High-resolution multi-scan compact Fourier transform-infrared spectrometer.

The Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectrometer is a widely used high-resolution spectral characterization method in materials, chemicals, and more. However, the inverse relation between the spectral resolution and the interferometer's arm length yields a tradeoff between spectral resolution and spectrometer footprint. Here, we introduce a novel method to overcome this traditional FT-IR resolution limit.

Direct Sensing and Discrimination among Ubiquitin and Ubiquitin Chains Using Solid-State Nanopores.

Nanopore sensing involves an electrophoretic transport of analytes through a nanoscale pore, permitting label-free sensing at the single-molecule level. However, to date, the detection of individual small proteins has been challenging, primarily due to the poor signal/noise ratio that these molecules produce during passage through the pore. Here, we show that fine adjustment of the buffer pH, close to the isoelectric point, can be used to slow down the translocation speed of the analytes, hence permitting sensing and characterization of small globular proteins.

Membrane tethering and nucleotide-dependent conformational changes drive mitochondrial genome maintenance (Mgm1) protein-mediated membrane fusion.

Cellular membrane remodeling events such as mitochondrial dynamics, vesicle budding, and cell division rely on the large GTPases of the dynamin superfamily. Dynamins have long been characterized as fission molecules; however, how they mediate membrane fusion is largely unknown. Here we have characterized by cryo-electron microscopy and in vitro liposome fusion assays how the mitochondrial dynamin Mgm1 may mediate membrane fusion.