Structural Biology Newsletter – Winter 2024
Posted on December 26, 2024
Message from the Director In my opinion, December gets a bad reputation as being the month of hectic scurrying among various professional and personal commitments, ranging from final exams to shopping for holiday presents, all while the days are getting shorter and shorter. From my perspective, I think it’s actually a wonderful chance to stop Read More [...]
Structural Biology Professor Francesca Vallese Is Excited About the Shape of Things to Come
Posted on November 15, 2024
Her research will help advance an understanding of how biological molecules function. Francesca Vallese, Ph.D., joined the ASRC’s Structural Biology Initiative in fall 2024, adding a critical area of research to the initiative’s work to uncover how the particular shape of molecules determines their biological function. Her team studies membrane protein complexes, which have important Read More [...]
From Fragments to Function: New Protein Analysis Technique Enhances Discovery of Small Molecule Binding
Posted on September 18, 2024
The approach can aid in developing new drug therapies. Detecting how and where small molecules bind to proteins is challenging and time-consuming, but essential for determining how a protein can be targeted by drugs. PTP1B, a protein linked to diabetes and cancer, is difficult to target because most molecules that bind to it also bind Read More [...]
The Purpose-Driven Cell
Posted on April 29, 2024
Researchers find clues to how the PASK protein impacts cell differentiation. Per-Arnt-Sim (PAS) protein domains are found across all kingdoms of life, from prokaryotes to humans. PAS domains are involved in sensing and integrating metabolic and external signals, which helps cells respond to changes in their environment. Despite the ubiquity of PAS domains, how many Read More [...]
Spying on a Shape-Shifting Protein
Posted on January 12, 2024
New crystallography experiments using high pressure and heat to reveal how proteins change shape could advance the development of novel drugs. NEW YORK, January 12, 2024 — Proteins do the heavy lifting of performing biochemical functions in our bodies by binding to metabolites or other proteins to complete tasks. To do this successfully, protein molecules Read More [...]
Top Research Stories
Posted on January 2, 2024
Every year, CUNY ASRC researchers challenge scientific limits and find the most creative ways to expand the world's understanding of the Earth that we inhabit. Here are 10 stories that offer a glimpse at some of the innovative work produced by our researchers. We hope these stories serve as motivation to pursue your goals and Read More [...]
Chemists Create Designer Liquid Bio-Droplets
Posted on December 7, 2023
Based on simple design rules, strings of polypeptides spontaneously form liquid droplets that fluoresce in red and green. Biological cells play host to hundreds of thousands of proteins that control myriad chemical processes taking place at once. To avoid chaos, these processes need to be tightly regulated so cells can perform life’s essential tasks. And Read More [...]
No Laughing Matter: Recycling Helium Amid a Global Shortage
Posted on December 6, 2023
A recapture system at the CUNY ASRC saves money and an endangered element. A helium recapture system used by Graduate Center scientists since 2021 has saved thousands of dollars by recycling a dwindling natural resource. Supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the system captures and recycles close to 90% of Read More [...]
Structural Biology Newsletter – Fall 2023
Posted on October 12, 2023
Get the latest news from the Structural Biology Initiative [...]
Kevin Gardner Named the 2023 Stein & Moore Award Recipient
Posted on October 5, 2023
ASRC Structural Biology Initiative director Kevin Gardner has been named the 2023 Stein & Moore Award recipient. The award, which is sponsored by The Protein Society with support from Wiley Journals, honors researchers who have made sustained high impact research contributions in protein science. In addition to his founding director role at the ASRC, Gardner Read More [...]
