Category archives: Biochemistry

Nowadays we are more aware than ever about the relevance of eating a balanced and assorted diet. However, in the more industrialized countries obesity has become almost epidemic, and it is a condition that lies at the base of many different health issues, being the cardiovascular complications probably the most obvious. But also immunological and […]

If you were told something like “there is chemistry between us” , you certainly would not think that the speaker is referring to actual molecules flying across the space but, more appropriately, you would take it as a figurative way of talking. However, the saying turns to be more literal than it may seem: there […]

The way in which nature manages to create functional diversity in matter is probably the wisest guide for biomaterials engineers, who are always looking for new creative processes to come up with new materials. The conventional way of designing complex materials with new functionalities is explained by the so-called top-down approach , in which a […]

Animals like spiders, snakes, scorpions, and cone snails inject venoms to their preys to immobilize or kill them. But what there is in these venoms that can trigger such a strong effect? The venom of these animals is actually a cocktail of toxins, from which one of the main components are peptides. Due to their […]

One of the things we learn first, when we get in touch with chemistry, is how important the acidity or alkalinity of a given solution is. This is also and quite often our first affair with the chemical equilibrium, because the pH is nothing more than a viewpoint of the water ionization. We were taught […]

Robert Hooke discovered the cell in 1665. Plenty of years passed until the human being, in less than three decades, went from elucidate DNA structure (1953) to control artificially the genetic expression of a living cell. Thorough knowledge of the life´s language (genetic code) and information flows (DNA–>RNA–>Protein) was paramount to achieve such a goal […]