Anyone who is remotely interested in biology, or has perhaps scrolled through fitness websites to get in shape, has come across the word "protein". There is, however, much more to proteins than simply being a key player in maintaining active lifestyles. Proteins are ubiquitous in the cells of the body and are the driving force for key cellular processes. In order for proteins to carry out their duties, they need to be well-armed to execute their functions. This process of making the protein competent is achieved through specific post translational modifications (PTMs). The star of the PTMs is a cellular process called phosphorylation. The conventional methods adopted for quantifying phosphorylation are highly labor intensive. The development of phospho-specific antibodies has allowed for a huge sigh of relief from researchers due to their reputation of being quick, and detecting only phosphorylated forms of proteins in a complex mixture of phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated forms.

With troves of information and developments coming out daily from the various companies and researchers developing vaccines and potential treatments for COVID-19, it can certainly feel overwhelming to keep track of everything. This compilation of information should help you catch up on, and navigate recent developments in the fight against COVID-19.

Autophagy is a natural mechanism in which the cell removes and degrades cellular components with autolysosomes. It is a popular research area because autophagy is related to many physical and pathological processes. The 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology is granted to Yoshinori Ohsumi for his contribution in autophagy. In autophagy studies, LC3-I and LC3-II detection is a must-have experiment to track the autophagy process. Therefore, we would like to share five important notes for quantifying autophagy with LC3.

The Wnt signaling pathway, an evolutionarily conserved signal transduction pathway, is widely present in invertebrates and vertebrates. The Wnt signaling pathway plays a crucial role in early embryonic development, organogenesis, tissue repair, and many other physiological processes. The mutation of key proteins involved in this pathway can lead to abnormal activation of signals, and potentially induces the occurrence of cancer. In 1982, R. Nusse and H.E. Varmus identified the first Wnt gene from a mouse mammary tumor and named it Int1 (integration 1). Continued research found that the mouse Int and Drosophila Wingless (Wg) genes are homeotic, and thus combined their names to Wnt. H.E. Varmus himself also won the 1989 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his great contribution in oncology.

Ebola outbreaks are considered rare, but they do emerge every several years and can be quite lethal. Although the first confirmed Ebola epidemic was in 1976, we still lack licensed therapeutics to prevent and control Ebola’s spread. Vaccine development is in the works, but the lack of an approved treatment is a chilling reminder that we may not know enough about the virus. With the recent outbreaks in mind, we sought to summarize everything you should know about Ebola, its biology, and the current progress of vaccine development.