https://phys.org/chemistry-news/biochemistry en-us The latest news on biochemistry New research into a chemical produced by a caterpillar fungus that has shown promise as a possible cancer treatment has revealed how it interacts with genes to interrupt cell growth signals. The discovery is an important step towards developing new drugs that could be less damaging to healthy tissues than most currently available treatments. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-caterpillar-fungus-chemical-growth-cancer.html Biochemistry Thu, 07 Nov 2024 12:41:28 EST news650205685 Gamma radiation can convert methane into a wide variety of products at room temperature, including hydrocarbons, oxygen-containing molecules, and amino acids, according to a new article published in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-gamma-methane-complex-molecules-life.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Wed, 06 Nov 2024 11:05:04 EST news650113502 Scientists at the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center (CUNY ASRC) have developed a novel approach to better understand and predict the behaviors of water-responsive materials—solid matter that can change shape by absorbing or releasing water in response to humidity fluctuations. These materials, commonly found in nature, have the potential to revolutionize a range of industries, from robotics and smart textiles to bioelectronics and clean energy generation systems. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-scientists-key-responsive-biopolymers.html Biochemistry Materials Science Tue, 05 Nov 2024 15:22:06 EST news650042467 Researchers have found a new way to use biocatalysis to improve the production of critical raw materials required for essential drugs, making the process quicker, more efficient, and environmentally friendly. Biocatalysis is a process that uses enzymes as natural catalysts to carry out chemical reactions. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-enzyme-potential-sustainable-efficient-drug.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Tue, 05 Nov 2024 08:37:03 EST news650018221 A team of international researchers including those from the University of Adelaide have taken a well-known chemical reaction as the basis of a new generation of targeted pain relief medication. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-localized-pain-relief-chemical-reaction.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Tue, 05 Nov 2024 06:55:05 EST news650012102 A team of biochemists at the University of California, San Diego, working with a group of biochemical engineers from the University of California, Los Angeles, has found that the development of short lipids might have led to the development of the first cell membranes on early Earth. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-biochemists-protocells-explore-lipids-cell.html Biochemistry Sun, 03 Nov 2024 07:40:01 EST news649611343 UCLA chemists have found a big problem with a fundamental rule of organic chemistry that has been around for 100 years—it's just not true. And they say, It's time to rewrite the textbooks. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-chemists-broke-year-rewrite-textbooks.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Thu, 31 Oct 2024 14:00:01 EDT news649585562 A research study describes a systematic high-throughput design approach for virtual screening and creation of novel polypeptide-based molecules that form regular secondary structures that can be used in biology or materials science research. The study is published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-polypeptide-based-molecules-pave-polymer.html Biochemistry Polymers Wed, 30 Oct 2024 17:02:03 EDT news649526521 A new study of human skeletal remains from the wreck of the 16th century English warship "Mary Rose" suggests that whether a person is right- versus left-handed may influence how their clavicle bone chemistry changes as they age. Dr. Sheona Shankland of Lancaster University, U.K., and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on October 30, 2024. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-bones-shipwreck-left-handedness-affect.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Wed, 30 Oct 2024 14:00:01 EDT news649504081 A new review of the research on cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) clusters by scientists from Macquarie University and Oxford University will provide a roadmap for biomedical scientists to develop the next generation of treatments for cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-scientists-outline-roadmap-trojan-horse.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Tue, 29 Oct 2024 13:56:35 EDT news649428988 Today, people increasingly seek non-alcoholic versions of beer or wine. Despite boasting different flavors, these two drinks share many aromas, which makes it difficult to produce alcohol-free versions that mimic the real thing. Researchers in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry report on a literature analysis and experiment to characterize the chemical compounds that give beer and wine their unique fragrances. They say their findings could aid the development of flavorful, non-alcoholic substitutes. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-analysis-aromas-differentiate-beer-wine.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Tue, 29 Oct 2024 12:07:02 EDT news649422421 Researchers have made a significant breakthrough in understanding how certain pathogens defend themselves against the host's immune system. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-scientists-uncover-key-mechanism-pathogen.html Biochemistry Tue, 29 Oct 2024 11:48:35 EDT news649421311 A newly discovered protein naturally houses an unusual binding site that can differentiate between rare earth elements, and researchers at Penn State have made it even better. Rare earth elements are key components used in everything from modern tech to gasoline production. The protein, called LanD, enriches neodymium and praseodymium over other similar rare earth elements (REEs) and has the potential to revolutionize industrial mining, researchers said. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-bacterial-protein-efficient-rare-earth.html Biochemistry Materials Science Mon, 28 Oct 2024 17:27:04 EDT news649355221 Derek Urwin has a special stake in his work as a cancer control researcher. After undergraduate studies in applied mathematics at UCLA, he became a firefighter. His inspiration to launch a second career as a scientist was the loss of his brother, Isaac, who died of leukemia at only 33 despite no history of cancer in their family. Working with Anastassia Alexandrova, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UCLA College, he earned his doctorate. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-chemicals-potential-cancer.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Mon, 28 Oct 2024 15:19:05 EDT news649347541 Peptides come and peptides go, sometimes too fast. These strings of amino acids—the building blocks of life—are of intense interest to researchers for their potential to treat everything from stroke to infection, either as the drug or the drug delivery vehicle. That is, when they last long enough to do their work. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-peptides-powerful-medicines.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Mon, 28 Oct 2024 12:32:03 EDT news649337521 Prof. Leslie Leiserowitz first became intrigued by malaria when he was a young boy in South Africa. His father, who scouted the continent in search of wood for the family business, brought back not only tales of elephants and gorillas but also skin rashes and ringing in his ears, side effects of the quinine he took to prevent malaria. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-definitive-atomic-heme-crystals-malaria.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Mon, 28 Oct 2024 09:37:06 EDT news649327022 Pharmaceutical scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have identified and characterized a unique multidomain enzyme capable of catalyzing two distinct types of reactions, both vital for making drug molecules. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-unique-multidomain-enzymes-bacteria.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Mon, 28 Oct 2024 09:22:03 EDT news649326121 Mushrooms exist in a breathtaking variety of shapes, colors and sizes. Especially in autumn, mushroom hunters go into the forests to find the tastiest of them, prepare them in multiple ways and eat them with relish. However, it is well known that there are also poisonous mushrooms among them and it is life-saving to distinguish between them. But are these mushrooms really poisonous? https://phys.org/news/2024-10-poison-muscarine-mushrooms-toxic.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Fri, 25 Oct 2024 13:52:01 EDT news649083112 When Ben Orlando delivered a 2019 research talk at Michigan state University's Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, it set the stage for a collaborative breakthrough that was decades in the making. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-decades-leverage-cryo-em-capture.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Thu, 24 Oct 2024 16:10:07 EDT news649005001 Scientists have identified a natural compound that halts the process involved in the progression of certain forms of cancer and demyelinating conditions—those that damage the sheath, known as myelin, that surrounds neurons—such as multiple sclerosis. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-natural-compound-blocks-enzyme-involved.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Thu, 24 Oct 2024 11:37:19 EDT news648988635 A new study reveals widespread resistance of a major bacterial pathogen to the active ingredients in cleaning agents commonly used in hospitals and homes. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-bacterial-pathogen-alarming-resistance-common.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Thu, 24 Oct 2024 11:00:14 EDT news648986401 The vast majority of organic molecules (based on a carbon structure) are not flat, but have a three-dimensional geometry. Various results can be obtained depending on the way the atoms are arranged inside each molecule. In some cases, a molecule and its mirror image may have completely different properties; we are talking about two symmetric molecules that have the same relationship that an object has with its image in a mirror. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-newly-methodology-molecular-symmetry-theory.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Wed, 23 Oct 2024 15:57:26 EDT news648917844 A new method that research teams can use to measure and compare different forms of proteins and protein complexes helped reveal a previously unseen molecular signature of how algal genomes are controlled during the cell cycle. The publication, "pyMS-Vis, an open-source Python application for visualizing and investigating deconvoluted to-down mass spectrometric experiments: A histone proteoform case study" was recently published in the journal, Analytical Chemistry. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-source-tool-enables-rapid-decoding.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Wed, 23 Oct 2024 13:20:11 EDT news648908401 Researchers from the University of Bonn have trained an AI process to predict potential active ingredients with special properties, deriving a chemical language model—a kind of ChatGPT for molecules. Following a training phase, the AI was able to exactly reproduce the chemical structures of compounds with known dual-target activity that may be particularly effective medications. The study has now been published in Cell Reports Physical Science. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-chemical-chatgpt-medications-ai-potential.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Wed, 23 Oct 2024 12:59:58 EDT news648907193 A research team at the University of Münster led by chemist Prof Frank Glorius has synthesized so-called heteroatom-substituted cage-like 3D molecules. The innovative structures could help address key challenges in drug design by serving as more stable alternatives to traditional, flat, aromatic rings. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-chemists-stable-3d-molecules-drug.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Wed, 23 Oct 2024 12:22:03 EDT news648904921 Just like your left and right hand exist as mirror images of each other, many biological molecules have their own form of left- and right-handedness, called chirality. Our DNA, for example, is made of right-handed chiral molecules which combine to form a right-handed double helix. The left-handed version would look like its mirror image, forming a helix that spins in the opposite direction. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-glass-chiral-reaction-definition-life.html Biochemistry Wed, 23 Oct 2024 11:38:27 EDT news648902304 Colistin is a last-resort antibiotic that is usually only used for severe infections with resistant bacteria. This is due to its severe kidney-damaging side effects, which occur in about 30% of treated patients. A research team at the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI) and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) has now been able to produce an inactivated, harmless form of colistin that is only activated in the body with the help of chemical switches. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-chemical-antibiotic-pathogen.html Biochemistry Mon, 21 Oct 2024 10:43:36 EDT news648726208 Trees are the most abundant natural resource living on Earth's land masses, and North Carolina State University scientists and engineers are making headway in finding ways to use them as sustainable, environmentally benign alternatives to producing industrial chemicals from petroleum. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-lignin-molecular-property-discovery-trees.html Biochemistry Polymers Fri, 18 Oct 2024 14:00:01 EDT news648462070 To address the global threat of antibiotic resistance, scientists are on the hunt for new ways to sneak past a bacterial cell's defense system. Taking what they learned from a previous study on cancer, researchers from the University of Toronto (U of T) have developed novel compounds that trigger bacterial cells to self-destruct. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-team-antibiotic-bacterial-cells-destruct.html Biochemistry Fri, 18 Oct 2024 11:39:57 EDT news648470389 A Chinese research team has reported the discovery of abiotic organic compounds in the oceanic crust of the Southwest Indian Ridge and proposed a molecular mechanism for organic condensation. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-abiotic-synthesis-mechanism-condensation.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Thu, 17 Oct 2024 12:46:37 EDT news648387993