biochemistry

Nature Communications, Published online: 05 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-72653-9 Hypoxia-driven dysregulated lactate metabolism is a feature of intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD), but biological metabzymes and most biomimetic counterparts are ineffective under hypoxic conditions and often yield harmful metabolites. Here, the authors report a biogenic Fe-N-C artificial metabzyme for IDD me…

Chemistry graduate students from the Dunkle, Thompson, Pierce and Frantom labs presented posters at the 2026 Southeast Enzymes Conference in Atlanta. Out of 89 poster presentations, UA students earned two of the top three awards in the poster competition. Fred Motari, a researcher in the Frantom group, received second place for his work on iron-sulfur cluster assembly in Gram-positive bacter…

Nature Biomedical Engineering, Published online: 05 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41551-026-01672-0 A transferrin receptor-associating polyplex formed by complexing mRNA with modified polyethylenimine enables monocyte trafficking and lymph node targeting for potent and selective cancer vaccination.

You have identified your candidate protein. Your vaccine antigen binds effectively to the targeted virus. Your new plant-based milk chocolate…

Every few minutes, a living cell does something quietly extraordinary: it sheds tiny membrane bubbles into the fluid around it. These extracellular vesicles carry molecular cargo (proteins, lipids, fragments of RNA) and cells have been doing this for so long that biologists spent decades trying to understand what the bubbles were for. A team at the Technical University of Munich has now turned th…

Nature Communications, Published online: 05 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-72319-6 X‑linked dystonia‑parkinsonism involves disrupted transcription and mRNA processing. Here, the authors show that altering 3′ mRNA processing rescues the disease molecular signature, linking XDP pathology to a non‑canonical function of the transcriptional regulator BRD4.

Fungal vaccine tech could help Africa make affordable HPV vaccines. Wits scientists are advancing the C1 platform, which uses fungi to produce vaccine proteins faster and more cheaply, potentially expanding protection against cervical cancer.

The five-year Virtual Biology Initiative brings together the Broad Institute , Allen Institute, Arc Institute, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Human Cell Atlas, Human Protein Atlas, NVIDIA , and Renaissance Philanthropy in a coordinated global effort to generate the data needed for predictive models of the human cell. Biohub has committed $500 million to the Virtual Biology Initiative, a global effort…

Nature Communications, Published online: 05 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-71205-5 Using time-resolved cryo-EM, this study captures fibrillar collagen assembly as it matures from a metastable to a stable state, shedding light on tissue maintenance and disease-linked defects.

Scientific Reports, Published online: 05 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41598-026-42288-3 Development and field evaluation of a rapid detection method for Babesia microti using fluorescent recombinase polymerase amplification(RPA) technology

BackgroundEndometriosis is a complex gynaecological disorder that affects 10%–15% of reproductive-age women and is characterized by chronic inflammation, pelvic pain, and infertility. Although mitochondrial dysfunction is implicated in endometriosis pathogenesis, the causal relationships between mitochondrial genes and endometriosis remain unclear. This study aims to elucidate these relationships…

Escherichia coli enteritis causes substantial economic losses in animal husbandry, while antibiotic treatments face challenges of resistance and residue. This study investigated earthworm hydrolysate (EH) as a potential antibiotic alternative. In vitro assays demonstrated potent antibacterial activity of EH against E. coli, with an inhibition zone diameter of 12.24 ± 0.45 mm, a minimum inhibitory…

Peptide lipidation is widely employed to enhance the apparent biological performance of peptide-based systems by improving stability, membrane association, and systemic persistence. However, increased potency is often interpreted uncritically as evidence of improved molecular design. This Perspective highlights that lipidation can reshape peptide behaviour by partially shifting functional control…

Highlights Researchers developed a single-molecule imaging technology that can track individual proteins in living cells over long periods of time. In the new study, they used the method to follow EGFR family receptors, which are implicated in several cancers, in human cells. They provide an unprecedented view of how the receptors pair and unpair over […]

Nature Chemistry, Published online: 04 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41557-026-02125-6 Promiscuous interactions underpin natural protein evolution, but ways to harness such promiscuity to design new functions remain underexplored. Now it is shown that mapping this promiscuity with geometric precision in a de novo protein can guide its redesign into a fluorophore binder and an efficient enzyme approachin…

npj Science of Food, Published online: 25 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41538-026-00863-y Integrated multi-omics maps how processed black ginseng modulates gut homeostasis through rare ginsenosides

npj Science of Food, Published online: 27 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41538-026-00864-x Antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activity of Epigallocatechin gallate against Vibrio parahaemolyticus