Contributors
Sasha Mushegian
Sasha Mushegian is a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University. Follow her on Twitter.
Articles by Sasha Mushegian
Journal News
From the journals: April 2019
April 1, 2019
What structural features of a cortisol-producing enzyme could help in treating Cushing’s disease? Can melatonin be used to treat obesity? How does a gut pathogen evade antibiotic treatment? These and other questions are addressed in our roundup.
Journal News
JBC: Molecules from breast milk and seaweed suggest strategies for controlling norovirus
March 1, 2019
Researchers from universities in Germany write in the Journal of Biological Chemistry that a dietary supplement of fucose, a sugar molecule found in both breast milk and seaweed, might be useful against norovirus.
Journal News
JBC: Scanning thousands of molecules against an elusive cancer target
Feb. 1, 2019
The enzyme NSD2, overactive in certain cancers, is hard to work with. Researchers at NCATS have a new system to screen for NSD2 inhibitors.
Journal News
From the journals: February 2019
Feb. 1, 2019
How do plants survive in fluctuating temperatures? Why do some of infection-fighting molecules block viruses from entering cells, while others interfere with viral replication? How does a bacterium’s spore coating help it resist antibiotics?
Journal News
JBC: A molecular dance of phospholipid synthesis
Jan. 1, 2019
Research published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry used computer simulations to gain insights into how an enzyme activates and shuts off the production of phosphatidylcholine, commonly known as lecithin.
Journal News
From the journals: January 2019
Jan. 1, 2019
What’s the link between chronic diabetes and cognitive decline? How does the body protect the liver during periods of fasting? Why do some pain drugs work in rodents but not in people?
Journal News
JBC: A plant immune system corrects its course
Dec. 1, 2018
Researchers have identified a crucial link between gene expression and the process by which plants regulate their antiviral responses.
Journal News
JBC: Seeking an off switch for celiac disease
Dec. 1, 2018
A Stanford University team writes in the Journal of Biological Chemistry that they have discovered how a disease-associated protein gets inactivated, opening the door to possible new treatments for this autoimmune disordered triggered by gluten.
Journal News
From the journals: December 2018
Dec. 1, 2018
How early screening can help cure a rare genetic disease in newborns. The connection of genes, brains and immune cells in a risk factor for obesity. The difference between white and brown fat cells. Read about this research and more in our roundup o…
Journal News
Journal of Biological Chemistry celebrates Herb Tabor’s 100 years
Nov. 1, 2018
The Maryland county that is home to the National Institutes of Health has declared a day to honor Tabor, who served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Biological Chemistry for almost 40 years. JBC also has some big celebration plans.
Journal News
JBC: What happens to plasmalogens, the phospholipids nobody likes to think about
Nov. 1, 2018
Alzheimer’s patients lose up to 60 percent of plasmalogens from the membranes of brain cells. These molecules are difficult to work with, but painstaking research has revealed the protein that catalyzes their breakdown.
Journal News
JBC: Iron–sulfur cluster research offers new avenues for investigating disease
Nov. 1, 2018
Disruptions in the construction of these clusters can lead to buildup of fat droplets in certain cells, providing clues about the causes of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and clear-cell renal carcinoma.
Journal News
From the journals: November 2018
Nov. 1, 2018
Using mass spectrometry to learn how a flexible fish evolved. Finding the anti-addictive enzyme in an African shrub. Tracing how cholesterol contributes to macular degeneration. Read about this research and more in our roundup of recent papers fro…
Journal News
JBC: Scientists fill in a piece of the copper transport puzzle
Oct. 1, 2018
Mitochondria need copper to produce energy. Researchers in the U.S. and Canada report in the Journal of Biological Chemistry that they have identified the protein that performs the tricky task of carrying copper on the correct pathway.
Journal News
JBC: What bacteria can teach us about combating atrazine contamination
Oct. 1, 2018
Atrazine is a controversial pesticide. Researchers in Australia write in the Journal of Biological Chemistry that newly discovered proteins involved in its degradation may provide insights into how bacteria respond to chemicals synthesized by humans.
Journal News
From the journals: October 2018
Oct. 1, 2018
A gene that can both increase and decrease diabetes risk. A protein that makes tumor cells more aggressive. Citrus compounds that reverse obesity. Read about these topics and more in our roundup of recent papers from the Journal of Biological Che…
Journal News
JBC: In reading histone modifications, an oncoprotein is modified in return
Sept. 1, 2018
Researchers in Texas report in the Journal of Biological Chemistry that they’ve uncovered an unusual form of protein cross talk, suggesting new ways of inhibiting cancer metastasis.
Journal News
From the journals: September 2018
Sept. 1, 2018
What’s the link between lipids and sleep apnea? How is obesity related to fertility? What’s the fastest way to screen heart drugs? Read about these topics and more in our roundup of recent papers from the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the Journa…
Journal News
JBC: New insights into the molecular weapons of the plant microbiome
Sept. 1, 2018
Researchers in Canada write in the Journal of Biological Chemistry about pinpointing a toxin injected by one soil-dwelling bacterium into another that protects plants from disease.
Journal News
From the journals: August 2018
Aug. 1, 2018
Why are people with chronic kidney disease at high risk of heart failure? Can a pathogen avoid a host antibody by grabbing it? Why do some cancer cells love sugar and eschew fiber? Read about these topics and more in our roundup.
Journal News
JBC: A shadowy organizational hub in cells
Aug. 1, 2018
Researchers at Vanderbilt University report in the Journal of Biological Chemistry on their finding that this large enigmatic protein appears to form a bridge and recruit proteins involved in building microtubules in human cells.
Journal News
JBC: A spring-loaded sensor for cholesterol in cells
Aug. 1, 2018
Research from the University of New South Wales explains how an enzyme that helps the body make cholesterol acts as a thermostat that responds to and adjusts levels of cholesterol in the cell.
Journal News
JBC: A phospholipid pathway from plants to parasites
June 1, 2018
A study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry looks at how inhibitors of an enzyme that produces a form of choline might be used to treat parasitic diseases, including malaria.
Journal News
JBC: A sugar-attaching enzyme defines colon cancer
June 1, 2018
An enzyme that is not found in healthy colons appears to drive the conversion of colon tissue into cancer by attaching sugar molecules to certain proteins in the cell, researchers write in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Journal News
From the journals: June/July 2018
June 1, 2018
What can proteomics teach us about dying cancer cells? Why do some bacteria survive contact with copper? What happens when brown fat cells turn white? Read about these topics and more.
Journal News
JBC: Antibiotic resistance in pandemic cholera
May 1, 2018
A research team at the University of Georgia reports in the Journal of Biological Chemistry on the unique role of a protein that allows cholera bacteria to resist antimicrobial peptides that are synthesized for use as last-line drugs.
Journal News
JBC: Simulations might speed drug target discovery
May 1, 2018
Researchers at Caltech tackle the problem of producing sufficient membrane proteins in the lab for drug experiments by focusing on how efficiently a cell inserts a newly synthesized protein into the membrane.
Journal News
From the journals: May 2018
May 1, 2018
Is there a way to kill fat cells to make weight loss last? What’s the significance of cholesterol efflux capacity levels in octogenarians? Read about these topics and more in our roundup of recent papers from the Journal of Biological Chemistry, t…
Journal News
From the journals: April 2018
April 1, 2018
Which fats make a healthier mouse? How can you ensure sperm have both heads and tails? Read about these topics and more in our
roundup of recent papers from ASBMB journals.
Art
Metal art, microbial culture
April 1, 2018
Sasha Mushegian writes about researchers in Switzerland who are looking to bacteria and fungi to preserve everything from a
modern bronze sculpture to a 17th-century wooden warship.
Journal News
JBC: How an interest in bipolar disorder drugs led to a better understanding of leukemia
April 1, 2018
While investigating how lithium inhibits the enzyme GSK-3, researchers discovered that GSK-3 could affect RNA splicing — and aberrant splicing causes white blood cell proliferation in leukemia.
Journal News
JBC: A molecular garbage disposal has a role in packing the genome
April 1, 2018
Using yeast cells, researchers found that the proteasome, which breaks down proteins, also can both induce and stop the spread of heterochromatin in the genome.
Journal News
JBC: When HIV drugs don’t cooperate
March 1, 2018
A pair of second-line HIV drugs are expected to boost each other, but researchers write in the Journal of Biological Chemistry that co-receptor antagonists and fusion inhibitors don’t synergize as expected when certain viral proteins evolve to avoid…
Journal News
JBC: A rare blood disease can teach us about clotting
March 1, 2018
A paper in the Journal of Biological Chemistry describes how mutations in antithrombin proteins occur in unexpected places, which could cause researchers to reconsider the best way to prevent obstructive blood clots.
Journal News
From the journals: March 2018
March 1, 2018
Eczema lotion inspired by babies’ skin. Steps toward accessible vaccines. How staph bacteria steals iron. Read about these topics and more.
Journal News
JBC: Sugary secrets of a cancer-related protein
Feb. 1, 2018
A rare type of glycosylation profoundly affects the function of Notch, a protein that is important for human development and cancer progression.
Journal News
JBC: Scientists find cellular backup plan for keeping iron levels just right
Feb. 1, 2018
Researchers have uncovered a connection in the network of checks and balances underlying cellular iron regulation.
Journal News
From the journals: February 2018
Feb. 1, 2018
How amino acids determine cells’ responses climate change. How genes cause bile acid diarrhea. And how trypsin trips up researchers studying alternative splicing. Read about these topics and more in our roundup of recent papers from the Journal of B…
Journal News
JBC: Expanding the reach of therapeutic antibodies
Jan. 1, 2018
Researchers describe a new approach to efficiently produce antibodies that can bind to two different target molecules simultaneously, a long-desired innovation in cancer immunotherapy.
Journal News
From the journals: January 2018
Jan. 1, 2018
Alcohol plus hepatitis B raises cholesterol. A chemical cocktail reprograms mouse cells. Prion protein does more than wreak havoc. Read about these topics and more in our roundup of recent papers from the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the Journa…
Journal News
JBC: What makes organelles connect?
Dec. 1, 2017
A Journal of Biological Chemistry paper describes how new technology helps researchers identify the proteins that allow the mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum to attach to each other.