A study from Indiana University published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has found evidence that extremely small changes in how atoms move in bacterial proteins can play a big role in how these microorganisms function and evolve.
Hopefully you've discovered this week how femtosecond science provides revolutionary views of some of nature’s fastest phenomena. You now know how mind-bogglingly fast a femtosecond passes, and you might be thinking things couldn't get much faster. Well, let’s talk about the attosecond.
Better medical responses to the accidental or intentional release of inhaled toxic chemicals are being developed, but the field faces considerable challenges, according to a new report by an international panel of experts. The report, “Chemical Inhalation Disasters: Biology of Lung Injury, Development of Novel Therapeutics, and Medical Preparedness,” has been published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.
Deprived of oxygen, naked mole-rats can survive by metabolizing fructose just as plants do, researchers report this week in the journal Science – a finding that could lead to treatments for heart attacks and strokes.
It all started when a high school chemistry teacher encouraged Amy Cordones-Hahn to leapfrog her regular classroom assignments and do experiments in his lab.
The Electrochemical Society (ECS) is pleased to announce the 11 award winners for the Society’s spring biannual meeting.
DNA molecules in the cells‘ nuclei are neatly folded into loops. This serves to wrap them up tightly, but also to bring distant gene regulatory sequences into close contact. In a paper published this week by NATURE, scientists at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna describe how cohesin might do the trick.
New research provides evidence that an old drug may provide relief for people with advanced Parkinson’s, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 69th Annual Meeting in Boston, April 22 to 28, 2017.
Chemists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have discovered a new method that greatly simplifies, and in many cases enables for the first time, the making of a vast range of organic molecules.
Approximately 10-20 percent of white dwarfs exhibit strong magnetic fields, some of which can reach up to 100,000 tesla. In comparison, on Earth, the strongest magnetic fields that can be generated using nondestructive magnets are about 100 tesla. Therefore, studying the chemistry in such extreme conditions is only possible using theory and until now has not provided much insight to the spectra accompanying white dwarfs. Researchers in Germany describe their work modeling these systems this week in The Journal of Chemical Physics.
According to the National Cancer Institute, nearly one-third of cancer deaths can be attributed to a wasting syndrome known as cachexia. Cachexia, an indicator of the advanced stages of disease, is a debilitating disorder that causes loss of appetite, lean body mass and can lead to multi-organ failure. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri in partnership with Tensive Controls, Inc. have developed a drug that could reverse cachexia. The team currently is seeking canine candidates for a pilot study to test the new drug.
Thomas Allison, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and Physics, and a developer of a technology at Stony Brook that will record the movement of molecules that may lead to the development of better high-tech devices, is the winner of the 2017 Discovery Prize.
Chemists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have developed a broad and strikingly easy method for synthesizing a class of molecules that have demonstrated value as pharmaceuticals.
Wu, a theoretical chemist at Brookhaven Lab’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN), performs calculations and simulations and constructs models that provide a fundamental understanding of the structures, dynamics, and properties of chemical systems.
Got a millionth of a billionth of a second? There’s science that actually happens on this timescale. Join us online for a week of ultrafast science from April 17 to 21. Learn more about how scientists and engineers use electron beams and bright pulses of light from the Linac Coherent Light Source X-ray laser and other advanced lasers to capture some of nature’s speediest processes that occur in just femtoseconds, or quadrillionths of a second.
According to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, more than 30,000 Americans are living with the disorder. It currently has no cure, though a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration treats the underlying cause of the disease. However, the drug’s effectiveness for each individual is unknown. Researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine have developed an imaging technique using a specific form of helium to measure the drug’s effectiveness. Researchers hope the finding could lead to improved therapies for cystic fibrosis and other lung conditions.
Diabetes researchers have puzzled for decades about why insulin-producing beta cells in one pancreatic islet often look and behave quite differently than their counterparts in the same islet or in nearby islets. Using newly identified cellular markers of aging, Joslin Diabetes Center scientists now have shown that this diversity may be driven at least in part by differently aged beta cell populations within the pancreas.
Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory are participating in a collaborative effort to study how the use of zirconium-based metal organic frameworks and niobium-based polyoxometalates may be effectively used in gas masks to capture and decompose dangerous chemical agents like Sarin.
When DNA is hit with ultraviolet light, it can lose excess energy from radiation by ejecting the core of a hydrogen atom — a single proton — to keep other chemical bonds in the system from breaking. To gain insight into this process, researchers used X-ray laser pulses from the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to investigate how energy from light transforms a relatively simple molecule, 2-thiopyridone.
Combining theory with experiment, University of Wisconsin–Madison scientists are trying to understand how life can arise from non-life. Researchers at the UW–Madison Wisconsin Institute for Discovery are conducting experiments to test the idea that lifelike chemical reactions might develop readily under the right conditions. The work addresses some of the deepest mysteries in biology, and has implications for understanding how common life might be in the universe.
Berkeley Lab researchers have, for the first time, captured the ephemeral electron movements in a transient state of a chemical reaction using ultrafast, tabletop X-ray spectroscopy. The researchers used femtosecond pulses of X-ray light to catch the unraveling of a ring molecule that is important in biochemical and optoelectronic processes.
Biologists have discovered that communities of bacteria have been employing a social timesharing strategy for millions of years. Bacteria facing limited nutrients enter an elegant timesharing strategy--a concept used for vacation homes and social applications--in which communities alternate feeding periods to maximize efficiency.
A light-sensing pigment found in everything from bacteria to vertebrates can be biochemically manipulated to reset itself, an important therapeutic advantage, according to new research out of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
Scientists built a new device that shows what happens when electrode, electrolyte, and active materials meet in energy storage technologies.
Seaweed, the edible algae with a long history in some Asian cuisines, and which has also become part of the Western foodie culture, could turn out to be an essential ingredient in another trend: the development of more sustainable ways to power our devices. Researchers have made a seaweed-derived material to help boost the performance of superconductors, lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells.
Imagine being able to check the structural integrity of an airplane, ship or bridge, without having to dismantle it or remove any material for testing, which could further compromise the structure. That’s the promise of a new laser-based technique that chemists are developing to reveal hidden damage in metals.
As many as 600 million people in Southeast Asia chew areca nuts with betel leaves, sometimes adding tobacco leaves. Many users are addicted to this harmful “betel quid” preparation, which can create a sense of euphoria and alertness. Yet researchers have now discovered that compounds derived from the nut could help cigarette smokers — as well as betel quid chewers — kick their habits.
A new facility at the University of Arkansas combines laser ablation and mass spectrometry for quick, efficient analysis of trace elements and radiogenic isotopes.
Over time, viruses have evolved very efficient methods for making us sick, but a UT Dallas researcher thinks that same efficiency could be exploited to improve human health.
Stony Brook University-led research team through the Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology has created a user-friendly automated computer server that calculates complex computations of modeling protein interactions with a handful of clicks from a home computer.
Researchers from Canada, the U.K. and Germany have developed a new experimental technique to take 3-D images of molecules in action. This tool can help scientists better understand the quantum mechanics underlying bigger and more complex molecules. They describe their work in this week’s The Journal of Chemical Physics.
In overweight and obese children and adolescents, vitamin D deficiency is associated with early markers of cardiovascular disease, a new study reports. The research results will be presented Sunday, April 2, at ENDO 2017, the annual scientific meeting of the Endocrine Society, in Orlando.
The University of Utah is one of just five institutions in the world to be awarded a $2.5 million grant to purchase a state of the art cryo-electron microscope (cryo-EM), the Beckman Foundation announced today. The microscope, which will be able to visualize the structure of proteins and DNA at an atom-by-atom scale, will be installed in the Crocker Science Center, currently under construction. The microscope’s resolution is fine enough to see details such as the double-helix and ladder structure of DNA, said biochemistry professor Wesley Sundquist.
Although the World Health Organization ended its global health emergency on Zika last November, the virus could still make a comeback as temperatures get warmer and mosquito season ramps up.
Transparent biosensors embedded into contact lenses could soon allow doctors and patients to monitor blood glucose levels and a host of other telltale signs of disease without invasive tests. Scientists say the bio-sensing lenses, based on technology that led to the development of smartphones with more vivid displays, also could potentially be used to track drug use or serve as an early detection system for cancer and other serious medical conditions.
Hair fiber analysis, a forensic crime tool with a questionable past, could soon have a brighter future thanks to the development of a more refined scientific technique that could reveal much about a person’s lifestyle. Scientists say the new technique could potentially provide investigators with vital clues about a person’s age, sex, body mass, diet and exercise habits that could help them hone in on potential suspects.
Taking a cue from the Marvel Universe, researchers report that they have developed a self-healing polymeric material with an eye toward electronics and soft robotics that can repair themselves.
Billions of pounds of plastic waste are littering the world’s oceans. Now, a Ph.D. organic chemist and a sailboat captain report that they are developing a process to reuse certain plastics, transforming them from worthless trash into a valuable diesel fuel with a small mobile reactor.
In the second half of the 20th century, the mass use of fertilizer was part of an agricultural boom called the “green revolution” that was largely credited with averting a global food crisis.
In the ultimate betrayal, one’s own immune system can turn against the protective sheath that envelops neurons in the brain, leaving the body paralyzed. Researchers have developed an experimental treatment that tames the wayward immune system in rodents, returning the power of movement to paralyzed mice. The approach may someday combat autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes, in humans.
On the list of dreaded medical tests, a prostate biopsy probably ranks fairly high. The common procedure requires sticking a needle into the prostate gland to remove tissue for assessment. Thousands of men who undergo the uncomfortable procedure, prompted by a positive PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test, ultimately don’t require cancer treatment.
Spraying cyanide near coral reefs teeming with tropical creatures can quickly and cheaply stun ornamental fish that can then be scooped up and sold around the world. The practice supplies pet stores but often leaves behind damaged coral and dead fish exposed to too much of the toxin.
In a perfect world, people would diligently reapply sunscreen every couple of hours to protect their delicate skin from damaging solar radiation. But in reality, few people actually adhere to reapplication guidelines, and those who do hardly relish the task. To develop longer-lasting sunscreens, researchers are trying to answer a basic question: How do sunblock ingredients work?
Pollution created by making and dyeing clothes has pitted the fashion industry and environmentalists against each other. Now, the advent of “fast fashion” — trendy clothing affordable enough to be disposable — has strained that relationship even more. But what if we could recycle clothes like we recycle paper, or even upcycle them? Scientists report today new progress toward that goal.
Powerful nuisance odors from sewage and wastewater treatment facilities are a worldwide problem, but finding and eliminating the sources of such unpleasant aromas can be difficult.
Most medicines can’t get through the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a highly selective membrane that separates the circulatory system from the fluid bathing the brain. Certain peptides in animal venoms, however, can navigate across it to inflict damage. Now, researchers are capitalizing on venomous sneak attacks by developing a strategy based on a bee-venom peptide, apamin, to deliver medications to the brain.
Antibiotics save lives every day, but there is a downside to their ubiquity. High doses can kill healthy cells along with infection-causing bacteria, while also spurring the creation of “superbugs” that no longer respond to known antibiotics. Now, researchers may have found a natural way to cut down on antibiotic use without sacrificing health: a maple syrup extract that dramatically increases the potency of these medicines.
Exposure during infancy to the common plasticizer bisphenol A (BPA) “hijacks” and reprograms genes in the liver of newborn rats, leading to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in adulthood. A new study has found how this process occurs, and researchers will present the results Saturday at ENDO 2017, the Endocrine Society’s 99th annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.
Some flame retardants used in many home products appear to be associated with the most common type of thyroid cancer, papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), according to a new study being presented Saturday at the Endocrine Society’s 99th annual meeting, ENDO 2017, in Orlando, Fla.
Environmental exposure to common pesticides may cause boys to reach sexual maturity earlier, researchers have found. They will present their study results Saturday at the Endocrine Society’s 99th annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.
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