Some RNA molecules have unexpected sugar coating
In a surprise find, scientists have discovered sugar-coated RNA molecules decorating the surface of cells......»»
A New Idea for How to Assemble Life
How would scientists even recognize biological signs of life beyond Earth? Assembly theory proposes a way to identify molecules made by living systems—even those using unfamiliar chemistries......»»
Bioengineered tool unmasks cancer cells
Cancer cells can evade the body's immune defenses by exploiting a normally helpful and ubiquitous group of molecules known as mucins. Now, Stanford researchers have engineered a biomolecule that removes mucins specifically from cancer cells—a disco.....»»
Research team demonstrates a new "primary standard" for measuring ultralow pressures
A vacuum chamber is never perfectly empty. A small number of atoms or molecules always remain, and measuring the tiny pressures they exert is critical. For instance, semiconductor manufacturers create microchips in vacuum chambers that must be almost.....»»
Bringing ultrafast physics to structural biology reveals the dance of molecular "coherence" in unprecedented clarity
How molecules change when they react to stimuli such as light is fundamental in biology, for example during photosynthesis. Scientists have been working to unravel the workings of these changes in several fields, and by combining two of these, resear.....»»
Using AI to find antibodies is fast and produces unimagined molecules
Automation means drug discovery process is less "artisinal" and more streamlined. Enlarge / Researchers use CyBio FeliX workstations to extract and purify DNA samples for testing (credit: LabGenius) At an old biscuit fac.....»»
A single gene and a unique layer of regulation opens the door for novel plant-fungi interactions
Soil fungi known as ectomycorrhizae (ECM) can penetrate plant roots and provide water and nutrients to host plants in exchange for sugar. This symbiotic relationship benefits the plant, increasing its growth. To benefit from these fungi while protect.....»»
AI Is Building Highly Effective Antibodies That Humans Can’t Even Imagine
Robots, computers, and algorithms are hunting for potential new therapies in ways humans can’t—by processing huge volumes of data and building previously unimagined molecules......»»
Researchers use enzymes to develop a new class of materials for biocatalytic processes
Industrial biocatalysis with enzymes is deemed to be a "game changer" in the development of a sustainable chemical industry. Enzymes can be used to synthesize an impressive range of complex molecules, including pharmaceutical substances, under enviro.....»»
A biochip that can be used to perform rapid genetic screening of thousands of molecules
A team of materials scientists and engineers at Stanford University, working with a colleague from ETH Zürich and another from Washington University in St. Louis, has developed a biochip that can be used to screen thousands of molecules and that was.....»»
Boron nitride-based nanocomposites have unexpected properties, researchers discover
Just as carbon makes up both the brittle core of a No. 2 pencil and the harder-than-steel diamond in a cutting tool, boron nitride gives rise to compounds that can be soft or hard. Yet, unlike carbon, far less is known about boron nitride's forms and.....»»
Exploring the self-organizing origins of life
Catalytic molecules can form metabolically active clusters by creating and following concentration gradients—this is the result of a new study by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS). Their model pred.....»»
New, simple and accessible method creates potency-increasing structure in drugs
Chemical structures called cyclopropanes can increase the potency and fine-tune the properties of many drugs, but traditional methods to create this structure only work with certain molecules and require highly reactive—potentially explosive—ingr.....»»
How plant biology research could inform COVID-19 treatments
Investigating the building blocks of biology can lead to unexpected outcomes. That's what happened when researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory were exploring plant genetics. Although their research was focused on impr.....»»
How "Zombie" Fires Rise from the Dead in Spring
As “zombie” fires become more common, new research shows they arise from an unexpected source.....»»
Bringing back extinct molecules to fight modern bacteria
A team of microbiologists and bioengineers at the University of Pennsylvania has tested the possibility of bringing back extinct molecules to fight modern bacteria. In their study, reported in Cell Host & Microbe, Jacqueline Maasch, Marcelo Torres, M.....»»
Researchers demonstrate scaling of aligned carbon nanotube transistors to below sub-10 nm nodes
Carbon nanotubes, large cylindrical molecules composed of hybridized carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal structure, recently attracted significant attention among electronics engineers. Due to their geometric configuration and advantageous electroni.....»»
Scientists use a bath of swimming bacteria to assemble unconventional materials
A hot bath is a place to relax. For scientists, it is also where molecules or tiny building blocks meet to form materials. Researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) take it to the next level and use the energy of swimming.....»»
An unexpected gap year: Study examines disparity in state revenue collection between the West and the rest of the world
In 2015, two political scientists at the University of Rochester began assembling data to study the effects of colonialism on the ability of newly liberated states to collect revenues after independence......»»
High-resolution scattering imaging reveals vibrational-state-specific mechanisms in paradigmatic ion-molecule reaction
Charged atomic and molecular species are ubiquitous in environments such as planetary atmospheres, interstellar medium and plasma. The collisions between charged ions and neutral molecules play vital roles in determining the chemical evolution and en.....»»
Observation of a refractive index line shape in ultrafast XUV transient absorption spectroscopy
Ultrafast extreme ultraviolet (XUV) spectroscopy is a powerful technique for probing the dynamics of atoms and molecules with attosecond time resolution. However, conventional XUV absorption measurements only provide information about the imaginary p.....»»