Tag: "grabbing" at biology news

Undergraduate research shows leaderless honeybee organizing

...cluded that this signal, which consists of one bee grabbing another bee (worker or queen) and then vibrating its body, does not convey a specific message, but instead is a form of “modulatory communication” that alters existing bee behaviors (making bees perform their jobs more actively, perhaps) or changes ...

ABCB6 is key to production of heme in hemoglobin

...showed that ABCB6 overcomes that problem by simply grabbing porphyrin molecules and pulling them in. "We showed that there is a dynamic relationship between ABCB6 and the levels of heme and porphyrin that helps to regulate the production of heme," Schuetz said. The team found that the increase in ABCB6 in m...

Biologists visualize protein interaction that may initiate viral infection

... called DC-SIGN - or dendritic cell-specific ICAM3 grabbing non-integrin. ICAM stands for intercellular adhesion molecule, a family of cell proteins that viruses bind to, and the number 3 defines a specific protein. "The binding occurs on dendritic cells, which are usually one of the first lines of defense i...

The giant protein titin helps build muscles

Imagine grabbing two snakes by the tail so that they can't wriggle off in opposite directions. Scientists at the Hamburg Outstation of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and collaborators from King's College in London have now discovered that something ...

Fragment of yellow fever virus may hold key to safer vaccine

...dies against yellow fever likely span the pairs by grabbing the essential epitope on one and the supporting amino acids on the other, ter Meulen speculates. The findings may apply to the whole flavivirus family. The results confirm and extend similar studies in mice, but the human antibody-virus binding conf...

When it comes to cell entry, being average has its advantages

... Protein receptors on the membrane act like hooks, grabbing onto hooks, or ligands, on the particle, much like two pieces of Velcro. As more and more chemical hooks are recruited for the task, the membrane wraps around the particle until it is completely engulfed. This is how herpes and influenza viruses get ...

Researchers reveal secret of key protein in brain and heart function

...tein. In this role, it serves as a sort of tether, grabbing proteins inside the cell critical to nerve signaling and keeping them close to N-methyl-D-asparate (NMDA) receptors at the cell surface. NMDA receptors help usher in a neurotransmitter called glutamate that is essential for learning and memory and al...

Gene keeps neural cells on correct developmental path

...t REST locks down neuronal genes in other cells by grabbing onto the DNA and cementing in other molecules, an arrangement that stays intact as non-neuronal cells differentiate into liver, muscle, and other tissues. The new study reports that REST uses a different temporary off mechanism to direct neuronal de...

1