Molecular biology – Page 2
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FeatureBrain chemistry basics
Andy Extance looks into the latest in Alzheimer’s disease, pain and memory
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FeatureThe proteins that drive drug addiction
Jamie Durrani speaks to researchers exploring how epigenetic changes in the brain affect drug-seeking behaviours
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ResearchScreening reveals thousands of ‘undrugged, yet druggable’ proteins
Collaboration involving Pfizer develops freely accessible AI tool to probe protein–compound interactions
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FeatureSmall molecules that switch up cell development could transform medicine
Turning mature somatic cells back into flexible stem cells using small molecules could revolutionise medicine, especially for regeneration and cancer. Philip Ball reports
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FeatureMore than a mirror-image: left-handed nucleic acids
Now a biological reality, researchers are starting to figure out the many roles of left-handed nucleic acids such as Z-DNA – from immunity to controlling our genetics. Rachel Brazil reports
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ResearchD-trypsin synthesis enables sequencing of mirror-image proteins
Reversing the chirality of a protein-digesting enzyme could aid the development of mirror-image therapeutics
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ResearchInvasive zebra mussels’ unique sticky threads unraveled
New understanding of byssal threads finds similarities with spider silk making them unlike any other mussels’
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ResearchSynthetic yeast genome project creates strain with over 50% synthetic DNA
Entirely artificial organism opens up door to designer yeast with biotechnology applications
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ResearchAssembly theory puts chemistry centre stage to explain molecular complexity and life’s origins
Concept that attempts to join physics and biology via chemistry met with interest but also harsh criticism
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NewsmRNA vaccine pioneers win medicine Nobel prize
Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman honoured for breakthroughs that enable the rapid development of new vaccines, including several of those used against Covid-19
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ResearchMapping antibiotic’s binding of its target points to way to give drugs the killer edge
Technique that creates a comprehensive catalogue of mutations in antibiotic’s target reveals how drugs might be improved
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ResearchRevived Neanderthal and Denisovan peptides show antibiotic activity
Molecular-scale ‘Jurassic Park’ process could uncover new medicines
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NewsScientists hope to illuminate unknown human proteins with new public database
‘Unknome’ database contains thousands of understudied proteins
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ResearchMolecular fossils solve evolutionary mystery
Fossilised protosteroids confirm Nobel-prizewinner’s decades-old prediction
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NewsBillionaire professor donates ‘transformative’ sum to protein science institute
$210 million endowment from entrepreneur and Moderna investor Tim Springer will support ongoing research
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ResearchAncient microbial natural products reconstructed from Neanderthal dental plaques
Palaeogenomic approach allows natural product researchers to ‘go back in time’
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NewsOverlooked documents shed new light on double helix discovery
Rosalind Franklin was more than just a ‘wronged heroine’
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NewsThe launch of a new field: precision microbiome editing
Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna is helping lead a new $70 million project combining metagenomics and CRISPR to solve health, climate problems
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FeatureHow do plants sense stress?
How does an organism without a brain or a nervous system sense when it’s under attack? Hayley Bennett presents the plant world’s strange yet sophisticated system for responding to wounding
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ResearchOyster mushroom unleashes chemical warfare on its nematode prey
Fungus discovered to be using 3-octanone to paralyse and kill worms