ASBMB Today

2 months ago | asbmb.org | Patrick Sargent

A new study highlighting the importance of a large protein complex called the exocyst in cell growth, division and communication reveals new functions and mechanisms that are essential to how molecules move across a membrane through vesicles in a cell. Understanding how these mechanisms work in normal cells at the basic biological level will inform future research into how those functions are disrupted in developmental and neurological disorders.

2 months ago | asbmb.org | Andrea Lius

Protein kinases, enzymes that add phosphate groups to other proteins, are often dysregulated in diseases. This makes kinase inhibitors popular drugs, although they often target things they aren’t supposed to. To mitigate these off-target effects, scientists like Paul Shapiro are finding ways to target specific functions of a kinase, rather than inhibiting the whole enzyme. Shapiro was the first speaker on ASBMB Breakthroughs, a new webinar series highlighting research from ASBMB journals.

2 months ago | asbmb.org | Andrea Lius

My Ph.D. advisor often likens to the pursuit of knowledge to “standing on the shoulders of giants” — the giants being years, decades and centuries’ worth of scientists and their findings that came before us. When I started my Ph.D. program, I wanted to be a giant. Rather, I believed that I should want to be a giant. Over the years, I tried to dream up the kind of fantasy land that I — as a future giant — would roam around. “Just pick a kinase,” I thought.

2 months ago | asbmb.org | Amber Dance

You began when egg and sperm met, and the DNA from your biological parents teamed up. Your first cell began copying its newly melded genome and dividing to build a body. And almost immediately, genetic mistakes started to accrue. “That process of accumulating errors across your genome goes on throughout life,” says Phil H. Jones, a cancer biologist at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Hinxton, England.

Jan 24, 2025 | asbmb.org | Courtney Chandler

It’s hard to believe we are almost a month into 2025. For me, the transition into a new year means setting new goals for the months to come, and I always include at least a few professional goals on my list. Of course, these goals depend on where I am in my career journey. To get a sense of what professional goals grad students might set for themselves, I spoke with Matt Selby, a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate at Rutgers University in the nutritional sciences department.