As biocatalysts, enzymes manage the metabolism of all living things. They do this extremely precisely, because even a single incorrectly converted substance could have fatal consequences for the organism. Young researchers from the Leibniz Science Campus ComBioCat are using this selective approach of enzymes and proteins in general to develop catalysts of the future: so-called artificial metalloenzymes. In the future, combinations of bio- and chemical catalysts will be used to design complex molecules, e.g. for pharmaceuticals, in a targeted and…
Chemists from Freiburg have succeeded in converting polynuclear transition metal carbonyls into their homoleptic complex cations using typical inorganic oxidants. In their work, the research team of Malte Sellin, Christian Friedmann and Prof. Dr. Ingo Krossing from the Institute of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry and Maximilian Mayländer and Sabine Richert from the Institute of Physical Chemistry at the University of Freiburg show that the anthracene derivative with a half-step potential of 1.42 Volts vs. Fc0/+ can be converted to the…
… could help our understanding of diseases. The ligand-receptor binding is important for biological processes such as immunity and infectious disease. For example, the leukocyte can enter injured tissue by binding to the P selectin on the endothelial cells. COVID-19 is caused by the binding between viral spikes and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) on the host cells. Single-cell assays of different types have been developed to study the binding or adhesion kinetics. However, the difference in measured binds between P…
Scientists explore the evolution of neurons. A new study into the neurons found in the earliest-diverging animal lineages reveals key clues about the form of the most ancestral nervous system, and how it first evolved. Neurons, the specialized cells of the nervous system, are possibly the most complicated cell type ever to have evolved. In humans, these cells are capable of processing and transmitting vast sums of information. But how such complicated cells first came about remains a long-standing debate….
Scientists have developed a small robot to understand how ants teach one another. The team built the robot to mimic the behaviour of rock ants that use one-to-one tuition, in which an ant that has discovered a much better new nest can teach the route there to another individual. The findings, published in the Journal of Experimental Biology today, confirm that most of the important elements of teaching in these ants are now understood because the teaching ant can be…
Research team studies role morphogens play in tissue patterning in heart development. Morphogens are molecules that travel from biological cell to cell to pattern tissues in the embryo. These molecules are important not only for the embryo during development, but also for the adult during tissue repair. However, the way these morphogens are distributed to ensure patterning occurs is still not fully understood. Using a combination of experiments and mathematical modeling, a research team from the University of Tokyo and…
Studying a deadly type of breast cancer called triple negative, Johns Hopkins Medicine scientists say they have identified key molecular differences between cancer cells that cling to an initial tumor and those that venture off to form distant tumors. The research, using mouse models and human tissues, could pave the way for developing new treatments that target such molecular variations. A report on the findings is published Aug. 3 in Science Translational Medicine. “We have long needed new treatment targets…
A new biosynthesis method has been developed. A research team with members from Goethe University Frankfurt and the University of Michigan in the USA is using bacterial biosynthesis to produce an antibiotic containing fluorine –The technology is being commercialized by a startup. Active drug agents have been chemically modified with fluorine for decades, owing to its numerous therapeutic effects: Fluorine can strengthen the bonding of the active agent to the target molecule, make it more accessible to the body, and…
Cardiovascular diseases remain a leading cause of death around the world. A primary contributor to these afflictions is high blood pressure, or hypertension. While treatments exist for the condition, which affects tens of millions of Americans, these remedies are not without side effects, and some variants of the disorder are treatment-resistant. The need for more effective therapies to address hypertension-related disease is therefore acute.The illustration shows a portion of the receptor pGC-A, known as the extracellular domain, which protrudes from…
Nearly half of all vaccines go to waste. This is due to the logistical obstacles involved in transporting them to diverse regions of the world. Most vaccines require strict temperature regulation from the manufacturing line to injection into a human arm. Maintaining a constant temperature along the cold (supply) chain is a challenging feat in the best of circumstances. In Sub-Saharan Africa and other developing regions, for example, limited transport infrastructure and unreliable electricity compounds the already immense challenges of…
Development of effective live bacterial therapeutics may depend more on using and re-introducing native microbes that can stick around than how the microbes are modified. Residing within the human gut are trillions of bacteria and other microorganisms that can impact a variety of chronic human ailments, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, cancer, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and inflammatory bowel disease. Numerous diseases are associated with imbalance or dysfunction in gut microbiome. Even in diseases that don’t involve the microbiome,…
UC San Diego and Salk scientists uncover surprising connection that results in abnormal inflammation and development of atherosclerosis; findings could lead to new therapeutics for other diseases as well. Mitochondria are organelles found within most cells, best known for generating the chemical energy required to power cellular functions. Increasingly, however, researchers are discovering how mitochondrial function — and dysfunction — play critical roles in numerous diseases, and even aging. In a new study published in the August 4, 2022 online…
… awakens stem cells to repair damaged muscle. Study published in Science opens up new avenues for enhancing muscle regeneration. A new study published in the journal Science reveals a unique form of cell communication that controls muscle repair. In damaged muscle, stem cells must work together with immune cells to complete the repair process, yet how these cells coordinate to ensure the efficient removal of dead tissue before making new muscle fibers has remained unknown. The scientists have now…
Researchers use single-cell approaches and deep learning to map all stages of fruit fly embryo development, possibly moving one-step closer to predictive embryonic genomics. Scientists have constructed the most complete and detailed single-cell map of embryo development in any animal to date, using the fruit fly as a model organism. Published in Science, this study, co-led by Eileen Furlong at EMBL and Jay Shendure at the University of Washington, harnesses data from over one million embryonic cells spanning all stages…
Cardiomyopathy is not a uniform disease. Rather, individual genetic defects lead to heart failure in different ways, an international consortium reports in Science. The molecular and cellular mechanisms that lead to heart failure in people with cardiomyopathy are determined by the specific gene variant that each patient carries, according to newly published research based on the first comprehensive single-cell analysis of cardiac cells from healthy and failing hearts. The work, reported in the journal Science, was conducted by 53 scientists from six countries in North…
Researchers from TU Delft have constructed the smallest flow-driven motors in the world. Inspired by iconic Dutch windmills and biological motor proteins, they created a self-configuring flow-driven rotor from DNA that converts energy from an electrical or salt gradient into useful mechanical work. The results open new perspectives for engineering active robotics at the nanoscale. The article is now published in Nature Physics. Elusive Rotary motors have been the powerhouses of human societies for millennia: from the windmills and waterwheels…
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