https://phys.org/chemistry-news/biochemistry en-us The latest news on biochemistry Boston College researchers used a mild charge of electricity to precisely modify proteins, a new tool that can be used to develop novel biotherapeutics and protein-based research tools, the team reported recently in the journal Nature Chemistry. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-electrocatalysis-site-specific-protein-modification.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Tue, 05 Mar 2024 13:16:03 EST news628866961 A pair of chemists at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, has observed communication between rotors in a molecular motor. In their study, reported in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Carlijn van Beek and Ben Feringa conducted experiments with alkene-based molecular motors. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-communication-rotors-molecular-motor.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Tue, 05 Mar 2024 10:00:01 EST news628854604 Levofloxacin is a widely used antibiotic prescribed to treat pneumonia, bacterial rhinosinusitis, bacterial prostatitis, pyelonephritis, urinary tract infections, skin disorders, and skin structure infections, among other conditions. The drug is prevalent in aqueous environments owing to its low degradability in wastewater treatment plants and is therefore considered an emerging pollutant. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-material-degrades-widely-antibiotic-contaminates.html Biochemistry Materials Science Mon, 04 Mar 2024 15:57:45 EST news628790263 Millions of people around the world drink coffee every day. The beverage contains a large number of bioactive substances, and its health effects on the human metabolism are therefore frequently subjects of scientific studies. In many of these studies, however, the data on coffee consumption is largely based on self-reporting by the participants and is therefore not always accurate. This can affect the scientific validity of nutritional studies. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-uncover-feasible-biomarker-coffee-consumption.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Mon, 04 Mar 2024 14:45:19 EST news628785914 Paclitaxel is the world's best-selling plant-based anticancer drug and one of the most effective anticancer drugs over the past 30 years. It is widely used in the treatment of various types of cancer, including breast cancer, lung cancer, and ovarian cancer. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-advance-taxol-biosynthesis-large-scale.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Mon, 04 Mar 2024 11:51:41 EST news628775497 A team of biochemists at the University of Minnesota has discovered which two bacterial genes are responsible for producing proteins capable of breaking down metformin in sewer water. In their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group isolated genes likely to be involved in creating the target proteins. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-bacterial-genes-responsible-metformin-sewer.html Biochemistry Mon, 04 Mar 2024 11:49:48 EST news628775381 Adhesives are almost always based on fossil raw materials such as petroleum. Researchers at Fraunhofer have recently developed a process that allows to utilize keratin for this purpose. This highly versatile protein compound can be found, for instance, in chicken feathers. Not only can it be used to manufacture a host of different adhesives for a variety of applications, but the processes and end products are also sustainable and follow the basic principles underlying a bioinspired circular economy. The project, developed together with Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, addresses a billion-dollar market. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-adhesives-feathers.html Biochemistry Materials Science Fri, 01 Mar 2024 10:40:01 EST news628511467 Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the phenomenon of photosynthesis can enable significant progress in the fields of biotechnology and renewable energy. Photosystem II (PSII), a protein complex, plays a central role in this process by catalyzing the oxidation of water and producing dioxygen using sunlight, a fundamental step in oxygenic photosynthesis. Despite extensive research, the structural dynamics of PSII during the water-splitting reaction, especially at the atomic level and on short timescales, remain largely unexplored. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-unraveling-dynamics-photosystem-ii-femtosecond.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Fri, 01 Mar 2024 08:21:37 EST news628503694 Vanderbilt scientist Houra Merrikh led a team of researchers who discovered the first anti-evolution chemical compound that prevents drug resistance development in bacteria. The compound is also a drug development platform that targets antimicrobial resistance during treatment of infections with antibiotics and evolution in general, Merrikh said. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-biochemists-compound-inhibits-evolution-antibiotic.html Biochemistry Thu, 29 Feb 2024 12:52:42 EST news628433559 Roughly 4 billion years ago, Earth was developing conditions suitable for life. Origin-of-life scientists often wonder if the type of chemistry found on the early Earth was similar to what life requires today. They know that spherical collections of fats, called protocells, were the precursor to cells during this emergence of life. But how did simple protocells first arise and diversify to eventually lead to life on Earth? https://phys.org/news/2024-02-scientists-reveal-cells-earth.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Thu, 29 Feb 2024 11:00:01 EST news628421464 Molecules often have a structural asymmetry called chirality, which means they can appear in alternative, mirror-image versions akin to the left and right versions of human hands. One of the great mysteries about the origins of life on Earth is that virtually all of the fundamental molecules of biology, such as the building blocks of proteins and DNA, appear in just one chiral form. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-molecular-handedness-emerged-early-biology.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Wed, 28 Feb 2024 11:52:19 EST news628343534 Although you may never have heard of the cytochrome P450 superfamily of enzymes, these proteins play diverse and critical roles in humans through the metabolic processing of drugs, pesticides, fatty acids, fat-soluble vitamins, and chemical carcinogens and the biosynthesis of essential steroids, including sterols. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-paradigm-shift-enzyme-biochemistry.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Tue, 27 Feb 2024 16:20:04 EST news628273201 Can the multi-billion-dollar denim industry keep producing blue jeans in every shape, size and silhouette, while shrinking oversized levels of hazardous pollution? Research published Tuesday suggests a new dye could be a step in the right direction. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-dyeing-method-jeans-toxic-problem.html Biochemistry Materials Science Tue, 27 Feb 2024 11:29:31 EST news628255762 From Parkinson's and Alzheimer's to cardiac arrhythmia, amyloids are linked to a number of diseases. These aggregates of proteins form in the body when a protein loses its normal structure and misfolds or mutates. And since many of these proteins are large and complicated, just how some of these mutations occur and aggregate remains a mystery—as does the creation of effective treatments. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-clearer-image-glaucoma-relationship-unfolding.html Biochemistry Mon, 26 Feb 2024 11:39:26 EST news628169962 Nitrogenases are considered promising candidates for the sustainable enzymatic production of ammonia and carbon compounds. Unfortunately, one bottleneck in this complex process, the supply of electrons to the enzymes, has remained a mystery until now. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-powering-nitrogenases-biocatalysts.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Mon, 26 Feb 2024 10:59:02 EST news628167541 In living cells, a vast number of transient events occur simultaneously, each of them important for a given cell in carrying out its function. The faithful recording of these transient activities is a prerequisite for a molecular understanding of life, yet obtaining such recordings is extremely challenging. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-chemical-method-approach-cellular.html Biochemistry Fri, 23 Feb 2024 09:51:03 EST news627904261 Nearly 30 years ago, scientists discovered a unique class of anticancer molecules in a family of bryozoans, a phylum of marine invertebrates found in tropical waters. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-chemists-unique-anticancer-molecules-approach.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Thu, 22 Feb 2024 15:01:56 EST news627836513 Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have discovered profound similarities and surprising differences between humans and insects in the production of the critical light-absorbing molecule of the retina, 11-cis-retinal, also known as the "visual chromophore." The findings deepen understanding of how mutations in the RPE65 enzyme cause retinal diseases, especially Leber congenital amaurosis, a devastating childhood blinding disease. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-similarities-differences-human-insect-vision.html Biochemistry Thu, 22 Feb 2024 14:55:02 EST news627836101 A chemical compound essential to all living things has been synthesized in a lab in conditions that could have occurred on early Earth, suggesting it played a role at the outset of life, finds a new study led by University College London researchers. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-compound-vital-life-played-role.html Biochemistry Thu, 22 Feb 2024 14:00:01 EST news627815448 Researchers have developed a new method of labeling naïve neurotransmitter receptor proteins in living animal brains. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-method-neurotransmitter-receptors-animal-brains.html Biochemistry Thu, 22 Feb 2024 10:09:03 EST news627818942 The antibacterial drug levofloxacin is used to treat pneumonia, sinusitis, genitourinary infections, and other diseases. It is included in the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines. In terms of its chemical structure, it is a third-generation fluoroquinolone—a completely synthetic substance of the quinolone type. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-pharmacists-ways-levofloxacin-bacterial-resistance.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Wed, 21 Feb 2024 17:59:03 EST news627760742 A breakthrough class of molecular glue identified at the University of Dundee could pave the way for a new generation of drugs to target cancers and neurodegenerative diseases. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-class-intramolecular-bivalent-cancer-drug.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Wed, 21 Feb 2024 11:51:03 EST news627738661 Biomolecules such as amino acids and sugars occur in two mirror-image forms—in all living organisms, however, only one is ever found. Why this is the case is still unclear. Researchers at Empa and Forschungszentrum Jülich in Germany have now found evidence that the interplay between electric and magnetic fields could be at the origin of this phenomenon. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-magnetic-effects-life-difference.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Tue, 20 Feb 2024 10:05:03 EST news627645901 Researchers from Bochum and Dortmund have created an artificial cell environment that could promote the regeneration of nerves. Usually, injuries to the brain or spinal cord don't heal easily due to the formation of fluid-filled cavities and scars that prevent tissue regeneration. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-scientists-positively-hydrogels-survival-growth.html Biochemistry Materials Science Tue, 20 Feb 2024 09:31:10 EST news627643868 Hydrogels are versatile biomaterials conquering an increasing number of biomedical areas. Consisting of water-swollen molecular networks that can be tailored to mimic the mechanical and chemical features of various organs and tissues, they can interface within the body and on its outer surfaces without causing any damage to even the most delicate parts of the human anatomy. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-scientists-method-bond-hydrogels-polymeric.html Biochemistry Polymers Mon, 19 Feb 2024 15:00:01 EST news627557665 It's an all too common situation—you're busy cooking or baking to a recipe when you open the cupboard and suddenly realize you are missing an ingredient. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-butter-eggs-science-substitute-ingredients.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Mon, 19 Feb 2024 11:42:06 EST news627565325 To synthesize potential drugs or natural products, you need natural substances in specific mirror-image variants and with a high degree of purity. For the first time, chemists at the University of Bonn have succeeded in producing all eight possible variants of polypropionate building blocks from a single starting material in a relatively straightforward process. Their work has now been published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-chemists-variants-polypropionate-blocks-material.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Mon, 19 Feb 2024 10:26:04 EST news627560761 A new antibiotic created by Harvard researchers overcomes antimicrobial resistance mechanisms that have rendered many modern drugs ineffective and are driving a global public health crisis. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-superbug-killer-synthetic-molecule-highly.html Biochemistry Thu, 15 Feb 2024 14:00:01 EST news627210188 An avenue that scientists are currently exploring for the development of novel pharmaceuticals involves the synthesis of bioactive compounds found in Chinese herbal medicine. This collaborative effort, combining traditional knowledge with modern scientific methods, focuses on pharmaceutically relevant compounds found in medicinal plants for large-scale synthesis. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-scientists-total-synthesis-potentially-anti.html Biochemistry Materials Science Thu, 15 Feb 2024 13:42:55 EST news627226972 A paper-based platform developed by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Jawaharlal Nehru Center for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) could help quickly detect the presence of antibiotic-resistant, disease-causing bacteria. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-protocol-rapid-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Thu, 15 Feb 2024 12:27:03 EST news627222416