Department of Biochemistry

May 19, 2020

Probing innate immunity

Manuel Ascano team validates an inhibitor of the cGAS-STING signaling pathway, which is important for cellular innate immunity against bacteria, viruses, and our own damaged DNA.

By Leigh MacMillan
May 7, 2020

New method captures early viral-host protein interactions

Researchers have developed a method to identify the primary interactions between incoming viral RNA genomes and host proteins.

By Bill Snyder
May 5, 2020

A dual-purpose metabolic switch

John York and colleagues have demonstrated that the protein Vip1 is a rare type of bifunctional enzyme: it can both synthesize and destroy key cellular signaling molecules.

By Leigh MacMillan
March 23, 2020

Cellular factor helps package flu genome

New insights on influenza genome packaging could guide strategies for interfering with the virus’s life cycle and ability to cause infection.

By Leigh MacMillan
March 10, 2020

Loss of ‘Jedi’ alters neuron activity

This is not the Jedi you’re thinking of. This Jedi is a receptor that helps clear away dead neurons during development, and its loss changes the activity of dorsal root ganglia neurons, which could have implications for treating chronic pain.

By Leigh MacMillan
February 6, 2020

New tool probes gene regulation

Vanderbilt biochemists got unexpected results when they used their new approach to explore the role of DNA methylation in gene regulation.

By Leigh MacMillan
January 10, 2020

Structural views of a C. diff toxin

D. Borden Lacy and colleagues used cryo-electron microscopy to define the structure of a C. diff toxin, providing a framework for the design of novel therapeutics.
By Leigh MacMillan
December 17, 2019

Cell fate signaling

A newly identified protein interaction that affects cell cycle regulation may be an attractive target for cancer therapy.
By Leigh MacMillan
December 12, 2019

Study examines HIV drug’s potential to treat Alzheimer’s

A drug used to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS is showing promise as a potential therapy for Alzheimer’s disease.
By Bill Snyder
December 12, 2019

Osheroff elected IAMSE president

Neil Osheroff, PhD, was elected president of the International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE) and will serve from January 2020-December 2021.
By Kathy Whitney
October 31, 2019

Imaging host-pathogen battle for metal

An unprecedented view of bacterial products within infected tissues opens new opportunities to explore infection biology and devise novel therapeutic strategies.
By Leigh MacMillan
October 21, 2019

Completing DNA synthesis

James Dewar and colleagues have identified a role for the enzyme topoisomerase II in reducing replication errors during the final stage of DNA synthesis.
By Leigh MacMillan
October 3, 2019

A catalog of DNA replication proteins

Vanderbilt scientists have identified 593 proteins that are enriched at sites of DNA duplication and chromatin packaging of newly synthesized DNA.
By Leigh MacMillan