Creative Biomart Blog

Tue, 2025/11/25

The "Rashomon" of Cells - Why Does the Same Virus Only Infect "You"?

Researchers have developed an ingenious method to successfully “turn back time” and glimpse the true state of cells that are destined to be infected before they “get into trouble”. Imagine a crowded room where someone sneezes and the cold virus instantly fills the air. A few days later, some people are fine, while others start to sniffle and cough. We usually attribute this to differences in individual immunity. But if we switch the scene to the microscopic world and enter a tissue composed of tens of thousands of almost identical cells, a more fundamental and puzzling

Mon, 2025/11/24

The next frontier of autoimmune diseases and cancer immunotherapy

The story of ADAR1 is a perfect example of how basic biological research can reveal the fundamental laws of life and ultimately bring revolutionary breakthroughs in the treatment of major diseases. In every cell of our body, a silent “hidden battle” is constantly taking place - the RNA in the cell sometimes forms double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) structures similar to viral RNA. If they are mistakenly judged by the immune system as “foreign invasion”, it will trigger a terrible autoimmune storm. The key to preventing this disaster is a protein called ADAR1. However, ADAR1 has

Sun, 2025/11/23

Newly Engineered Antibody Matches Low-Dose IVIG in Mouse Models

Researchers have developed a powerful upgraded therapy: an engineered antibody that achieves the therapeutic efficacy of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in mice at extremely low doses, and can be synthesized without human plasma. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy treats autoimmune diseases by infusing naturally occurring IgG antibodies into patients. Dating back to the 1950s, this therapy is currently FDA-approved for only four diseases but is widely used off-label for over 80 other conditions, as it is often the only effective treatment available. However, IVIG has significant drawb

Sun, 2025/11/23

AI Designs Proteins from Scratch to Achieve Precise Mitochondrial Gene Editing

This study has developed a universal and computationally guided ultra-precise base editing method, providing a promising platform for the mechanistic study and therapeutic correction of single-base mutations. Mitochondria are crucial for cellular energy production and overall cell function. Mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) can cause debilitating diseases, particularly affecting high-energy-consuming tissues such as muscle and nerve cells. High-precision manipulation of mtDNA holds the promise of revealing underlying disease mechanisms and providing targeted therapeutic solutions, but ach

Thu, 2025/11/13

New Research Structurally Reveals the Mechanism of Nucleolin Protein Recognizing G-Quadruplex in the c-MYC Gene Promoter

The Human Body's Natural "Cancer Brake" Has Been Found! In images achieved at single-atom resolution, researchers demonstrated how this "brake" functions: a protein binds to a cancer-related segment of DNA, much like two Lego blocks snapping together. Is it possible to harness the natural cancer inhibition mechanism to stop this disease? It might be, but to harness the systems designed by nature, we first need to understand it. Researchers, led by a team from Purdue University, are exploring a molecular mechanism that can suppress the rampant cell division associated with cancer. Their work op

Thu, 2025/11/13

How the Language Gene FOXP2 Can Help Treat Huntington's Disease

The team is now testing whether the insights gained from their study of FOXP2 can assist in treating Huntington's disease and other polyglutamine diseases. Ultimately, they aim to design drugs that can mimic the anti-aggregation effects of DNA binding and phosphorylation. In deadly genetic disorders like Huntington's disease and spinocerebellar ataxias, proteins form long chains of repeat sequences that stick together like Velcro. When these proteins aggregate in the brain, they damage and kill neurons, resulting in severe cognitive decline. Clinicians currently have no therapies targeting the

Thu, 2025/11/13

Father’s Protein Intake Determines Daughters’ “Metabolic Physique”?

This study found in C57BL/6J mice that male dietary macronutrients affect over 50% of the brown adipose tissue (BAT) proteome and negatively regulate the expression of basement membrane proteoglycan in daughters’ BAT, providing a basis for dietary intervention in metabolic health. Fig1. Graphical abstract Modern individuals increasingly focus on the relationship between diet and health, from weight management to the prevention of metabolic diseases, with dietary details closely linked to bodily functions. Brown adipose tissue (BAT), as a key organ in regulating energy expenditure and m

Thu, 2025/11/13

Cells produce two types of proteins locally in mitochondria to support energy generation

The paper introduces a new tool called LOCL-TL for precise studies of local translation, with new findings on two classes of proteins involved in mitochondrial local translation. Human cells produce various proteins, each with specific functions, often requiring them to be located at specific sites in the cell where that function is needed. One way cells ensure that certain proteins reach the correct location at the right time is through a process called local translation, which ensures proteins are synthesized near where they are needed. Jonathan Weissman, a member of the Whitehead Institute,