I n the age of bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics, the so-called superbacteria, it is critical to our future the development of novel therapeutic strategies. Lytic enzymes encoded by bacteriophages – viruses that specifically kill bacteria, also called lysins or enzybiotics, are effective agents for preventing and controlling diseases caused by Gram+ bacteria, including Streptococcus […]
Some heteropolymers can be designed to spontaneously self-assemble in complex pre-determined knotted structures. In the past, we referred to such designable heteropolymers as “bionic proteins”. Here we present an extensive study on self-knotting bionic proteins. As our everyday experience with ropes teaches us, knots form spontaneously in polymer chains of sufficient length and flexibility have […]
When nanoparticles (NPs) get in contact with biological fluids such as blood, proteins present in it will adsorb on the surface of those NPs forming what is known as the protein corona . It is a dynamic process in equilibrium with the surrounding proteins and it may lead to drastic changes in the NPs. The […]
Condensed matter • Materials • Nanotechnology • Quantum physics
Few materials have drawn as much attention as graphene, it fascinating attributes such as one-atom thickness and relativistic electrons, and its technological properties like transparency, large mechanical strength, and ultra-high electron’s mobility, position it as one of the more promising materials in the present. Recently, simultaneous experimental and theoretical studies have confirmed that combining graphene […]
It is time to round off this trilogy of articles about the importance of basic science nowadays. But first, how does science improve? A research team selects a topic, creates its hypothesis and workflow and, perhaps, tries to publish an article with the findings. This article is read by a new research team, who will […]
Science often advances through improvements in our ability to measure and observe. Just take the example of migrating storks. In the beginning, the Egyptians had a mystery: storks appeared in Africa during winter and disappeared in the summer. As explorers travelled the world, they saw the storks pop up in middle Europe during the summer […]
I’m a man slowly sliding into the old age. Being a scientist (a simple science worker), this means that for decades I’ve become familiar with the uncomfortable feeling of struggling to adapt to a constant, quick change of everything. In the very beginning of my career, still an undergrad, I joined a lab where my […]
Author: Leyre Urigüen is a researcher at the Department of Pharmacology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental CIBERSAM Cannabis, also called marijuana, is a drug that comes from the plant Cannabis sativa (hemp plant). The plant contains more than 400 different chemicals, of which approximately […]
Author: Elger Abrahamse is an Ikerbasque Research Fellow and staff scientist at the Basque Center for Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL) Culture may be defined as the system of customs and beliefs that are deeply shared within a specific subset of the population. It includes ample behavioral scripts – informal guidelines about how to behave […]
Author: Francisco J. Blanco is an Ikerbasque Research Professor at CIC bioGUNE Molecular interactions in cell membranes, particularly lipid-protein interactions in their hydrophobic core, are difficult to analyse and remain poorly characterised despite high relevance in physiological and pathological processes. Structural rearrangements in membranes and embedded proteins, and the way molecular interactions contribute to their […]