For much of modern biology, scientists argued that viruses are not alive, pointing to a basic limitation: they cannot make proteins on their own and must depend entirely on the cells they infect for ...

Neurons have a "hibernation mode." Scientists discover how brain cells use RNA tentacles to lock their protein factories together to survive when energy is low.

A protein’s life is anything but simple. Discover how transcription, translation, folding, modification, and degradation work together to preserve proteome integrity.

Ribosomes, the cell's protein-making factories, consume large amounts of energy as they build the proteins that keep cells alive and functioning. When cells experience stress—such as lack of nutrients ...

< 3D model of two rat hippocampal ribosomes interacting in a hibernating dimer via an RNA expansion se ... Copyright: Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, 3D models: Oliver Döll.

A giant virus encodes part of the protein-making toolkit of cells that gives it greater control over its amoeba host, raising questions about how it evolved and how such beings relate to living organi ...

Laboratory for Cell-Free Protein Synthesis, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), Osaka, Japan Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan Laboratory of ...

Slower ribosomes stall during translation and collide with faster ones, triggering selective degradation of their small subunits. This “ribosome competition” mechanism ensures that only efficient ...

Before a newly synthesized protein can undergo folding, it must be processed and transported to the correct location within the cell after emerging from the ribosome. N-terminal acetylation ...

A novel study uncovers how a subtle chemical tweak transforms the naturally occurring phytotoxin into a powerful molecular glue, 12-deoxyfusicoccin (12-dFC), that locks 14-3-3 proteins onto the ...

Caltech scientists discovered that many mitochondrial proteins begin entering the organelle while they are still being made, overturning decades of assumptions. Credit: Shutterstock Researchers showed ...

After five decades of uncertainty, University College London researchers have finally devised a theoretical set of early Earth conditions under which RNA and amino acids could combine to form the ...