Structural Biology
Molecular net boosts the power of natural biopesticides
Brussels, 19 May 2026 – Scientists at VIB and Vrije Universiteit Brussel have uncovered a previously unknown mechanism that helps a widely used biological pesticide become more effective. The study, published in Nature Communications, reveals how bacteria produce ultra-strong protein fibers that form a molecular net, trapping infectious spores and toxins into a sticky film that enhances their ability to kill insect pests.
New lung cancer model reveals how tumor location shapes the immune response
Brussels, 27 April 2026 – Researchers at VIB and VUB have developed a powerful new way to study how the immune system behaves inside lung tumors. By combining a patient-relevant mouse model with single-cell technologies, the team provides one of the most comprehensive immune maps to date of lung adenocarcinoma, which is the most common subtype of lung cancer. Their work appears in Nature Communications.
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Designing better membrane proteins by embracing imperfection
Brussels, 14 April 2026 — Scientists at the VIB–VUB Center for Structural Biology have uncovered a counterintuitive principle that could reshape how membrane proteins are designed from scratch: sometimes, making a protein less stable helps it fold correctly. In a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), researchers demonstrate that introducing carefully placed ‘imperfections’, a strategy known as negative design, enables synthetic membrane proteins to fold and assemble efficiently in artificial membranes.
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