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Categories: Biology: Molecular, Chemistry: Organic Chemistry
Published Thermal conductivity of metal organic frameworks


Metal organic frameworks, or MOFs, are kind of like plastic building block toys. The pieces are simple to connect, yet they're capable of building highly sophisticated structures.
Published Scientists identify substance that may have sparked life on Earth


A team of scientists dedicated to pinpointing the primordial origins of metabolism -- a set of core chemical reactions that first powered life on Earth -- has identified part of a protein that could provide scientists clues to detecting planets on the verge of producing life.
Published How to assemble a complete jaw


The skeleton, tendons, and glands of a functional jaw all derive from the same population of stem cells, which arise from a cell population known as neural crest. To discover how these neural crest-derived cells know to make the right type of cell in the right location, researchers focused on a particular gene, Nr5a2, that was active in a region of the face that makes tendons and glands, but not skeleton. To understand the role of Nr5a2, the scientists created zebrafish lacking this gene. These mutant zebrafish generated excess cartilage and were missing tendons in their jaws.
Published Customizing catalysts for solid-state reactions


A newly developed molecular catalyst specifically tailored for mechanochemical reaction conditions enables high-efficiency transformations at near room temperature.
Published Researchers find access to new fluorescent materials


Fluorescence is a fascinating natural phenomenon. It is based on the fact that certain materials can absorb light of a certain wavelength and then emit light of a different wavelength. Fluorescent materials play an important role in our everyday lives, for example in modern screens. Due to the high demand for applications, science is constantly striving to produce new and easily accessible molecules with high fluorescence efficiency.
Published Microscopy: Highest resolution in three dimensions


Researchers have developed a super-resolution microscopy method for the rapid differentiation of molecular structures in 3D.
Published Standard model of electroporation refuted


Strong electric fields can be used to create pores in biomembranes. The method is known as electroporation. Inducing such defects in membranes in a targeted manner is an important technique in medicine and biotechnology, but also in the treatment of foodstuffs.
Published New insights into cellular 'bridges' shed light on development, disease


Most cells in the bodies of living things duplicate their contents and physically separate into new cells through the process of cell division. But across many species, germ cells, those that become eggs or sperm, don't fully separate. They remain interconnected through small bridges called ring canals and cluster together. In a new study, researchers uncover how it is that germ cells in fruit flies form these ring canals, a finding that they say will provide new insights into a widely shared feature of development and into diseases in which cell division is disrupted.
Published New biosensor reveals activity of elusive metal that's essential for life


A new biosensor offers scientists the first dynamic glimpses of manganese, an elusive metal ion that is essential for life.
Published A safe synthesis of hydrogen peroxide inspired by nature


Scientists report the safe synthesis of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), an oxidizing agent used in multiple industries including semiconductors, using a new rhodium-based catalyst. The catalyst is based on natural enzymes found in extremophile microorganisms, and the reaction meets three chemical ideals for H2O2 production: safe, use of a single vessel, and direct synthesis.
Published Phage attacks shown in new light


New methodology and tools provide an opportunity to watch in unprecedented detail as a phage attacks a bacterium.
Published Rhythmic eating pattern preserves fruit fly muscle function under obese conditions


Obese fruit flies are the experimental subjects in a study of the causes of muscle function decline due to obesity. In humans, skeletal muscle plays a crucial role in metabolism, and muscle dysfunction due to human obesity can lead to insulin resistance and reduced energy levels.
Published Catalyst purifies herbicide-tainted water and produces hydrogen


Researchers have developed a dual-purpose catalyst that purifies herbicide-tainted water while also producing hydrogen.
Published Biologists, chemical engineers collaborate to reveal complex cellular process inside petunias


Once upon a time, prevailing scientific opinion might have pronounced recently published research as unneeded. Now, climate change implications have heightened the need for this line of research. Flowers emit scent chemicals called volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Earlier this year, a study identified a protein that plays a key role in helping petunias emit volatiles.
Published Fluorescent protein sheds light on bee brains


An international team of bee researchers has integrated a calcium sensor into honey bees to enable the study of neural information processing including response to odors. This also provides insights into how social behavior is located in the brain.
Published DNA repair discovery could improve biotechnology


A team of researchers has made a discovery that may have implications for therapeutic gene editing strategies, cancer diagnostics and therapies and other advancements in biotechnology.
Published Researchers provide proof of the helical coiling of condensed chromosomes



In early cytological studies chromatids of metaphase chromosomes were suggested to coil into a spiral called chromonema. This assumption was recently supported by chromosomce conformation capture sequencing. Still, the direct visualization of the coiled chromonema confirming the helical model was lacking. Now, an international research team provides the direct proof of the helical coiling of condensed chromatids via super-resolution microscopy of specifically labelled chromonema regions.
Published Researchers bioengineer an endocrine pancreas for type 1 diabetes


Scientists recently developed an efficient way to transplant pancreatic islets and demonstrated that the method can effectively reverse type 1 diabetes in nonhuman primates.
Published Quantum chemistry: Molecules caught tunneling


Quantum effects can play an important role in chemical reactions. Physicists have now observed a quantum mechanical tunneling reaction in experiments. The observation can also be described exactly in theory. The scientists provide an important reference for this fundamental effect in chemistry. It is the slowest reaction with charged particles ever observed.
Published New study unveils epigenetic 'traffic lights' controlling stop and go for gene activity


A major new study reveals a 'traffic light' mechanism controlling genetic activity within cells -- a system which could potentially be targeted by cancer drugs already in development. The research describes how 'epigenetic' changes to the structure of DNA can act as a stop-go signal in determining whether a gene should be read. Unlike our genetic make-up, which is well understood, the world of epigenetics is still largely unexplored and referred to as the 'dark matter' of the genome.