Life may not have begun with a dramatic lightning strike into the ocean but from many smaller “microlightning” exchanges among water droplets from crashing waterfalls or breaking waves. New research shows that water sprayed into a mixture of gases thought to be present in Earth’s early atmosphere can lead to the formation of organic molecules […]
Proteins, the pillars of cellular function, often assemble into “complexes” to fulfil their functions. A new study reveals why this assembly often begins during the very process of protein synthesis or “birth.” These early interactions involve proteins whose stability depends on their association. They can be compared to a couple in which each partner supports […]
The origins of life on Earth remain one of the most fascinating and profound questions in science. A new research sheds light on this mystery by exploring how the building blocks of life could have formed under early Earth conditions. In this study, we focused on understanding how simple chemicals might have come together to […]
Numerous proteins in the cell withstand mechanical loads while performing their function. This is especially significant for cell-surface proteins located in the extracellular matrix, which are essential for the communication between cells in the extracellular milieu. Reacting to mechanical force through conformational changes is crucial for these cell-surface proteins, translating a physical signal into an […]
Author: Marc Zimmer, Professor of Chemistry, Connecticut College The 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry recognized Demis Hassabis, John Jumper and David Baker for using machine learning to tackle one of biology’s biggest challenges: predicting the 3D shape of proteins and designing them from scratch. This year’s award stood out because it honored research that originated […]
The protein “MIPS” changes its internal structure when it becomes active. Its disordered active centre becomes a defined structure with special functions. The protein plays a key role in the production of inositol, which is also known as vitamin B8, and fulfils important tasks in the body. A team of researchers has succeeded for the […]
A new imaging technique can give scientists a much closer look at fibril assemblies, stacks of peptides like amyloid beta, most notably associated with Alzheimer’s disease. These cross-β fibril assemblies are also useful building blocks within designer biomaterials for medical applications, but their resemblance to their amyloid beta cousins, whose tangles are a symptom of […]
Biochemistry • Biomedicine • Health • Medicine • Neuroscience
Recent research has demonstrated that obesity impairs the mechanisms that allow our brains to realize when our stomachs are full and that these changes are maintained despite dieting, giving insights into why it is difficult for obese people to avoid excessive eating and why there is often a yo-yo effect after dieting. It has been […]
Pyrite, also known as “fool’s gold,” is an abundant iron sulphide mineral in the Earth’s crust. All organisms need iron and sulphur to grow. Because pyrite does not dissolve in oxygen-free conditions, scientists previously thought that organisms could not use pyrite in the absence of oxygen. Research shows that certain single-celled microorganisms can dissolve pyrite […]
Plants that inhabit the Earth have the incredible ability to grow continually for hundreds of years, and always towards the light of the sun, which provides them with the necessary energy to sprout. At the source of this growth are changes in their environment, such as variations in light, temperature and humidity. But new stimuli […]