Tiny motor one day could drive innovations in materials science and medicine. Electric vehicles, powered by macroscopic electric motors, are increasingly prevalent on our streets and highways. These quiet and eco-friendly machines got their start nearly 200 years ago when physicists took the first tiny steps to bring electric motors into the world. Now a multidisciplinary team led by Northwestern University has made an electric motor you can’t see with the naked eye: an electric motor on the molecular scale….

New OHSU, OSU research uses lipid nanoparticles to target light-sensitive cells in the eye. Using nanotechnology that enabled mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines, a new approach to gene therapy may improve how physicians treat inherited forms of blindness. A collaborative team of researchers with Oregon Health & Science University and Oregon State University have developed an approach that uses lipid nanoparticles — tiny, lab-made balls of fat — to deliver strands of messenger ribonucleic acid, or mRNA, inside the eye. To treat blindness, the…

… for efficient one-pot chemoenzymatic reactions. The merging of different types of catalysis including enzymatic, homogeneous, and heterogeneous catalysis is fundamentally important for both understanding catalysis at the atom level and the design of novel hybrid catalysts. The latter points to a direction toward the ideal catalyst that can drive complex tandem reactions efficiently in one-pot manner, and simplify the whole chemical production and separation process. Artificial enzymes that merge enzymatic, homogeneous, and heterogeneous catalysis provide such a promising platform…

The glittering, serpentine structures that power wearable electronics can be created with the same technology used to print rock concert t-shirts, new research shows. The study, led by Washington State University researchers, demonstrates that electrodes can be made using just screen printing, creating a stretchable, durable circuit pattern that can be transferred to fabric and worn directly on human skin. Such wearable electronics can be used for health monitoring in hospitals or at home. “We wanted to make flexible, wearable electronics…

… calls for revision of current classification. Munidopsid squat lobsters (from the family Munidopsidae) are among the most abundant decapods found at abyssal depths of the ocean. They are the most diverse squat lobster group in the East Pacific region and make their homes in one of the harshest ocean environments. Squat lobsters, named due to the folding of the tail (or abdomen) beneath the body, are more related to hermit crabs than to well-known lobsters or crabs. There are…

Researchers at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, have discovered a new synthetic pathway with which they can produce a specific organic compound from the simple molecule carbon monoxide (CO), namely anionic ketenes. These were previously only known as reactive intermediates, and therefore couldn’t be used as defined reagents. The Bochum-based researchers produced anionic ketenes that were so stable that they could be isolated. Unlike previous methods, which can produce higher-value compounds from simple molecules, this approach doesn’t require any expensive or…

Rechargeable batteries that use ammonium cations as charge carriers could provide ecofriendly and sustainable substitutes to metal-ion-based batteries, researchers at KAUST show. Metal-ion batteries, such as lithium-ion batteries, are the go-to energy storage solution. They dominate the market for portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles because of their high energy density and versatility. However, metal ions used in the electrolytes come from limited and declining resources, which threatens long-term availability. Their toxicity and flammability can be unsafe and harmful to…

Despite being intracellular symbionts, some chlamydiae could gain important genes through gene transfer from other bacteria. All chlamydiae today live inside the cells of hosts ranging from amoeba to animals. A team of scientists from the University of Vienna and the Wageningen University & Research found that the ancestor of chlamydiae likely already lived inside host cells, but that chlamydiae infecting amoeba evolved later in ways unexpected for intracellular bacteria. The study published in Nature Microbiology is an important step…

Research discovery will enable the manufacturing of biorenewable materials from trees and corn. A team led by University of Minnesota Twin Cities researchers has invented a groundbreaking new catalyst technology that converts renewable materials like trees and corn to the key chemicals, acrylic acid, and acrylates used in paints, coatings, and superabsorbent polymers. The new catalyst technology is also highly efficient, which means lower costs for manufacturing renewable chemicals. The new catalyst formulation converts lactic acid-based chemicals derived from corn…

… eluding the immune system. Discovery advances possibility of designing drugs against SARS-CoV-2. The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS CoV-2 virus, continues to threaten populations around the world, after killing over 1 million Americans. In recent weeks, XBB.1.5, the most transmissible variant to date, has started to sweep across the country. One aspect of the novel coronavirus that makes it so infectious and challenging to control is its ability to outwit the body’s innate immune defenses. A new study…

… and its relation to photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the greatest natural process converting sunlight into chemical energy on a massive scale and maintaining the life on Earth. There are basically two successive stages of oxygenic photosynthesis, of which the light-dependent reactions in photosystem II (PSII), and in photosystem I (PSI), enable the oxidation of H2O into molecular oxygen, and production of reducing power (NADPH and ATP), while CO2 assimilation is generally known to take place long after oxygen evolution and…

Researchers report that a key transcription factor “Nrf3” regulates the process of melanin production in mouse and human cells. The skin is presumably the largest and one of the most versatile body organs. By providing a physical barrier, it protects our body from environmental assaults. Melanin—a natural pigment produced by specialized skin cells called “melanocytes”—shields our body from the detrimental effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation. UV radiation is responsible for DNA damage, genetic mutations, and can also lead to the…

… for efficient biomass energy production. Scientists discover new regulatory mechanisms in molds, potentially enabling a comprehensive high production method for various enzymes that degrade plant biomass. Filamentous fungi have long been a good friend of sake brewers, but they might soon also be a sidekick for environmentalists. Osaka Metropolitan University researchers have revealed the regulatory mechanisms of enzyme production in a filamentous fungus that allows for efficient degradation of plant biomass, an alternative energy resource to petroleum. Filamentous fungi…

Two Dresden Research Institutes want to Reduce the Number of Animal Experiments in Radiopharmaceutical Research with a New Idea. Radioactivity can save lives. When neither chemotherapy or surgery nor radiation from the outside help against a tumor, modern medicine uses so-called radiopharmaceuticals. These radioactive drugs not only detect cancer cells, they also enable targeted radiation from the inside to destroy the tumor. However, before such substances become available for use in humans, extensive animal testing is currently required during their…

Metabolism is inextricably linked to aging: While it helps maintain vital processes, makes us grow, and triggers cellular repairs, it also produces substances that damage our cells and cause us to age. “The metabolic processes that occur within cells are highly complex,” says Prof. Markus Ralser, Director of Charité’s Department of Biochemistry and Einstein Professor of Biochemistry on Charité’s medical faculty. “The exchange of substances between cells in a community is one important factor, because it has a substantial impact on…

Rice lab photochemistry method eases manufacture of drug, chemical precursors. Inexpensive iron salts are a key to simplifying the manufacture of essential precursors for drugs and other chemicals, according to scientists at Rice University. They’ve refined the process of producing diazides, building-block molecules in the production of drugs and agricultural chemicals. Iron salts along with processes called radical ligand transfer and ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) make it affordable and environmentally friendly. Rice synthetic chemist Julian West and co-lead authors Kang-Jie…