Category archives: Biochemistry

Living beings emit light that extinguishes upon death

Living beings emit light that extinguishes upon death

BiochemistryBiologyChemistryPhysicsPhysiologyPlant biology

By Mapping Ignorance

The light of someone’s life might not be just another person, but light in the literal sense. According to a recent study , every living system emits light without requiring external excitation due to a biological phenomenon known as ultraweak photon emission (UPE). In mice, UPE was linked to vitality as live mice emitted significantly […]

BiaPy, analising bioimages made easy

BiaPy, analising bioimages made easy

BiochemistryBiologyComputer scienceDIPC BiochemistryDIPC Computer Science

By DIPC

Imagine peering through a microscope, marvelling at the intricate dance of cells, proteins, or tiny structures within a living organism. These images, known as bioimages, are a treasure trove of information for scientists studying life’s mysteries, from how cells divide to how diseases disrupt tissues. But analysing these images is no small feat. The sheer […]

‘Microlightning’ in water droplets, a twist in the Miller-Urey experiment

‘Microlightning’ in water droplets, a twist in the Miller-Urey experiment

BiochemistryBiologyChemistry

By Mapping Ignorance

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 […]

How certain proteins assemble as soon as they are synthesized

How certain proteins assemble as soon as they are synthesized

BiochemistryMolecular biology

By Mapping Ignorance

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 […]

Protocells may have formed in the proximity of prebiotic compounds

Protocells may have formed in the proximity of prebiotic compounds

BiochemistryBiologyChemistryDIPC Biochemistry

By DIPC

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 […]

Mechanodrugs

Mechanodrugs

BiochemistryDIPC BiochemistryPharmacy

By DIPC

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 […]

Machine learning cracked the protein-folding problem and won the 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry

Machine learning cracked the protein-folding problem and won the 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry

BiochemistryBiologyChemistryComputer science

By Invited Researcher

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 […]

A closer look at peptide fibril assemblies

A closer look at peptide fibril assemblies

BiochemistryBiologyChemistryNanotechnology

By César Tomé

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 […]

Obesity hinders brain recognition of nutrient signals

Obesity hinders brain recognition of nutrient signals

BiochemistryBiomedicineHealthMedicineNeuroscience

By Rosa García-Verdugo

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 […]