MP
Correlative voltage imaging and cryo-electron tomography bridge neuronal activity and molecular structure.
Jung M, Ko G, Lim D, Kim S, Kim S, Kim YJ, Choi M, Roh SH.
Nat Commun. 2025 Oct 23;16(1):9378.
doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-64431-w.
PMID: 41130945.
Voltage imaging + cryoET to correlate neuronal activity with molecular architecture: electrophysiological states shape cellular machinery.
Direct functional /structural in active neurons: distinct ribosomal organisations and ultrastructural features.
Structural analysis of a Gram-positive type VII ABC transporter induced by cell wall-targeting antibiotics.
Yu P, Krah BS, Orlando MA, Subramanian S, Orlando BJ.
Structure. 2025 Oct 28:S0969-2126(25)00391-0.
doi: 10.1016/j.str.2025.10.004. Epub ahead of print.
PMID: 41161309.
Cryo-EM structures of a Gram-positive Type VII ABC transporter induced by cell-wall-targeting antibiotics.
=> antibiotic-triggered conformational changes linked to activation.
Functional data => coupling between transporter dynamics and antibiotic stress response.
Genetically encoded biosensor enabled mining, characterisation and engineering of aromatic acid MFS transporters.
Roy PL, Chacόn M, Dixon N.
J Biol Eng. 2025 Oct 31;19(1):94.
doi: 10.1186/s13036-025-00568-y.
PMID: 41174674.
Development of a genetically encoded biosensor for aromatic acids to identify and characterize new MFS transporters.
=> HT screening of transporter activity directly in living cells.
=> MFS transporters with improved selectivity and transport efficiency for various aromatic acids.
Conserved hydrophilic checkpoints tune FocA-mediated formate:H+ symport.
Tüting C, Janson K, Kammel M, Ihling C, Lorenz J, Kyrilis FL, Hamdi F, Erdmann C, Sinz A, Sawers RG, Kastritis PL.
Nat Commun. 2025 Oct 27;16(1):9476.
doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-65159-3.
PMID: 41145500.
Conserved hydrophilic residues as “checkpoints” that tune FocA-mediated formate:H⁺ symport.
Mutations alter coupling efficiency and substrate flow by stabilizing intermediate states during transport.
Transient Suppression of Dopamine Transporter Palmitoylation by Methamphetamine: Implications for Transport Regulation.
Hovde MJ, Bolland DE, Kleinsasser CD, Shetty M, Blackwell AC, Golovko MY, Golovko SA, Brown CR, Foster JD, Vaughan RA.
FASEB J. 2025 Nov 15;39(21):e71194.
doi: 10.1096/fj.202501472R.
PMID: 41165021.
Methamphetamine transiently suppresses palmitoylation of the dopamine transporter. This loss correlates with altered localisation and reduced uptake.
Humboldt review: Function and characterization of sugar transport across plant membranes: History and perspectives.
Keller I, Neuhaus HE.
J Plant Physiol. 2025 Nov;314:154600.
doi: 10.1016/j.jplph.2025.154600. Epub 2025 Sep 3.
PMID: 40939474.
Evolution of concepts and methods for studying sugar transport across plant membranes.
Current knowledge on major transporter families (SUT/SUC, SWEET, MST) and their physiological roles.
Membranes
Mechanisms of outer membrane vesicles in bacterial drug resistance: Insights and implications.
Zhang X, Ding W, Yang J, Gao L, Wang Q, Wang J, Luo Y, Yuan X, Sun B, Yang J, Zhou Y, Sun L.
Biochimie. 2025 Nov;238(Pt B):77-90.
doi: 10.1016/j.biochi.2025.07.024. Epub 2025 Jul 23.
PMID: 40712912.
OMVs contribute to bacterial drug resistance through multiple mechanisms: sequester and neutralize antibiotics, transport resistance factors such as βLA, and facilitate horizontal gene transfer between bacteria + modulation of host immune responses and help bacteria adapt to environmental stress.
Bottom-up Coarse-Grained Models of Asymmetric Membranes.
Majumder A, Sahrmann PG, Voth GA.
J Phys Chem B. 2025 Oct 9;129(40):10333-10342.
doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.5c04855. Epub 2025 Sep 27.
PMID: 41014250.
Bottom-up CG models to simulate asymmetric bilayers that mimic biologically realistic membranes.
=> allow analysis of lipid heterogeneity, leaflet-specific compositions and dynamics.
=> asymmetry influences bilayer properties (diffusion and thickness), and offers a platform for integrating protein/lipid interactions.
Molecules
Biotinylated RAFT Styrene/Maleic Acid Copolymers for Biosensor Applications of Membrane Proteins.
Marco Antônio G. B., Gomes David Glueck, Valentin Monjal, Marjorie Damian, Pierre Guillet, Jean-Louis Banères, Sandro Keller, Grégory Durand.
ACS Applied Polymer Materials.
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsapm.5c02955.
RAFT polymerization of biotinylated SMA copolymers using a biotin-PEG–modified transfer agent => well-defined polymers with narrow dispersity.
water-soluble SMA micelles are able to solubilize lipid vesicles and proteoliposomes containing membrane proteins such as MRAP2 and GHSR.
Biotinylated ND => immobilization on streptavidin-coated surfaces without altering receptor pharmacology, as shown by SPR assays.
Native adenosine A2A receptor solubilisation by a library of amphipathic copolymers.
Farrelly MD, Mohebali N, Dal Maso E, Nowell CJ, Wootten D, Sexton PM, Martin LL, Thang SH.
Biomater Sci. 2025 Oct 27.
doi: 10.1039/d5bm01011j. Online ahead of print.
PMID: 41143384.
Solubilisation of the native A2A R using a library of amphipathic copolymers to optimise detergent-free extraction of a GPCR.
=> Some polymers maintain receptor function and binding properties, offering alternatives to classic detergents.
Methods
Real-Time Binding Kinetics of Membrane Protein-Protein Interactions in a Membraneless Setting.
Wang Y, Wu Y, Mayse LA, Capucilli D, Huang PJ, Ramachandran S, Luikham S, Ha JH, Loh SN, Wolfe AJ, Movileanu L.
Anal Chem. 2025 Oct 27.
doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.5c05510. Online ahead of print.
PMID: 41143522.
Real-time binding-kinetics assay for MP /protein interactions in a membraneless system.
No membranes or bilayers: enables kinetic monitoring of interactions in an aqueous environment.
High temporal resolution and minimal reconstitution artefacts.
Native mass spectrometry of membrane proteins reconstituted in peptidiscs.
Deedwania A, Wang Y, Robinson CV, Bolla JR.
RSC Chem Biol. 2025 Oct 22.
doi: 10.1039/d5cb00236b. Online ahead of print.
PMID: 41164344.
Peptidiscs as a detergent-free membrane-mimetic for reconstituting MPs and performing native MS.
=>proteins like efflux pumps (AceI-Bril construct) and the BAM complex maintain complex integrity when reconstituted into peptidiscs and analysed by native MS.
A Detergent-Free Grinding Sample Preparation Method Dramatically Enhances PELSA for Mapping Integral Membrane Proteins-Ligand Interaction.
Yu T, Wang Y, Li Y, Wang K, Zhu H, Ye M.
Anal Chem. 2025 Oct 27.
doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.5c03099. Online ahead of print.
PMID: 41140249.
Detergent-free sample preparation method to improve PELSA (protein/ligand interaction mapping via mass spectrometry) for MPs.
=> enhances sensitivity of mapping ligand interactions with MPs in native-like preparations.
Modeling cryo-EM structures in alternative states with AlphaFold2-based models and density-guided simulations.
Shugaeva T, Howard RJ, Haloi N, Lindahl E.
Commun Chem. 2025 Oct 30;8(1):317.
doi: 10.1038/s42004-025-01751-4.
PMID: 41168475.
Workflow combining AF2-based model generation with density-guided MD simulations to model cryo-EM structures in alternative conformational states.
=> refines predicted models into experimental densities and captures dynamic states that may differ from the deposited structure.
=> supports exploration of multiple states of MPs beyond static snapshots.
Binding Affinity Prediction of Membrane Protein-Protein Complexes Using MPA-Pred.
Ridha F, Gromiha MM.
Methods Mol Biol. 2026;2979:267-276.
doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-4828-5_16.
PMID: 41174318.
MPA-Pred = computational tool for predicting binding affinities of MP/protein complexes by integrating sequence and structure with machine learning.
Microbio
Membrane Proteins ClcB, PtsI, and YcaM Mediate the Bactericidal Effects of Colistin in Escherichia coli.
Donafee R, Radi M, Kell DB, Salcedo-Sora JE.
ACS Infect Dis. 2025 Oct 30.
doi: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.5c00566. Online ahead of print.
PMID: 41165745.
Membrane-associated proteins in E. coli as key mediators of the bactericidal effects of colistin.
=> colistin’s lethal action involves disruption of specific MP systems beyond general membrane permeabilisation.
Miscellaneous
AI chatbots are sycophants – researchers say it’s harming science.
Naddaf M.
Nature. 2025 Oct 24.
doi: 10.1038/d41586-025-03390-0. Epub ahead of print.
PMID: 41136779.
Large language models (LLMs) are 50% more sycophantic than humans, according to a new analysis. Researchers tested whether LLMs such as ChatGPT would flag errors in mathematical problems they were provided with, or assume the statements were correct and hallucinate a proof — answers the team deemed sycophantic. GPT-5 generated sycophantic answers 29% of the time, whilst DeepSeek-V3.1 was sycophantic 70% of the time. This propensity to people-please carries genuine risks when LLMs are used in settings such as health care, say researchers, and such tools should be retrained to be transparent about uncertainty.
The sci-fi films that physicists love to watch – from Interstellar to Spider-Man.
Miller JA.
Nature. 2025 Oct 24.
doi: 10.1038/d41586-025-03440-7. Epub ahead of print.
PMID: 41136785.
Physicists might disagree wildly about how the theory of quantum mechanics describes reality, but they do seem to agree on their favourite science fiction films. Nature asked a number of researchers for their picks and two were consistently highlighted for their depiction of science: 2006’s The Prestige and 2014’s Interstellar, both directed by Christopher Nolan. Nobel-prizewinning physicist Kip Thorne advises Nolan on his films, but not every movie needs a Nobel laureate for accuracy. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse got a nod from physicists for accurately recreating the experimental cavern of a particle accelerator.
Open-source protein structure AI aims to match AlphaFold.
Naddaf M.
Nature. 2025 Oct 28.
doi: 10.1038/d41586-025-03546-y. Epub ahead of print.
PMID: 41152525.
Scientists have released a sneak preview of a new open-source artificial intelligence (AI) model, OpenFold3, which predicts the 3D structures of proteins from their amino acid sequences. This preview version of the tool doesn’t have the same functionality as Google DeepMind’s revolutionary AlphaFold3, but its developers hope to use researcher feedback to improve the model. A full release of the tool is planned in the coming months and comes as part of a wider push to develop fully open-source versions of AlphaFold3.
7 basic science discoveries that changed the world.
Marshall M.
Nature. 2025 Oct;646(8087):1040-1043.
doi: 10.1038/d41586-025-03474-x.
PMID: 41162726
The polymerase chain reaction — the fundamental science behind infection-detecting PCR tests — originated from work on bacteria found in hot springs. Brain-imaging MRI machines emerged from the study of the fundamental physical properties of the atomic nucleus. Even flat-screen TVs have their roots in studies of chemicals that were isolated from carrots. These are just some examples of world-changing ‘blue skies’ research — now at risk from major government funding cuts in the United States — that was only later found to have wider applications.