Biology – Page 16
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ResearchNew microscope makes tracking chiral molecules in live cells possible
The instrument uses circularly polarised light to tell left- and right-handed species apart and monitor them in space and time
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ResearchLeft-handed nanoparticles are far better vaccine adjuvants than their mirror images
Chiral gold nanoparticles shown for the first time to elicit differing immune responses in cells and live mice
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OpinionThe shadow of drug resistance
Why do some medicines stop working, and can we avoid it for Covid-19 antivirals?
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ResearchEngineered enzyme speeds up sedate organic reaction
Biochemical optimisation applied to the Morita–Hillman–Baylis reaction
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ResearchEvolved enzymes carry out new-to-nature radical chemistry
Directed evolution produces enzymes that can ‘tame’ radical intermediates for asymmetric catalytic reactions
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FeatureHow protocells bridge the gap from chemistry to biology
Rachel Brazil talks to the scientists trying to recreate what the first cells were like, or to make their own versions
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OpinionNed Seeman’s legacy
A system based on DNA ‘tiles’ can embody Darwinian evolution, raising new possibilities for understanding natural selection and materials development
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ResearchListening to quantum beats could reveal rhythm of birds’ migratory compass
Laser technique to read out oscillating spin states could help uncover how animals’ magnetic sense works
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ResearchSingle-celled marine organism first to be found releasing oxygen in the dark
Discovery of new biological pathway in widespread archaea could transform understanding of oceans’ fertility
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ResearchHeavy oil-eating microbe grown in lab for the first time
Archaeon that breaks down long alkanes into methane and carbon dioxide could be used for energy recovery from depleted oil reservoirs
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OpinionJune Lindsey, another forgotten woman in the story of DNA
Her discovery of adenine and guanine’s structure was a key part of solving the DNA double helix puzzle – yet her contributions are almost forgotten
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NewsReplication failures cast doubt on some cancer studies
Just 18% of experiments from top papers met all criteria for successful replication
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FeatureThe labs pointing to a greener future for Africa
Tackling climate is not just a job for scientists in more developed countries. Munyaradzi Makoni talks to researchers in Kenya and South Africa to find out more
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ResearchProkaryotes programmed to produce paracetamol avoid pervasive petrochemicals
Genetically modified E. coli serve as green factories for painkillers
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FeatureKeeping cell therapy under wraps
Materials to safely encapsulate transplanted cells for could enable a revolution in the treatment of diabetes and a wide range of other diseases. James Mitchell Crow reports
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ResearchGel-forming proteins could help tardigrades survive extreme conditions
Biophysical dissection of tardigrade’s disordered protein could uncover how microscopic animals survive conditions that kill most other forms of life
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OpinionHooray for milk
We’re still uncovering the secrets of breast milk, but what we know so far is fascinating
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FeatureThe science of breast milk and baby formula
Nina Notman reveals how breast milk research is inspiring a new generation of infant formulas and opening the door to therapeutic advances
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ResearchFirst carbon-making microbes discovered
Mysterious black material produced by deep sea archaea and bacteria found to be carbon
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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