Greener materials and processes for fuels and explosives! Scientist demonstrate how to tune a class of porous materials that ignite spontaneously when mixed with acid.
Category: Research Bites
Identifying bum knees before injury with laser light
Raman spectroscopy can identify the extent of meniscus damages in knees before serious injury occurs.
Molecular Nanoparticles: Large Molecules to Prevent Oxidative Stress?
Maybe chemistry can save us—in this case, synthetic chemists have developed a family of lanthanide-oxo molecules and investigate their capabilities as radical species scavengers, with a possible future in the clinic to mitigate various diseases onset by oxidative stress (get antioxidants into your diet, people!).
Going to Flavortown: Understanding the terpene content of cannabis
How can using computational and biochemical techniques help us understand the different flavors of cannabis? This paper explores identifying terpenes that make each cannabis strain unique.
Ozone Is The Key To Effective Lipid Detection And Isomer Resolution
Lipids are an important class of biological molecules where the physical and chemical structure will impact its function in our body. Effective lipid detection and analysis are key to understanding specific lipid interactions and overall biological impact. This paper discusses development of new analytical detection technique for mass spectrometry which provides greater insight into lipid biological chemistry.
Bio-catalytic chemistry simplifies synthetic route to produce COVID-19 drug
Molnupiravir, a drug developed by Merck, will probably be authorized by the FDA in the coming weeks. This paper discusses the development of a shortened synthetic route to produce the medicine.
Getting Rare (Earth) Elements via Proteins
Title: Bridging Hydrometallurgy and Biochemistry: A Protein-Based Process for Recovery and Separation of Rare Earth Elements https://doi.org/10.1021/acscentsci.1c00724 Rare earth elements (REEs), i.e. the lanthanides, yttrium, and scandium, are used in many critical parts of modern life due to their electromagnetic properties, including healthcare, consumer electronics, and…
Making natural gas from natural acids
Hidden in a hydrothermal vent off the coast of Mexico is a new way for natural gas to form from organic acids.
Engineering new types of nanocrystals through ingenious chemistry!
Scientists access new types of nanocrystals by leveraging simple acid-base concepts. The take-home message: always remember the basics!
Looking into the crystal bubble
Protein crystallisation is an important technique in drug discovery, and storage of proteins in the biopharmaceutical industry but can sometimes be regarded as a dark-art. Read how researchers use air-bubbles to improve protein crystal growth.
The Montreal Protocol – a policy saving lives by closing the Antarctic ozone hole
Since it’s ratification in 1987, the Montreal Protocol has saved millions of people from skin cancer and cataracts. This success is due to global collaboration and an effective use of science in policy.
The metal your gut craves
Tungsten helps your gut microbiome remove toxic chemicals. Without a major source of tungsten in our diets, it might be the metal your gut has been craving.
Adding fluorines to small molecules
Enzymes incorporating fluorine into compounds
Could cleaning our drinking water produce hazardous byproducts?
Adding chlorine to drinking water is a prominent method of disinfection. However, new research suggests many potentially harmful byproducts could be created.
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.
Turning Sludge into Building Materials
Safely handling hazardous waste generated from industrial processes is crucial to preventing environmental contamination. Chemists handle their heavy metal hazardous waste by transforming the sludge into useful construction materials
µMap ID – a new technique for identifying the targets of drug candidates
Finding the target of drug candidates is often challenging. A new technique called µMap ID may speed up this process.
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.
Flying through an extraterrestrial ice plume in search of life
Searching the icy plumes at Enceladus for signs of life is not an easy task, but we may now have the technology to do it.
Progress towards detecting aliens?
E.T. may be able to phone home – or “home phone” if we’re quoting the little guy correctly – but humans require a little more info using extraterrestrial biosignatures to figure out where aliens come from.
Promising fuel cell catalyst for renewable future
Metal catalyst that may greatly improve feasibility of ethanol fuel cell
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.
Enzymes upcycle harmful plastics into helpful antimicrobial agents
Enzymes and bacteria can be used to degrade plastics into chemicals useful for antibacterial coatings
FINDING A DIVERSE ANTI-INFLUENZA MOLECULE
We will continue coming across new viral proteins and viruses, so it doesn’t hurt to be prepared for those. The work of White et al helps in giving a starting point for medicines against the Influenza viruses.
Upcycling Plant Matter
Avocado peels and uprooted invasive plants can become a source for anti-inflammatories. I’ll toast to that!