Results 1 to 10 of 88
For the first time, scientists at University of Leeds reveal a complex mechanism behind blood clotting. The findings, published in Science Advances, visualise a key component of blood clotting - platelet myosin – and how it is activated. activated. Using the powerful cryo-EM technology imaging equipment housed in the Astbury Biostructure Laboratory here at Leeds, scientists found key...
Researchers at the University of Leeds have uncovered exactly how the breakthrough cardiac therapeutic mavacamten works at a molecular level, providing critical new insight into how excessive heart muscle contraction can be safely regulated in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). In a study published in Science Advances, scientists from the Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology and the Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic...
New photo-switchable chemical probes allow the precise control of ion channel activity in cells and tissues using different wavelengths of light. A study by a consortium of researchers from Germany and the Astbury Centre demonstrates the concept of ‘ideal efficacy switching’ as an exquisite way to control biological activity. The work, led by Prof. Oliver...
A previously overlooked type of circular DNA may help explain why some children with leukaemia relapse, according to landmark research from the University of Leeds published in Nature. The research builds on earlier work that linked leukaemia (a type of blood cancer) to excised signal circles (ESCs) - circular forms of DNA that are normally...
Research has revealed how a tick-borne virus manipulates human brain chemistry to survive, offering new hope for diagnosis and treatment. The study found that the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), a disease transmitted through tick bites or unpasteurised dairy products, alters key molecules in the brain to aid its survival. With symptoms similar to flu, TBEV...
A study, led by University of Leeds and University of Oxford, has revealed new knowledge about an enzyme involved in cancer treatment. The enzyme, called Aurora-A, is currently used as drug target for some lung cancers because it plays an important role in controlling cell division. These current cancer treatments work by blocking Aurora-A completely...
Scientists have found a way to create artificial sugars that could lead to better ways to diagnose and treat diseases more accurately than ever before, according to a new study co-led by Leeds. They hope their findings could eventually lead to simple, at-home tests for diseases such as cholera, which can kill within hours, and...
For the first time, academics in the Astbury Centre have recorded the highest mass-to-charge ratios ever measured on an Orbitrap machine. But how did they do it? A recently developed technique, called electron capture charge reduction, reduces charge in biomolecular structures. It’s now offering huge promise for analysing larger sized proteins – a current limitation...
Scientists take one step closer to uncovering new sensing technology. Scientists at University of Leeds are part of an international collaboration that has described a new approach to designing proteins from scratch. The approach uses Transmembrane β-barrel pores (TMBs), nanosized proteins which are extensively used for single-molecule DNA and RNA sequencing –an analysis method that...
Scientists investigating Alzheimer’s disease have determined the structure of molecules within a human brain for the very first time. The study describes how scientists used cryo-electron tomography, guided by fluorescence microscopy, to explore deep inside an Alzheimer’s disease donor brain. This gave 3-dimensional maps in which they could observe proteins, the molecular building blocks of...