Category archives: Biochemistry

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 […]

Bio-mining pyrite with no oxygen

Bio-mining pyrite with no oxygen

BiochemistryBiologyChemistryGeosciences

By César Tomé

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 […]

Smelling armpits

Smelling armpits

BiochemistryNeurobiology

By José Ramón Alonso

Body odor is present in all mammals, including of course humans. It has a clear genetic basis, although it is modulated by different conditions, both normal and pathological. Interestingly, although it is believed to have an important communicative function and to be involved in sexual attraction, body odor is considered unpleasant by most people, which […]

Cyclodextrin-based nanosponges as a complexating agent: application in oxyresveratrol complexes

Cyclodextrin-based nanosponges as a complexating agent: application in oxyresveratrol complexes

Biochemistry

By Invited Researcher

Dip. Di Chemica, Università di Torino, via P. Giuria 7, 10125, Torino, Italy * adrian.matencioduran@unito.it The last articles of one of us (Matencio) [1,2,3,4] were about the different uses of a complexing agent called cyclodextrin (CD), a torus-shaped oligosaccharide made up of α-(1,4) linked glucose units, the most common CDs being α, β and γ-CD […]

A universal theory for heteropolymer design

A universal theory for heteropolymer design

BiochemistryChemistryMaterials

By Invited Researcher

On our unique planet, life evolved under the pressure of natural selection. The evolution theory of Darwin demonstrates the incredible plasticity of the living organism. For millions of years, living organisms explored the conformational universe of proteins introducing new structures and function through genetic mutations. The genetic modifications are translated into the sequence of amino-acids […]

Could excipients decrease antimicrobial properties? Citronellal oil and cyclodextrins

Could excipients decrease antimicrobial properties? Citronellal oil and cyclodextrins

Biochemistry

By Invited Researcher

Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología molecular-A, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Murcia, E-30100 Murcia, Spain * adrian.matencio@um.es Antimicrobial resistance is a problem in our society. Although several authors have focused on seeking new molecules with antimicrobial activity, resistance has increased. Several authors are looking for new antimicrobial substances or seeking to improve the use of […]

Design of protein-protein binding sites suggests a rationale for naturally occurring contact areas

Design of protein-protein binding sites suggests a rationale for naturally occurring contact areas

BiochemistryChemistryMaterials

By Invited Researcher

Molecular recognition is a critical process for many biological functions and consists in non-covalent binding of different molecules, such as protein-protein, antigen-antibody and many others. The host-guest molecules involved often show a shape complementarity, and one of the leading specification for molecular recognition is that the interaction must be selective, i.e. the host should strongly […]

A generalized approach for NMR studies of lipid–protein interactions

A generalized approach for NMR studies of lipid–protein interactions

BiochemistryChemistryMolecular biology

By Invited Researcher

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 […]