NIGMS Archive — Page 19 of 20

Two researchers stand side by side in a university hallway, one wearing a dark shirt and the other a red shirt.
February 21, 2013

Antibacterial protein’s molecular workings revealed

Vanderbilt investigators report new insights to the workings of calprotectin, an immune system protein that “starves” bacterial pathogens of the metal nutrients they require.

Close-up of a dark winged insect with long antennae and legs on a white background.
February 15, 2013

Cure in sight for kissing bug’s bite

It’s possible to cure Chagas disease – a deadly tropical infection transmitted by “kissing bugs” – in a mouse model.

Glowing white DNA double helix against a blue digital circuit-board background.
January 23, 2013

New view of DNA processing ‘hub’

Structural studies reveal a new framework for understanding a central player in DNA processing.

January 18, 2013

Seeing light receptor’s interactions

Understanding how the main receptor for light interacts with other signaling molecules may inform new pharmaceutical development.

Gloved hand holding a petri dish containing red culture medium with numerous pale bacterial colonies; additional culture dishes are blurred in the background.
January 17, 2013

Zinc: a new antibiotic target?

It may be possible to fight hospital-acquired pathogens like Acinetobacter baumannii by targeting the bacterium’s need for the nutrient metal zinc.

Gray-haired man in a striped shirt and tie sits in a laboratory beside a computer and illuminated research equipment.
November 29, 2012

Polarity protein suppresses tumor growth, invasion

The machinery that builds the characteristic shape of epithelial cells suppresses breast cancer formation and metastasis in a mouse model.