The scientists who received the 2017 Nobel Prize in chemistry were honored for their development of a technique called cryo-electron microscopy, or cryo-EM. The technology was revolutionary because it enabled scientists to see the atomic structure of biological molecules in high resolution.
Now, UCLA biochemists, working with pharmaceutical industry scientists, have developed a solution that will make it possible for cryo-EM to acquire high-quality images of smallermolecules, too. The scientists engineered a 20 nanometer, cube-shaped protein structure, called a scaffold, with rigid tripod-like protrusions that hold the small proteins in place.
In cryo-EM, scientists use a cryo-electron microscope to send a beam of electrons through frozen samples of material, leaving behind an image of the thousands of molecules—such as proteins—in the sample. The molecules are imaged exactly as they lie in the sample, producing thousands of 2D photographs of the molecule taken from different angles.
An electron microscope image of scaffolds attached to the protein KRAS . The left circle highlights one imaging scaffold, the second displays the 3D structure of the imaging scaffold bound to KRAS, and the third shows a close-up of KRAS attached to the cancer drug AMG510.
Roger Castells-Graells, a UCLA postdoctoral researcher and the study's lead author, said the scientists first tried another shape for the scaffold before landing on the version with tripod-shaped protrusions.
France Dernières Nouvelles, France Actualités
Similar News:Vous pouvez également lire des articles d'actualité similaires à celui-ci que nous avons collectés auprès d'autres sources d'information.
Man charged in 2017 intoxication manslaughter case finally going to trialPaul Donaldson facing up to 20 years in prison if found guilty
Lire la suite »
49ers bring back RB who briefly played for them in 2017Jeremy McNichols returns to the 49ers after two years as Derrick Henry’s backup in Tennessee.
Lire la suite »
2023 Ryder Cup Picks & Predictions — Team U.S.A. vs Team EuropeGet our best Ryder Cup picks and predictions for Team U.S.A. vs. Team Europe from September 29 to October 1 at Marco Simone in Rome, Italy.
Lire la suite »
From hometown sweethearts to soccer power couple: Lionel Messi and Antonela Roccuzzo's relationship timelineThe soccer star and Roccuzzo, who wed in 2017, have known each other since childhood.
Lire la suite »
Nobel Prize In Physics Awarded To GodSTOCKHOLM—Honoring the deity’s transformational and enduring contributions to the scientific field, the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded Monday to God, our Creator, who devised the Heavens and the Earth in all their brilliance. “This prize recognizes the Lord’s foundational work in developing the sun, the moon,…
Lire la suite »
Rosalind Franklin Deserves a Posthumous Nobel Prize for Co-discovering DNA StructureAwarding Rosalind Franklin a Nobel Prize posthumously for her role in DNA discovery is the honorable—and scientific—thing to do
Lire la suite »