 (MSI1) to allow it to replicate in, and kill, neural stem cells. Almost all MSI1 protein in the developing embryo is...
Biopharma and food businesses working with proteins now have access to better information about how a type of fluid flow used in manufacturing processes can affect the quality of their products. This process which can be highly damaging to bio-molecules, such as protein-based biopharmaceutical therapeutics, dissolved in the fluid, is known as ‘extensional flow’ and...