LOCKR responds to changes in cellular environment

Describing their engineered protein as “a latch, a cage, a key, and a bioactive peptide,” biochemists at the University of Washington and University of California-San Francisco have developed a chemical “switch” for turning aberrant cells into self-regulating smart cells.  The objective is to be able to degrade a specific protein, as, for example, those involved in inflammation after traumatic brain injury.  MORE

Image Credit:  NewsAtlas and Ian Haydon / Institute for Protein Design at UW