Biology and biotechnology – Page 7
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ResearchGlassware found to promote reactions in Miller–Urey 'primordial soup' experiment
By running their famous 1952 experiment in glass flasks, Stanley Miller and Harold Urey might have unintentionally simulated the role of rocks on early Earth
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ResearchIndividual proteins identified with world’s tiniest ruler
Nanosized caliper that can identify individual proteins could ‘do for proteins what next-generation sequencing did for DNA’
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ResearchPossible dinosaur DNA discovered in 125-million-year-old fossil
But that doesn’t mean we can clone extinct species Jurassic Park-style
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ResearchTiny shear forces have big effect on protein reactions
Proteins react faster under the forces they experience when they squeeze through blood vessels
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ResearchExploiting evolution to explore chemical space shows promise for drug discovery
Using molecular trees – similar to family trees – chemists could predict how products will evolve to make new molecules
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ResearchBees’ static buzz triggers release of floral fragrance
Discovery reveals new nuances in pollination
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ResearchCyanobacteria engineered to accept external electricity turn carbon dioxide into fuel
Replacing photosystem II with an exogenous supply of electrons overcomes limitations of natural photosynthesis to fix carbon dioxide more efficiently
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ResearchDNA robot controls live cells’ movement
Molecular machine walks across cell membrane to activate cellular migration
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ResearchUltraphosphates break decades-old anti-branching rule
Discovery of elusive branched phosphates’ unexpected stability means they could have played a role in prebiotic chemistry
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ResearchProgrammable peptoid template for disrupting protein–protein interactions inside cells
System optimises residues involved in binding target independently from those that promote membrane permeability
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Research‘Self-inflating’ synthetic cells can capture, store and release cargo
Entirely artificial system can use chemical energy to ‘swallow’ payloads like bacteria
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ResearchGiant molecular cage protects plastic-eating enzyme
Caged protein withstands temperatures much hotter than its usual melting point and becomes 1000 times more resistant to solvents
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ResearchHeavy metal proteins are the secret weapon in ant bites
Protein-rich biomaterials containing zinc, manganese, copper and bromine allow ants, crabs and scorpions to pack more punch for their size
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ResearchOverreliance on cryocooled protein structures may compromise computational structure-based drug design
Scientists behind first of its kind study encourage more researchers to analyse protein structures at room temperature
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ResearchMethane mystery on Saturn’s moon rekindles search for life on other planets
Researchers struggle to explain suspicious amounts of methane on Enceladus while a new chapter opens in the debate around the source of Venus’s phosphine. Why is it so hard to decide what counts as a sign of life?
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ResearchTusk isotopes reveal a mammoth’s life
17,000 years after its death, scientists use strontium analysis to trace animal’s movements throughout its 28-year life
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ResearchNeural network scours vast chemical space to design drug-delivering peptides
Oligonucleotide drug activity boosted 50-fold with peptide designed by machine learning algorithm
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ResearchMirror image enzyme constructs longest ever mirror DNA strand
Since chirally inverted DNA is more stable than its natural counterpart, it can be used to encode secret messages
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ResearchThere was more than simple oxygen depletion to ancient mass extinction event
Thallium isotopes reveal that rapid swings in ocean oxygenation preceded the events that wiped out 90% of species 250 million years ago
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ResearchEnigmatic DNA dubbed ‘Borgs’ discovered in methane-metabolising microbes
The large nucleic acid structures may help bacteria play a role in regulating global methane