Biology Biophysics

News

07 Oct 2024
Researchers at Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, demonstrate how morphogens combined with cell adhesion can generate tissue domains with a sharp boundary in an in vitro model system.
26 Aug 2024
Researchers at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, used high-speed atomic force microscopy to observe dynamic changes in AMPA receptors, which are vital for brain communication. Their findings, published in ACS Nano, reveal how these receptors adapt during signal transmission and suggest potential targets for neurological therapies.
26 Aug 2024
Researchers at Kanazawa University report in eLife on deciphering the actin structure-dependent preferential cooperative binding of cofilin.
02 Aug 2024
Researchers at Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University, IMDEA Nanoscience (Madrid, Spain) and CNB-CSIC (Madrid, Spain) report in ACS Nano experiments that reveal a cycle of conformational stages that recombinant Influenza A genomes pass through during RNA synthesis.
Figure. Exploring the effect of H2O2 eustress at single-cell level using hopping probe scanning ion conductance microscopy
01 May 2024
In a recent study published in the multidisciplinary academic journal Science Bulletin, a semi-monthly high-caliber peer-reviewed research outlet covering a broad range of natural sciences and high-tech fields, researchers from the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI) at Kanazawa University utilized hopping probe scanning ion conductance microscopy (HPICM) and highly sensitive platinum-functionalized nanoelectrodes to conduct an in-depth investigation of the dynamic response of individual living colorectal cancer Caco-2 cells to changes in intracellular and extracellular hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) gradients, specifically focusing on eustress, at the single-cell level and in real-time. Their findings hold promise for innovative therapies against cancer and H2O2-related inflammatory diseases.
26 Apr 2024
Researchers at Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University report in Nano Letters how the use of high-speed atomic force microscopy helps to understand the crucial role played by certain biomolecules in DNA wrapping dynamics.
22 Feb 2024
Researchers from Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University report in Nature Communications that TMEM16F, a transmembrane protein that facilitates the passive movement of phospholipids and ions across membranes, explores a larger conformational landscape than previously thought to perform its unique functions. The finding refines our molecular understanding of crucial physiological processes such as blood coagulation and COVID-19 pathogenesis, and highlights the importance of probing membrane proteins in native-like environments.
16 Feb 2024
Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Journal of Cell Science on a novel role of the small Ca2+-binding protein S100A11 in focal adhesion disassembly.
11 Jan 2024
Researchers at Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University report in Nano Letters how the flexibility of a protein hinge plays a crucial role in the transfer of proteins in key cell processes.
20 Dec 2023
Researchers at Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University report in Nature Communications a high-speed atomic force microscopy study of the structural dynamics of sodium ion channels in cell membranes. The findings provide insights into the mechanism behind the generation of cell-membrane action potentials.
08 Dec 2023
Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences a computational method to predict the placement of proteins on AFM substrates based on electrostatic interactions.
01 Sep 2023
Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Cell Reports how alterations in the nuclear pores lead to the degradation of anti-tumor proteins.
19 Aug 2023
Researchers at Kanazawa University report in STAR Protocols procedural details and tips for nanoendoscopy-AFM, for capturing images of nanoscale structures inside living cells.
18 Aug 2023
Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Nature Communications how calcium ions can block sodium ion channels located in cell membranes. Structural analysis and computer simulations made it possible to identify where and why calcium ions get stuck.
05 Jul 2023
Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Science Advances high-speed atomic force microscopy experiments that show the structural and chemical changes in an enzyme thought to play a vital role in modulating the strength of neural connections.
15 May 2023
Researchers at Kanazawa University report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) high-speed atomic force microscopy experiments that show how ligands associated with stimulating and suppressing activation of the TRPV1 protein increase and decrease the molecule’s structural variations. The observations provide insights into how these heat- and chilli-sensing proteins function.
28 Mar 2023
A group including Osaka Metropolitan University researchers discovered that the rhodopsin—a protein in the eye that detects light—of whale sharks has changed to efficiently detect blue light, which penetrates deep-sea water easily. The amino acid substitutions–one of which is counterintuitively associated with congenital stationary night blindness in humans—aid in detecting the low levels of light in the deep-sea. Although these changes make the whale shark rhodopsin less thermally stable the deep-sea temperature, allows their rhodopsin to keep working. This suggests that the unique adaptation evolved to function in the low-light low-temperature environment where whale sharks live.
13 Mar 2023
Researchers at Kanazawa University report in ACS Nano how high-speed atomic force microscopy can be used to study the biomolecular mechanisms underlying gene editing.
02 Mar 2023
Osaka Metropolitan University researchers have used 100 seconds of laser irradiation to generate convection currents that selectively accelerate biochemical reactions—due to the photothermal effect—by concentrating biofunctional molecules at the cell surface. Using this method, useful molecules can be transported into cells at concentrations a hundred to a thousand times lower than with conventional methods. Furthermore, they also succeeded in selectively introducing small molecules into intracellular organelles usually impossible at low concentrations (hundreds of pmol/L) as well as inducing cell death in targeted cells by concentrating anticancer active peptides into them at concentrations so low that they would not be conventionally effective (several tens of nmol/L).
28 Feb 2023
Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Nano Letters the discovery of a biomolecular dynamical process likely relevant to gene expression. The process, revealed by means of high-speed atomic force microscopy, involves DNA and its packaging molecules.
Visualization of coronavirus causing Covid19
19 Jan 2023
Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Nano Letters how high-speed atomic force microscopy can be used to assess the effectivity of spike-neutralizing antibodies for preventing COVID-19. The use of such antibodies offers a promising alternative to vaccines.
22 Dec 2022
Osaka Metropolitan University scientists discovered the principle of light-induced acceleration of antigen–antibody reaction, allowing for simple, ultrafast, and highly sensitive detection of proteins. The researchers introduced target proteins and probe particles with modified antibodies selectively binding to the target proteins into a small channel and applied irradiation with infrared laser light. They achieved, for the first time, the rapid measurement of trace amounts of attogram-level target proteins after only 3 minutes of laser irradiation. These findings will potentially contribute to breakthroughs in the development of systems for ultra-early diagnosis of various diseases.
14 Dec 2022
Using cryogenic electron microscopy, a research team from the Research Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (ReCAP) at Osaka Metropolitan University has revealed, for the first time, the structures and binding environments of pigments bound to a protein called a photosynthetic antenna of the marine green macroalga Codium fragile. The team’s results extend our knowledge about the molecular mechanism by which blue-green light—the only light available in deep seawater—is efficiently utilized for photosynthesis.
14 Dec 2022
- Discovery of potential treatment target networks for gene dysregulation uniquely found in patients with autism spectrum disorder - Published in ‘Molecular Psychiatry,’ an international journal of molecular psychiatry
30 Nov 2022
Osaka Metropolitan University researchers introduced seven proteins, thought to let bacteria swim by switching the direction that their helical bodies spiral, into a strain of synthetic bacterium with minimal genetic information. As a result, they confirmed that the synthetic bacterium named syn3, which is normally spherical, formed a helix that could swim by spiraling. Further investigation revealed that only two of these newly added proteins were required to make syn3 capable of minimal swimming. This swimming synthetic bacterium can be said to be the smallest mobile lifeform genetically, as it contains the fewest number of genes.
14 Nov 2022
In a study recently published in the Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, researchers from Kanazawa University use high-speed microscopy to capture the dynamics of nanosized sacs released from cells.
01 Nov 2022
6th NanoLSI Symposium: International symposium on Nanoprobe Technology for Understanding Molecular Systems in Kanazawa, Japan
06 Oct 2022
Researchers from Osaka University have found that serum albumin interferes with β2m amyloid fibril formation through macromolecular crowding. Monitoring serum albumin concentrations could therefore help prevent patients from developing dialysis-related amyloidosis, a serious complication of long-term dialysis.
12 Sep 2022
Researchers at The University of Tokyo create a geometric representation of thermodynamic systems and apply it to self-replicating processes, which may help improve our understanding of the physical constraints of living organisms
09 Aug 2022
Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Communications Biology that using common chemicals for fixing living cell samples for microscopy studies causes membrane proteins to aggregate.

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Researchers

Dr.Ms.Aruna Dhathathreyan is a professor and emeritus scientist at the Advanced Materials Lab, CSIR-Central Leather Research Institute, India.
Dr NK Prasanna
Dr NK Prasanna is currently working as Sr. Scientist & Editor, Indian Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics, Research Journals Division at CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Policy Research, New Delhi. Before joining CSIR (NIScPR), she was at IIT Guwahati. Dr Prasanna completed her Ph.D from Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. In CSIR-NIScPR, She served one important flagship journals viz. Indian journal of Biochemistry and Biophysics (IJBB; ISSN: 0301-1208) It is pertinent to mention that the journal ranks first among all the NIScPR journals as per the available Journal Metrics by international agencies such as Thomson Reuters and Scopus. Details of remarkable academic achievements of IJBB which she spearheading, both nationally and globally. The Indian journal of Biochemistry and Biophysics (IJBB) is a premier SCI-indexed bimonthly peer-reviewed research journal that publishes original research articles in the subject area of biochemistry and biophysics
Yuichi Taniguchi is a professor at the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS)/Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, a team leader at RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research and an adjunct professor at Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University.

Giants in history

Gopalasamudram Narayanan Ramachandran (8 October 1922 – 7 April 2001) is best known for developing the Ramachandran plot to understand the structure of short chains of amino acids, known as peptides.