Biology
The latest chemistry news and research on biology, including biochemistry, biotechnology, synthetic biology and origins of life, from the Royal Society of Chemistry's magazine, Chemistry World
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OpinionTrust is easily broken and hard to rebuild
Thermo Fisher needs to be open and honest about data manipulation to reassure researchers
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FeatureMolecular ratchets: unlocking the chemistry of biological motion
Motor proteins power everything from muscle contraction to bacterial swimming. While replicating their chemically fuelled directional motion in the laboratory has proved difficult, researchers are making progress and developing molecular ratchets and motors that do useful work
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BusinessThermo Fisher antibody data manipulation is a breach of trust, say researchers
Science sleuths say the problem is impacting research progress and Thermo’s response falls short
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FeatureExtremophiles are rewriting the rules of life on Earth
Creatures that survive extreme conditions like mind-boggling temperatures and toxicity challenge how we define life. Bárbara Pinho finds out how it will impact how we search for life beyond Earth
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NewsAston University unveils new £6 million membrane research facility
The facility will investigate membranes for applications such as water purification and drug development
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BusinessRewriting genetic medicine
Scribe Therapeutics will soon begin clinical trials for its epigenetic treatment to tackle ‘bad’ cholesterol
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ResearchWatching unpaired electrons at work
From building the Centre for Pulse EPR at Imperial to probing electron transfer in real time, Maxie Rößler is pushing an overlooked technique into the spotlight
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ResearchDesert horned lizards that drink captured water from their skin inspire water-harvesting system
Careful observation of these lizards solves mystery of how they squeeze water into their mouths and could help extract water from soil in arid regions
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OpinionWould mirror life really threaten our own?
New modelling suggests that even if we could create cells based on mirror-image biomolecules, their natural counterparts would outcompete them in the wild
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ResearchWarming seas impact cell structures that deliver oxygen to coral
Oxygen-sensitive nanoparticles reveal a new mechanism of coral stress
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ResearchPigeons navigate with ‘gut feeling’ powered by paramagnetic liver cells, study suggests
Homing pigeons might owe their navigational knowhow to iron nanoparticles in their liver
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WebinarOne small step for microorganisms: what extremophiles on Earth can teach us about life on other planets
Learn how some of the tiniest organisms thrive in the harshest environments – join us on 30 July
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ResearchStructure-led search tool set to refine how scientists explore metabolomics data
Platform can find molecules and substructures across massive public datasets
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ResearchElusive electronic effect could explain the origins of chirality for all life on Earth
Study suggests spin selectivity is different in enantiomers – altering their reaction rate – which ‘challenges a fundamental assumption in the field’
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NewsStripped down bacterium functions with one less amino acid than the rest of life on Earth
Deep learning models used to understand how isoleucine could be replaced in proteins without disrupting their structures
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FeatureThe molecular mystery of how we smell
Despite being one of our key senses, the molecular mechanisms of smell remain poorly understood. Mason Wakley sniffs out the competing theories of what may be happening in our noses
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OpinionThe complicated legacy of J Craig Venter
By attempting to commercialise parts of the human genome, he sped up the development of gene sequencing technologies
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ResearchFirst total synthesis of macrocycle with four stereocentres at the heart of bacterial photosynthesis
Technically daunting synthesis of bacteriochlorophyll a finally reaches completion
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PodcastVanadium-based medicines & sustainable labs
Vanadium-based medicines? We discuss the 23rd element’s little-known potential in pharmaceuticals. Plus, how labs across the UK are making achievable changes to increase their sustainability.
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OpinionThe evolving landscape of pain drug discovery
Harnessing the power of human-relevant in vitro models