The novel photoactivatable nitroxide for DAinv reaction spin label for proteins, PaNDA. It can be ligated to proteins through a DAinv cycloaddition to genetically encoded noncanonical amino acids. Credit: Anandi Kugele

New protein spin labelling technique

University of Konstanz researchers develop a new site-directed spin labelling approach based on genetically encoded noncanonical amino acids amenable to Diels-Alder chemistry as well as a new spin label, PaNDA

Read more

Sofja Kovalevskaja Award

Sofja Kovalevskaja Award winner Dr Angelo Di Bernardo from the University of Cambridge to establish a new research hub in the field of superconducting spintronics at the University of Konstanz’s Department of Physics

Read more
Ribosome binding of NAC is mediated by a ribosome binding regulatory arm (N-αNAC, blue) and a translation sensor domain (N-βNAC, green). N-βNAC senses short nascent chains already deep inside the ribosomal tunnel close to the peptidyl-transferase centre (orange) where amino acids are assembled into proteins. The tunnel-sensing activity of NAC is believed to orchestrate general cotranslational protein folding and transport processes in the cell. Copyright: Martin Gamerdinger

New protein-sensing mechanism discovered

In a stunning discovery, molecular biologists from the University of Konstanz and ETH Zurich have been able to demonstrate that the nascent polypeptide-associated complex (NAC) senses newly synthesized proteins upon birth inside the ribosomal tunnel

Read more