For swimming bacteria near surfaces, pairwise encounters inevitably occur and impact their social behavior. However, we know little about how the encounter events influence bacterial dynamics due to the limitations in tracking interplaying bacteria in 3D. Herein, we elucidated the motions of encountering E. coli using a combination of 3D holographic tracking experiments and hydrodynamic simulations

Eukaryotic interphase chromosomes maintain a three-dimensional conformation within the nucleus and undergo fluctuations. However, the analysis of chromosome conformational fluctuations has been mainly limited to chromosome conformation capture data that record the contact frequencies between chromosomal regions. Herein, we investigated chromosome fluctuations as polymers based on experimental data

We explain why we ask our authors to provide structural data prior to peer review.

The focused issue on Image-processing methods for electron microscopy of biological specimens is introduced. The virtual issue is available at https://journals.iucr.org/special_issues/2025/imageprocessing.

The thermodynamics of arginine-phosphate binding is key to cellular signaling, protein-nucleic acid interactions, and membrane protein dynamics. In biomolecules, monoester phosphates are typically employed as strong electrostatic anchors strategically placed in switch domains to mediate specific interactions. In the diester configuration, phosphate groups act as ubiquitous connectors in all nucleic

ATP synthase, the enzyme responsible for regenerating adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in the cell, comprises a proton-translocating motor in the cell membrane (labelled FO in bacteria, mitochondria and chloroplasts), coupled by a common stalk to a catalytic motor F1 that synthesises or hydrolyses ATP, depending on the direction of rotation. The detailed mechanisms of FO, F1 and their coupling in ATP synthase

The emergence of resistance mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein presents a challenge for monoclonal antibody treatments like sotrovimab. Understanding the structural, dynamics, and molecular features of these mutations is essential for therapeutic advancements. However, the intricate landscape of potential mutations and critical residues conferring resistance to mAbs like sotrovimab remains

Jerelle Joseph is an assistant professor at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and the Omenn–Darling Bioengineering Institute at Princeton University in New Jersey. We contacted Jerelle to learn about her research priorities, along with her thoughts about the biomolecular condensates field and how computational biology and molecular simulations can fuel discovery.

The N-degron pathway is essential for protein quality control and cellular homeostasis. GID4, a subunit of the GID ubiquitin ligase, is the main recognition component of the Pro/N-degron pathway. It binds protein substrates through their N-terminal proline, but its binding model and recognition of non-proline residues remain unclear. In this study, we performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and

Segmented Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS) improves the accuracy of FCS measurements in cells by analyzing data in short temporal segments. We have recently demonstrated the possibility of performing segmented FCS using a commercial confocal laser scanning microscope, enabling the measurement of molecular diffusion in different subcellular regions. In this study, we apply segmented FCS to

The mechanism behind osmolyte-induced protein stabilization remains elusive despite extensive research. Amongst various hypotheses, the associated water modulation hypothesis has proven to be the most effective in explaining osmolyte-induced stabilization effects. Earlier we had demonstrated that osmolytes that slow down associated water dynamics enhance protein thermal stability, whereas those that

STING (stimulator of interferon genes) functions in innate immunity as an adaptor protein in a signaling cascade initiated upon detection of cytosolic DNA. STING is continuously transported to the lysosome, where it is degraded, to maintain homeostasis after activation, and STING signaling can induce lysosome biogenesis. Lysosome storage disorders (LSDs) can lead to pathogenic STING activation, where

The stability and function of many biological macromolecules are regulated by assembling several identical subunits into larger structures. So far, this phenomenon has been best studied in proteins. Now, in a study in Science, Wang et al. use single-particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to visualize several quaternary structures of RNA. The group selected four bacterial noncoding RNA families

The Mn4Ca cofactor of photosystem II (PSII), which is found in its oxygen-evolving center (OEC), catalyzes the oxidation of water. Spectroscopic studies performed on dark-adapted PSII samples have led to two mutually incompatible hypotheses about the oxidation states of these manganese ions: Mn(III)4 or Mn(III)2Mn(IV)2. It should be possible to determine which is correct crystallographically because

Neural tissues of the central nervous system are among the softest and most fragile in the human body, protected from mechanical perturbation by the skull and the spine. In contrast, the enteric nervous system is embedded in a compliant, contractile tissue and subject to chronic, high-magnitude mechanical stress. Do neurons and glia of the enteric nervous system display specific mechanical properties

Fibrosis, marked by excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation, underlies functional decline in numerous diseases and often presents with sex-specific differences in severity. While biochemical pathways have been widely studied, the contribution of mechanical cues-particularly ECM stiffness-to these disparities remains unclear. Here, we develop an integrative mechanobiological model to investigate

The interaction network of Sla2, a vital endocytic mid-coat adaptor protein, undergoes constant rearrangement. Sla2 serves as a scaffold linking the membrane to the actin cytoskeleton, with its role modulated by the clathrin light chain (CLC), which inhibits Sla2’s function under certain conditions. We show that Sla2 has two independent binding sites for CLC: one previously described in homologs of

Atomic force microscope (AFM) indentation allows high-resolution spatial characterization of biomechanical properties of cells and tissues. Rapid, reproducible, and quantitative analysis of AFM force curves has been challenging due to several technical limitations, such as excessive noise and uncertainty associated with contact-point determination. Here, we propose a novel machine-learning algorithm

Cell migration through constrictions is essential for many physiological processes. During this confined cell migration, the protein nesprin-2, which links the cytoskeletal network to the nucleus, can accumulate at the front of the nucleus. However, up to now, the exact mechanism of this accumulation is unknown. Here, we further investigate this accumulation mechanism. We quantify the spatial distribution

Animal rhodopsin is a photoreceptive protein crucial for vision, with activation triggered by the cis-trans isomerization of a retinal chromophore upon light absorption. This activation involves a series of thermal intermediates, ultimately leading to G protein-mediated signal transduction. The retinal chromophore is covalently bound to the protein through a protonated Schiff base, and its deprotonation

Intracellular vesicles are typically transported by a small number of kinesin and dynein motors. However, the slow microtubule binding rate of kinesin-1 observed in in vitro biophysical studies suggests that long-range transport may require a high number of motors. To address the discrepancy in motor requirements between in vivo and in vitro studies, we reconstituted motility of 120-nm-diameter liposomes

Living cells actively regulate their volume in response to changes in the extracellular environment, such as osmolarity and chemoattractant concentration. While the basic physical mechanisms of volume regulation are understood from the classic “pump-leak” model, it does not provide an explicit expression for the volume during dynamic regulation and can benefit from further insight into the volume dynamics

Riboswitches are regulatory elements present in bacterial messenger RNA acting as sensors of small molecules and consequently playing a vital role in bacterial gene regulation. The SAM-II riboswitch is a class of riboswitches that recognizes S-adenosyl methionine. It has been previously shown that the presence of Mg2+ ions stabilizes the preexisting minor state of the riboswitch, which is structurally

Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7), a key member of the TLR family, plays a pivotal role in innate immunity, making it an attractive therapeutic target. However, current synthetic TLR7 agonists are often associated with significant toxicity, highlighting the need for safer, naturally occurring alternatives. Our recent research identified 5′-fragments of tRNAHisGUG (5′-HisGUG) and tRNAValCAC/AAC (5′-ValCAC/AAC)

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a key process in cancer metastasis and fibrosis, disrupts cellular adhesion by replacing epithelial E-cadherin with mesenchymal N-cadherin. While, how the shift from E-cadherin to N-cadherin impacts molecular-scale adhesion mechanics and cluster dynamics—and how these changes weaken adhesion under varying mechanical and environmental conditions—remains poorly

Structural changes associated with protein aggregation are challenging to study, requiring the combination of experimental techniques providing insights at the molecular level across diverse scales, ranging from nanometers to microns. Understanding these changes is even more complex when aggregation occurs in the presence of molecular cofactors such as nucleic acids and when the resulting aggregates

Optical stimulation is emerging as a promising alternative to conventional methods for both research and therapeutic purposes due to its advantages, such as reduced energy consumption, minimal invasiveness, and exceptional spatial and temporal precision. Recently, we introduced Ziapin2, a novel light-sensitive azobenzene compound, as a tool to modulate cardiac cell excitability and contractility. The

As an essential component in generating cell contractility, F-actin plays a pivotal role in collective cell migration. However, the mechanisms by which subcellular F-actin dynamics influence the collective behaviors of cell clusters across scales remain poorly understood. In this study, we developed a mechanical model to investigate how the dynamics of stress fibers and cryptic lamellipodia, prominent

In this Voices article, we introduce eight impressive scientists at different career stages who spoke at the recent “8th Ringberg Workshop on Structural Biology (with FELs)” organized by Ilme Schlichting from the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg. We asked the authors to tell us more about themselves and their exciting research.