Only one in 100,000 people suffer from a pheochromocytoma, a tumor of the adrenal gland. If the tumor has already metastasized, a radioactive compound can be used to detect malignant cells that have spread to other parts of the body, and to irradiate them from the inside. However, the preparation containing the beta emitter Lutetium-177 can only bind to the tumor if it has sufficient target molecules, which is not always the case. By administering two approved drugs prior to…
Heidelberg researchers investigate the earliest steps of ribosome development. Ribosomes are the nanomachines of the cell whose task is the correct synthesis of proteins. Researchers at the Heidelberg University Biochemistry Center are studying the emergence of these “protein factories”, also known as ribosomes. Led by Prof. Dr Ed Hurt, they have decoded the special role of a heretofore unexplored biogenesis factor in the maturation of precursor ribosomes. The research results, obtained in close cooperation with colleagues of Ludwig Maximilian University…
A research team from Saarbrücken develops a novel lung cell line for testing drugs. Before new drugs can be tested in animal experiments and later in clinical trials, they must undergo a large number of laboratory tests. This involves the use of so-called cell lines, i.e. human or animal cells of a specific tissue that can be cultivated in the laboratory. A team led by Prof Claus-Michael Lehr of the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) has now developed…
The new method enables faster and easier reading of RNA modifications which can be applied to clinical samples, the study of plant RNA, or understanding their role in diseases. A team of researchers from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) has developed a software method that accurately predicts chemical modifications of RNA[1] molecules from genomic data. Their method, called m6Anet, was published in Nature Methods on 10 November 2022. Within the…
Hydrogen spillover depicts the dynamic migration of surface adsorbed hydrogen species from hydrogen-rich sites to hydrogen-poor sites. It plays an important role in many H-involving reaction processes. In order to enhance the catalytic performance of H-involving reactions, it is important to understand the detailed mechanism of hydrogen spillover, and uncover how hydrogen transfers and what factors control hydrogen conductivity on solid surface. Recently, a research team led by Prof. MU Rentao and Prof. FU Qiang from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP)…
Heidelberg chemists study manganese, lutetium, and actinium compounds for potential applications in medicine. Tailor-made chemical complexes of certain elements from the group of metals could be suitable for use in a special way in medical imaging as well as potential applications in personalised precision medicine. This has been demonstrated by a research team led by Prof. Dr Peter Comba at the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry of Heidelberg University. In their basic research, the Heidelberg scientists worked with manganese, lutetium, and…
Gases from phytoplankton in the ocean help form dense clouds that reflect sunlight. The teeming life in the Southern Ocean, which encircles Antarctica, contributes to brightening the clouds that form there, according to a study published today in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. The clouds are bright because of their high density of water droplets, due in turn to a chain of atmospheric processes that eventually connects back to the Southern Ocean’s extraordinary phytoplankton productivity. The study helps us better understand the…
… understanding the mechanisms of underwater turning maneuvers in penguins. Penguins constitute a fascinating family of flightless birds that, although somewhat clumsy on land, are extremely talented swimmers. Their incredible maneuverability in water has captivated biologists for decades, with the first hydrodynamic studies on their swimming dating back to the 1970s. Although a rare few studies have clarified some of the physics behind penguins’ dexterity, most of them have focused on forward swimming rather than turning. While one may argue…
…with triple elementalization. In recent years, organic chemicals containing boron (B) and silicon (Si) have found applications in various fields, including optoelectronics and pharmaceuticals. Moreover, they can also serve as building blocks for complex organic chemicals. As a result, scientists are actively looking for new ways to leverage these versatile chemical tools as well as produce more kinds of organosilicon and organoboron compounds. One limitation of the synthesis methods currently available for these chemicals is that we cannot introduce multiple…
Approximately 300 million people are chronically infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV), which can cause liver cirrhosis or cancer. Consequently, there is an urgent need for the development of HBV curative therapies. Due to the unique replication strategy of HBV, however, quantification of viral DNA in infected liver cells, which is essential in preclinical and clinical studies, is technically difficult and not standardised. An international research consortium led by DZIF scientists has now developed recommendations for the optimisation, control…
Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry sheds light on the biosynthesis of pungency. How do plants make those pungent substances, anyway? The Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (IPB) is working intensively on this topic. Recently, a group of scientists led by Dr. Thomas Vogt have pinpointed the crucial enzyme that gives the fruits of the pepper plant (lat. Piper nigrum) the distinctive, pungent taste. The enzyme in question, piperine synthase, catalyzes the final step towards biosynthesizing pungent piperine. Now the biochemists…
Two catalysts working in tandem enable inexpensive formate salts to perform difficult dearomative reactions, giving products potentially useful for drug development. Researchers at the Institute for Chemical Reaction Design and Discovery (WPI-ICReDD) have developed a method that uses cooperating catalysts to carry out challenging dearomative carboxylation reactions. In this process, highly reactive carbon dioxide (CO2) radical anions are derived from inexpensive formate salts and used to produce a variety of products, including α-amino acids, which are potentially useful in drug…
The harmonious coexistence between the human society and the nature has prompted the rapid development of advanced manufacturing. Typically, green biomanufacturing, which uses renewable resources as raw materials and enzymes or microorganisms as catalysts to produce target chemicals, has been considered to be highly consistent with The Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry. Specifically, enzyme-based green biomanufacturing has been extensively applied for many industrial fields such as food, pharmaceutical, chemicals, etc. Reduction reactions are most commonly employed in enzyme-based biomanufacturing processes….
It’s been over 20 years since neuroimaging studies – using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a widely-used technology to capture live videos of brain activity – have been detecting brain-wide complex patterns of correlated brain activity that appear disrupted in a wide range of neurological and psychiatric disorders. These patterns form spontaneously, even at rest when no particular task is being performed, and have been detected not only in humans but also across mammals, including monkeys and rodents. Although such…
University of North Carolina School of Medicine researchers show how Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus and Epstein-Barr virus hijack a human protein to help the viruses evade innate immune detection to spread undeterred. The viruses Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) have been linked to several cancers. For the first time, UNC School of Medicine scientists have discovered that these viruses use a human protein called barrier-to-autointegration factor 1, or BAF, to evade our innate immune response, allowing the viruses…
… enables rapid organic synthesis under sunlight. A research group led by Prof. WU Kaifeng from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has reported the efficient near-infrared photon upconversion sensitized by lead-free semiconductor nanocrystals, and demonstrated its novel application in solar synthesis. The study was published in Nature Photonics on Feb. 6. Upconversion of near-infrared photons to visible photons can boost the performance of photovoltaics, photoredox-catalysis and phototheranostics. Sensitized triplet-fusion is a promising means…
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