Biophysics articles within Nature

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    The structure and function of the MCR activation complex from Methanococcus maripaludis were revealed, demonstrating its ATP-dependent ability to activate MCR and form methane while uncovering a unique electron transfer pathway involving iron–sulfur clusters similar to the nitrogenase cofactor intermediates.

    • Fidel Ramírez-Amador
    • , Sophia Paul
    •  & Jan Michael Schuller

  • Article
    | Open Access

    High spatiotemporal precision tracking using 3D MINFLUX shows that nuclear import and export occur in overlapping regions of the central pore, providing insight into transport across the nuclear pore complex.

    • Abhishek Sau
    • , Sebastian Schnorrenberg
    •  & Siegfried M. Musser

  • Article |

    Cryo-electron microscopy structures of the human mitochondrial pyruvate carrier provide insights into its architecture, substrate transport mechanism and inhibition by the drug UK5099, with implications for the development of treatments for various metabolic diseases.

    • Jiaming Liang
    • , Junhui Shi
    •  & Dan Ma

  • Article |

    ATP/ADP translocators in obligate intracellular parasites and plastids facilitate energy parasitism and endosymbiosis by mediating ATP import and ADP export, with their cryo-EM structures and mechanisms revealed, providing insights for drug development against intracellular pathogens.

    • Huajian Lin
    • , Jian Huang
    •  & Minrui Fan

  • Article |

    Structural findings define the architecture of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier, delineate its substrate-binding site and translocation pathway, and reveal its major conformational states, providing the molecular basis for understanding its function and inhibition.

    • Zheng He
    • , Jianxiu Zhang
    •  & Liang Feng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The unique structure and mechanism of chanoclavine synthase (EasC), a haem catalase that uses superoxide for substrate transformation in ergot alkaloid biosynthesis, are revealed in this study, challenging established catalase mechanisms.

    • Chun-Chi Chen
    • , Zhi-Pu Yu
    •  & Shu-Shan Gao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Using a deep neural network and statistical analyses of atomic force microscopy images of individual RNA molecules enables the mapping of RNA conformational space in solution.

    • Yun-Tzai Lee
    • , Maximilia F. S. Degenhardt
    •  & Yun-Xing Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    HORNET, a method that uses unsupervised machine learning and deep neural networks to analyse atomic force microscopy data enables structural determination of RNA molecules in multiple conformations.

    • Maximilia F. S. Degenhardt
    • , Hermann F. Degenhardt
    •  & Yun-Xing Wang

  • Article |

    A structural study of native dystrophin glycoprotein complex from mouse skeletal muscle reveals an extended tower-like architecture that provides multiple binding sites on both sides of the membrane for signalling and effector molecules, reshaping our understanding of how the complex is assembled.

    • Li Wan
    • , Xiaofei Ge
    •  & Jianping Wu

  • Article |

    Allosteric communication between the eIF4F subunits drives mRNA cap-recognition and subsequent activation of the message.

    • Riley C. Gentry
    • , Nicholas A. Ide
    •  & Ruben L. Gonzalez Jr

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The molecular mechanisms of how small changes in the degree of inclusion of a neuron-specific microexon in CPEB4 lead to dominant-negative effects in the expression of genes associated with autism spectrum disorder are identified.

    • Carla Garcia-Cabau
    • , Anna Bartomeu
    •  & Xavier Salvatella

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Single-molecule fluorescence microscopy experiments with a recombinant Escherichia coli transcription–translation system provides insights into the coordination of the transcription and translation machineries mediated by the intervening mRNA.

    • Nusrat Shahin Qureshi
    •  & Olivier Duss

  • Article
    | Open Access

    By examining several cell-free biomimetic-collagen-based materials in murine and ovine bone-defect models, the twisted plywood pattern of collagen-based materials is shown to favourably influence bone regeneration and contributes to bone autograft performance.

    • Marc Robin
    • , Elodie Mouloungui
    •  & Nadine Nassif

  • Research Briefing |

    High-resolution structures of nascent polypeptide chains in complex with the ribosome — the cell’s protein-synthesis machinery — reveal how the ribosome guides protein folding. Ribosomal attachment reduces the entropy (disorder) of the unfolded protein and surrounding water, encouraging ribosome-associated proteins to fold through stable intermediate states not seen in isolated proteins.

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Calcium-permeable AMPA receptors are identified to have a role in maintaining low feature selectivity in a specific population of inhibitory interneurons, and this function is conserved across ferrets, rodents, marmosets and humans.

    • Ingie Hong
    • , Juhyun Kim
    •  & Richard L. Huganir

  • Research Briefing |

    A developing embryo is shaped by forces that are generated by the active contraction of its cells and transmitted across its parts. These forces also allow the embryo to perceive its own form and adjust the proportions of cell types, supporting orderly development in the face of inherent variability and perturbations.

  • Article
    | Open Access

    By experimentally sampling from sequence spaces larger than 1010 and using thermodynamic models, the genetic structure of at least some proteins can be well described, indicating that protein genetics is simpler than anticipated.

    • Andre J. Faure
    • , Aina Martí-Aranda
    •  & Ben Lehner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A technique for threading long protein strands through a nanopore by electrophoresis and back using a protein unfoldase motor, ClpX, enables single protein molecules to be analyzed multiple times with single-amino-acid sensitivity.

    • Keisuke Motone
    • , Daphne Kontogiorgos-Heintz
    •  & Jeff Nivala

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mechanical forces act at the core of bird embryonic self-organization, shaping both tissues and gene expression to robustly yet plastically canalize early development.

    • Paolo Caldarelli
    • , Alexander Chamolly
    •  & Francis Corson

  • Article |

    Cryo-electron microscopy structures of human XPR1 in different bound forms reveal the structural basis for XPR1 gating and regulation by inositol polyphosphates.

    • Rui Yan
    • , Huiwen Chen
    •  & Daohua Jiang

  • News & Views |

    Cells that form tissue barriers rely on cell–cell contacts called tight junctions. These structures assemble from protein condensates that spread along the cell membrane like a water droplet spreading over glass.

    • Alexander Ludwig

  • Nature Podcast |

    As environments get more dry, plant species numbers drop, but the number of traits increase — plus, what the hottest temperatures for centuries mean for the Great Barrier Reef.

    • Nick Petrić Howe
    •  & Emily Bates

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Structures of the growing peptide chain on and off the ribosome reveal that the ribosome destabilizes the unfolded nascent chain, promoting the formation of partially folded intermediate states.

    • Julian O. Streit
    • , Ivana V. Bukvin
    •  & John Christodoulou

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Experimental and theoretical results demonstrate that tight-junction formation depends on the growth of a condensed layer of ZO-1 proteins at the interface of the apical and lateral membrane, providing insight into self-assembly of complex mesoscale structures in cells.

    • Karina Pombo-García
    • , Omar Adame-Arana
    •  & Alf Honigmann

  • Article |

    Structures of fetal and adult muscle acetylcholine receptors reveal a developmental switch that alters channel biophysics and pharmacology to enable neuromuscular junction maturation, uncovering pathogenic mechanisms underlying congenital myasthenic syndromes.

    • Huanhuan Li
    • , Jinfeng Teng
    •  & Ryan E. Hibbs

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cryo-electron microscopy, in vitro reconstitution and molecular dynamics simulations provide insight into the architecture of a plasma membrane microdomain in yeast, the organization and dynamics of the membrane lipids within this microdomain and how it responds to mechanical stress.

    • Jennifer M. Kefauver
    • , Markku Hakala
    •  & Robbie Loewith

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A study demonstrates that the fish Danionella cerebrum is able to discriminate the direction of sound by comparing the relative phase of pressure and particle motion.

    • Johannes Veith
    • , Thomas Chaigne
    •  & Benjamin Judkewitz

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Screening in Escherichia coli and biochemical experiments show that in Arabidopsis thaliana, OSCA2.1 and OSCA2.2 function as plant sensors of hypo-osmolarity, utilize Ca2+ oscillations as second messengers and have crucial roles in pollen germination.

    • Songyu Pei
    • , Qi Tao
    •  & Fang Yuan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Structures of the kainate receptor GluK2 with and without concanavilin A and BPAM344 show how these ligands modulate channel activity and reveal the molecular basis of kainate receptor gating.

    • Shanti Pal Gangwar
    • , Maria V. Yelshanskaya
    •  & Alexander I. Sobolevsky

  • Article |

    Using micropipette aspiration on donated human embryos, cell surface tensions during compaction were mapped, indicating a role for defective cell contractility in poor quality embryos.

    • Julie Firmin
    • , Nicolas Ecker
    •  & Jean-Léon Maître

  • Article |

    We propose a model for a sequential, multistep activation mechanism of metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 5, including a series of structures in lipid nanodiscs, from inactive to fully active, with agonist-bound intermediate states.

    • Kaavya Krishna Kumar
    • , Haoqing Wang
    •  & Brian K. Kobilka

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