North Carolina State University chemists have created a compound that makes existing antibiotics 16 times more effective against recently discovered antibiotic-resistant “superbugs.”
A team of University of Arkansas researchers, including an Honors College student, has created a new, “green” method for developing medicines. The researchers used energy from a light bulb to create an organic molecule that may be useful in the treatment of Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases.
Boise State University biologists have uncovered why the chemical defenses in birch, a common type of tree found in North America, are toxic to snowshoe hares.
NC State researchers have created specially engineered mammalian cells to provide a new “chemical handle” which will enable them to label proteins of interest more efficiently.
At a time of increasing concern about low vitamin D levels in the world’s population and increased use of blood tests for the vitamin, scientists are reporting development of a much-needed reference material to assure that measurements of vitamin D levels are accurate.
Taking inspiration from the yellow fattail scorpion, which uses a bionic shield to protect itself against scratches from desert sandstorms, scientists have developed a new way to protect the moving parts of machinery from wear and tear.
The widely used farm practice of grafting watermelon and other melon plants onto squash or pumpkin rootstocks results in larger amounts of certain pesticides in the melon fruit, scientists are reporting in a new study.
Consumers who remember laundry detergents from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s are about to get that déjà vu feeling — and younger people quite a surprise — as detergent manufacturers once again try a major repackaging of their products. Laundry capsules that contain single doses of detergent and take up less space than conventional detergents are set to make a comeback.
A chemist is making and studying materials that decrease toxins in the air by either turning the lights on or off in a room.
Research by a team of Sandia chemists could impact worldwide efforts to produce clean, safe nuclear energy and reduce radioactive waste.
By using a novel technique to better understand mineral growth and dissolution, researchers are improving predictions of mineral reactions and laying the groundwork for applications ranging from keeping oil pipes clear to sequestering radium.
To better understand the fundamental behavior of molecules at surfaces, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are combining the powers of neutron scattering with chemical analysis.
Scientists working at the Medical Research Council have identified changes in the patterns of sugar molecules that line pre-cancerous cells in the esophagus, a condition called Barrett’s dysplasia, making it much easier to detect and remove these cells before they develop into esophageal cancer. These findings have important implications for patients and may help to monitor their condition and prevent the development of cancer.
The chemical industry, which touches 96 percent of all manufactured goods, is seeing some positive signs for 2012, although the overall outlook is not very rosy. Growing demand for chemicals used in agriculture, electronics, cars and airplanes will boost an industry that generates $674 billion in sales in the U.S. alone, but expiring patents and global economic woes will take a toll.
Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore once wrote, “Let your life lightly dance on the edges of time like dew on the tip of a leaf.” Now, a new study is finally offering an explanation for why small dew drops do as Tagore advised and form on the tips, rather than the flat surfaces, of leaves. It appears in ACS’ journal Langmuir.
Scientists are reporting development and initial laboratory tests of an imaging agent that shows promise for detecting the tell-tale signs of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in the brain — signs that now can’t confirm a diagnosis until after patients have died. Their report appears in the journal ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters.
Why do heavy coffee drinkers have a lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, a disease on the increase around the world that can lead to serious health problems? Scientists are offering a new solution to that long-standing mystery in a report in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry.
Chemical engineers at UMass Amherst, using a catalytic fast pyrolysis process that transforms renewable non-food biomass into petrochemicals, have developed a new catalyst that boosts the yield for five key “building blocks of the chemical industry” by 40 percent compared to previous methods.
Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., DrPH discusses the trail of research to his first discovery that aspirin prevents a first heart attack, as well as all the subsequent research that has confirmed his initial landmark finding. He was the founding principal investigator of the landmark Physician's Health Study and was the first to demonstrate that aspirin prevents a first heart attack.
Biochemists have discovered a key interaction that could lead to a new treatment for a rare metabolic disorder, Fabry disease. It should aid understanding of other protein-folding diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, as well. Findings are the cover story in the current Chemistry & Biology.
Roughly three million Americans suffer from peanut allergies; yet current diagnostic methods don’t detect every case. New findings by University of Virginia scientists, however, may allow for the development of more sensitive diagnostic tools and a better understanding of nut allergies.
Scientists are reporting development of a first-of-its-kind technology that could help law enforcement officials trace the residues from terrorist attacks involving nerve gas and other chemical agents back to the companies or other sources where the perpetrators obtained ingredients for the agent.
In pursuit of riches and energy over the last 5,000 years, humans have released into the environment 385,000 tons of mercury, the source of numerous health concerns, according to a new study that challenges the idea that releases of the metal are on the decline.
An antimalarial agent developed by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University proved effective at clearing infections caused by the malaria parasite most lethal to humans – by literally starving the parasites to death. The study, published in the November 11, 2011 issue of PLoS ONE, was led by senior author Vern Schramm, Ph.D., professor and Ruth Merns Chair in Biochemistry at Einstein.
A high-speed robotic screening system, aimed at protecting human health by improving how chemicals are tested in the United States, begins today to test 10,000 compounds for potential toxicity. The compounds cover a wide variety of classifications, and include consumer products, food additives, chemicals found in industrial processes, and human and veterinary drugs. A complete list of the compounds is publicly available at www.epa.gov/ncct/dsstox.
Using clever but elegant design, University at Buffalo chemists have synthesized tiny, molecular cages that can be used to capture and purify nanomaterials.
One major obstacle in the fight against cancer is that anticancer drugs often affect normal cells in addition to tumor cells, resulting in significant side effects. Yet research into development of less harmful treatments geared toward the targeting of specific cancer-causing mechanisms is hampered by lack of knowledge of the molecular pathways that drive cancers in individual patients.
Take a Petri dish containing crude petroleum and it will release a strong odor distinctive of the toxins that make up the fossil fuel. Sprinkle mushroom spores over the Petri dish and let it sit for two weeks in an incubator, and surprise, the petroleum and its smell will disappear.
A new study from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute demonstrates how graphene foam can outperform leading commercial gas sensors in detecting potentially dangerous and explosive chemicals. The discovery opens the door for a new generation of gas sensors to be used by bomb squads, law enforcement officials, defense organizations, and in various industrial settings.
We drink water, bathe in it and we are made mostly of water, yet the common substance poses major mysteries. Now, University of Utah chemists may have solved one enigma by showing how cold water can get before it absolutely must freeze: 55 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.
Researchers led by Prof. Sébastien Sauvé of the University of Montreal’s Department of Chemistry have discovered that traces of caffeine are a useful indicator of the contamination of our water by sewers.
Researchers discover role of H2S as defense mechanism against oxidative stress and antibiotics.
Like a shadowy character just hidden from view, a mystery atom in the middle of a complex enzyme called nitrogenase had long hindered scientists’ ability to study the enzyme fully. But now a Cornell-led scientific team reveals the once-elusive atom. (Science, online, Nov. 17, 2011).
Georgia Tech has developed a computer program that can study larger molecules faster than any other program in existence. The analysis program is designed to improve knowledge about why certain molecules are attracted to each other and how those relationships can be "tuned" to improve drug development.
An experimental treatment for urinary tract infections has easily passed its first test in animals, alleviating weeks-long infections in mice in as little as six hours.
NVC-422 called “effective alternative to known antimicrobial compounds.”
Experts from around the globe came together at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Nov. 4-5 at the Baruch ’60 Center for Biochemical Solar Energy Research to discuss the development of technologies that run on the cleanest and safest energy production process on Earth: photosynthesis.
A protein called “fascin” appears to play a critical transformation role in TGF beta mediated tumor metastasis, say researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center, who published a study in a recent issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Because the incidence of malignant melanoma is rising faster than any other cancer in the U.S., researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues at Intezyne Technologies, Inc., Western Carolina University and the University of Arizona are working overtime to develop new technologies to aid in both malignant melanoma diagnosis and therapy. A tool of great promise comes from the world of nanomedicine – where tiny drug delivery systems are measured in the billionths of meters and are being designed to deliver targeted therapies.
In a significant step toward reducing the threat of HIV, UC Merced Professor Patricia LiWang has designed what may be the most effective chemical inhibitor against infection of the virus.
Two Temple University pharmaceutical experts are available to discuss drug shortages and President Obama's FDA directive to address the growing shortage of prescription drugs.
1) Suloxdexide is no better than placebo at preventing kidney failure or reducing urinary protein excretion in diabetes patients with kidney failure. 2) Kidney disease due to diabetes is the most common cause of kidney failure in developed countries. 3) The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is expected to double by 2030. Kidney disease cases are sure to rise in parallel.
Robert Linhardt is working to forever change the way some of the most widely used drugs in the world are manufactured. Today, in the journal Science, he and his partner in the research, Jian Liu, have announced an important step toward making this a reality. The discovery appears in the October 28, 2011 edition of the journal Science in a paper titled “chemoenzymatic synthesis of homogeneous ultra-low molecular weight heparins.”
In what is so far the largest investigation of its kind, researchers uncovered a wide range of new insights about common diseases and how they are affected by differences between two persons' genes. The results from this study could lead to highly targeted, individualized therapies.
Boston University researchers, in a paper published in the journal Nature Chemistry, present a new approach to accessing new, biorelevant structures by "remodelling" natural products. In this case, they demonstrate how the natural product derivative fumagillol can been remodelled to access a collection of new molecules using highly efficient chemical reactions.
A small molecule developed at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital advances progress toward more tailored drugs in research that also offers insight into the biology of thyroid hormone.
Scientists for the first time have identified and mapped the chemical structure of molecules used by certain species of marine seaweed to kill or inhibit the growth of reef-building coral.
An international research team has discovered that a pervasive human RNA modification provides the physiological underpinning of the genetic regulatory process that contributes to obesity and type II diabetes.
A newly developed method for microscopically extracting, or "mining," information from genomes could represent a significant boost in the search for new therapeutic drugs and improve science's understanding of basic functions such as how cells communicate with one another.
Physicists have predicted that under the influence of sufficiently high electric fields, liquid droplets of certain materials will undergo solidification, forming crystallites at temperature and pressure conditions that correspond to liquid droplets at field-free conditions. This electric-field-induced phase transformation is termed electrocrystallization. The study was performed by scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
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