Enzymes incorporating fluorine into compounds
Category: Biological
Where is the calcium? First steps toward a new MRI brain-imaging technique
Calcium is important in bones and in brains. But which brain regions have a lot of calcium? Do disease states affect calcium levels? A new tool is being developed to find out.
Outsmarting the cancerous activity of cathepsin B with pH-selective peptides
Scientists showed that by modulating cathepsin B’s cleavage activity with pH-selective peptides, they can irreversibly and selectively stop its cancerous activity.
More than just genes: looking for disease markers in methylated DNA
A tiny methyl group (one carbon bound to three hydrogen atoms) can be a big marker for disease.
Upcycling Plant Matter
Avocado peels and uprooted invasive plants can become a source for anti-inflammatories. I’ll toast to that!
How to distinguish two similar chemical functional groups
Distinguishing sulfation from phosphorylation
MicroRNAs: A New Assay Searches for Targets
If your DNA is a cookbook of “recipes” your cells could make, microRNAs help decide what’s for dinner.
What gives bird feathers such vivid colors?
Birds have a unique way of creating color in their wings and this is how they have become so colorful.
Prioritizing study of novel proteins
How scientists figure out what enzymes to study
Towards enzymatic hydrocarbon remediation
Towards enzymatic bioremediation of oil spills
Another side (product) of synthesising antibiotic, daptomycin
Finding new antibiotics is difficult. Synthesising those new antibiotics can be just as hard, and sometimes is takes a long time to find a good approach. And sometimes the most important step in synthesis optimisation is characterising your side-products.
Looking for Viruses in Wild Bats
Cataloguing viruses in bats and other animals may help predict or trace viral transmission to humans in the future.
Chemical brushes in the fight against bacterial infection
Researchers develop a new two-layer coating for medical devices that dramatically reduces the chance of infection.
More than SPF: Some Common Sunscreen Ingredients to Avoid
Buying sunscreen? Take a look at the ingredients list first.
Engineering dicarboxylic acid production
Biology making precursors to perfumes, antibiotics, and more
Polishing a Drug Lead: A Replacement for Opioids Reaches Clinical Trials
Many molecules can decrease enzymatic breakdown of our body’s natural painkillers…but which one is fit to be the best new drug?
Discovery of an oxygen-independent method for producing plasmalogens
How gut microbes produce lipid plasmalogens
A Bright New Method to Survey RNA-Small Molecule Interactions
With a growing interest in the field of RNA-targeted therapeutics, robust platforms to study RNA small-molecule interactions are needed. Read about the latest endeavor here!
Pathogenic E. coli Can Survive Stomach Acid…For Now
Infected cattle can transmit E. coli to humans through contaminated ground beef, but scientists are looking for a solution.
Harnessing bacteria to become royalty
Engineering bacteria to make the dye ‘royal purple’
Masked Entry – Increasing cell permeability of large molecules
Developing a drug that is able to enter the cell and interact with its target is no mean feat, especially for large molecules. Read about how this group ‘masked’ large molecules to improve their cell permeability.
Molecular tweezers pick viral membranes apart
While most scientists search for specific treatments for viruses like Ebola, Zika and SARS-Cov-2, non-specific methods can have broad impact. Researchers from the United States and Germany joined forces to make molecular “tweezers” that pick apart viruses to death.
The Smell of Rain Has a Biological Function
The earthy smell of soil originates from the bacteria that live there. But why do they produce this particular scent?
Unveiling cryptic compounds
How do you get microbes to produce cryptic compounds?
#BlackInChem: Science & Equity go hand in hand – Ayanna Jones
Ayanna Jones, a PhD student and passionate advocate for representation in science, shares her story and advice on making chemistry more inclusive