We scientists tend to tell our story via breakthroughs – paradigm shifts that shake the foundations of knowledge and remake everyone’s understanding of how the world works. It’s a tale of high-flying, singular brilliance, of Einsteins and Darwins, of pure genius.
Category: Chemistry
Researchers explore role played by nicotine in grouping of nicotinic receptors within the brain
This inspired a group of University of Kentucky researchers to explore the role nicotine plays in the assembly of nicotinic receptors within the brain. During the Biophysical Society’s 61st Annual Meeting, being held Feb. 11-15, 2017, in New Orleans, Louisiana, Faruk Moonschi, a graduate student in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Kentucky, will present the group’s work, which centers on a fluorescence-based “single molecule” technique they developed.
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Virginia Tech researchers receive NIH grant to improve malaria drug
As long as parasites continue to mount resistance to malaria drugs, scientists will be faced with the task of developing new, improved pharmaceuticals. A research team from the Virginia Tech Center for Drug Discovery has received a $431,126 two-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to make improved versions of a promising compound called MMV008138, or 8138 for short.
Laundry pods poisoning kids – new designs look tastier
… in preschool aged children, a new study warns The study, conducted at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, examined the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System between 2010 and 2015 for eye injuries resulting in chemical burn or …
Toxins in your fast-food packaging?
… Six of the samples also contained a long-chain PFOA, even though the chemical is no longer widely used because of health hazards. PFOA could be present in these wrappers because recycled paper was used in their manufacture, Schaider said — an …
An overview of the effects of tobacco ingredients on smoke chemistry and toxicity.
This paper presents an overview of a series of studies designed to assess the influence of 482 tobacco ingredients on cigarette smoke chemistry and toxicity. The studies are: pyrolysis of the ingredients; influence of the ingredients on smoke constituents believed by regulatory authorities to be relevant to smoking-related diseases ; influence of the ingredients on in vitro genotoxicity and cytotoxicity of smoke partiulate matter; and influence of the ingredients on the inhalation toxicity of smoke.
The effect of tobacco ingredients on smoke chemistry. Part I: Flavourings and additives.
… relevant to smoking-related diseases. They are based on lists published by D. Hoffmann and co-workers of the American Health Foundation in New York. The ingredients comprised 431 flavours, 1 flavour/solvent, 1 solvent, 7 preservatives, 5 binders, 2 …
Stunning scientific discovery finds that gut bacteria control your…
Researchers from the University of Exeter Medical School and University of Zaragoza in Spain have uncovered a new way that the community of microorganisms symbiotically living in the human gut may contribute to helping regulate brain chemistry. The remarkable study was published in the journal PLOS ONE .
Globe-trotting pollutants can last longer and travel much farther than previously predicted
A new way of looking at how pollutants ride through the atmosphere has quadrupled the estimate of global lung cancer risk from a pollutant caused by combustion, to a level that is now double the allowable limit recommended by the World Health Organization. The findings, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition online, showed that tiny floating particles can grow semi-solid around pollutants, allowing them to last longer and travel much farther than what previous global climate models predicted.
MU researcher discovers new class of materials that may have widespread applications
Polyhedral boranes, or clusters of boron atoms bound to hydrogen atoms, are transforming the biomedical industry. These manmade materials have become the basis for the creation of cancer therapies, enhanced drug delivery and new contrast agents needed for radioimaging and diagnosis.
MU researcher discovers new class of materials that may have widespread applications
Polyhedral boranes, or clusters of boron atoms bound to hydrogen atoms, are transforming the biomedical industry. These manmade materials have become the basis for the creation of cancer therapies, enhanced drug delivery and new contrast agents needed for radioimaging and diagnosis.
Lipid content changes as cells age, new study reveals
As cells age and stop dividing, their fat content changes, along with the way they produce and break down fat and other molecules classified as lipids, according to a new University at Buffalo study. “Traditionally, lipids have been thought of as structural components: They store energy and form the membranes of cells,” says G. Ekin Atilla-Gokcumen, PhD, an assistant professor of chemistry in UB’s College of Arts and Sciences.
A natural compound can block the formation of toxins associated with Parkinson’s Disease
… at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, and Georgetown University and the National Institutes of Health in the United States. Scientists from the Netherlands, Italy and Spain also played key roles. The findings are published in …
Generating Focussed Molecule Libraries for Drug Discovery with Recurrent Neural Networks
In de novo drug design, computational strategies are used to generate novel molecules with good affinity to the desired biological target. In this work, we show that recurrent neural networks can be trained as generative models for molecular structures, similar to statistical language models in natural language processing.
New research describes how bacteria resists ‘last-resort’ antibiotic
… importance of understanding colistin resistance can hardly be overstated: it is rapidly emerging threat to public health. “Our results illuminate the structural and (for the first time) mechanistic basis of transferable colistin resistance conferred …
‘We could make that!’ – Chance meeting leads to creation of antibiotic spider silk
An interdisciplinary team of scientists at The University of Nottingham has developed a technique to produce chemically functionalised spider silk that can be tailored to applications used in drug delivery, regenerative medicine and wound healing. A chance meeting between a spider expert and a chemist has led to the development of antibiotic synthetic spider silk.
New tool explains how proteins assemble into different liquid and gel-like solid states
… guide the molecular design of the optoDroplet proteins. The work was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. Using mouse and human cells, the research team spliced in a gene for a light-sensitive …
Two research studies on new molecules could potentially treat Alzheimer’s disease
This year, results have been published of two significant research studies about molecules that could potentially treat Alzheimer’s disease. The chief researcher in both studies was the head of the Laboratory of Medical Chemistry and Bioinformatics at MIPT Yan Ivanenkov.
Scripps Florida scientists develop drug discovery approach to predict …
… imaging techniques could give scientists a window into how exposure to these chemicals may impact public health. This research method could also be used to speed up the discovery of new drugs for breast cancer and many other diseases, added study …
TUM researchers discover vital mechanism in the body’s defenses against fungal infections
Fungal infections are a serious health risk. They can be harmful especially to patients whose immune system is compromised through illness or chemotherapy.