https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. The diverse biochemical composition of Japanese apricot fruits explains their broad spectrum of action on the human body. The high levels of key phenolic compounds and hydroxycinnamic acids contribute to various health benefits including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-reveals-higher-bioactive-compound-perilla.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Thu, 26 Sep 2024 14:30:03 EDT news646579801 Researchers from Umeå University, Sweden, and Cornell University, U.S., have discovered a widespread mechanism in bacteria that enhances the bacteria's defense against environmental threats. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-unveils-mechanism-bacterial-cell-walls.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 26 Sep 2024 11:42:03 EDT news646569721 In just two neutron experiments, scientists discovered remarkable details about the function of an enzyme that can aid drug design for aggressive cancers. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-neutron-year-debate-enzyme-drug.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Tue, 24 Sep 2024 12:14:05 EDT news646398841 What do fish, chameleons, crabs and Walter White, the chemistry teacher from "Breaking Bad," all have in common? The answer is that they all know how to make crystals. But, unlike the incorrigible White, who manufactured mind-altering methamphetamine crystals for criminal ends, the others make natural crystals for far more wholesome purposes: from vision and camouflage to regulating heat and communicating. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-secret-recipe-versatile-animal-crystals.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Mon, 23 Sep 2024 11:59:01 EDT news646311536 Researchers want to transform the natural and abundant resource wood into useful materials, and central to that is a molecular machine found in fungi that decomposes the complex raw material into its basic components. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-bioengineers-substrate-wood-decomposing-enzyme.html Biochemistry Materials Science Wed, 18 Sep 2024 17:15:04 EDT news645898502 Thanks to a serendipitous discovery and a lot of painstaking work, scientists can now build biohybrid molecules that combine the homing powers of DNA with the broad functional repertoire of proteins—without having to synthesize them one by one, researchers report in a new study. Using a naturally occurring process, laboratories can harness the existing molecule-building capacities of bacteria to generate vast libraries of potentially therapeutic DNA-protein hybrid molecules. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-team-naturally-dna-protein-hybrids.html Biochemistry Tue, 17 Sep 2024 13:07:03 EDT news645797221 Synthetic chemistry provides an essential material basis for our clothing, food, housing, transportation, and medicine and is an important driving force for economic development. However, traditional chemical synthesis has bottleneck problems such as low efficiency and pollution. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-decade-enzyme-catalysis.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Wed, 11 Sep 2024 16:15:21 EDT news645290113 Researchers from the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, in cooperation with colleagues from the Faculty of Tropical AgriScience of the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, are unraveling the mysteries of the life of termites. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-kamikaze-termites-colony-special-enzyme.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 27 Aug 2024 06:00:02 EDT news643908361 For nearly a century, scientists have waged war on antibiotic-resistant microbes. Michigan State University researchers say they've found a new way to prevent it—by unleashing "DNA scavengers" in wastewater treatment plants. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-dna-scavengers-antibiotic-resistance.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 21 Aug 2024 12:40:03 EDT news643462801 Bioengineers around the world have been working to create plastic-producing microbes that could replace the petroleum-based plastics industry. Now, researchers from Korea have overcome a major hurdle: getting bacteria to produce polymers that contain ring-like structures, which make the plastics more rigid and thermally stable. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-bacteria-thermally-stable-plastics-similar.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Wed, 21 Aug 2024 11:00:02 EDT news643448161 Edible insects are emerging as an alternative protein source that has various benefits compared with conventional animal sources. New research published in the Journal of Food Science compared four different methods for extracting protein from mealworms, which were designated by the European Union as the first insect to be used as a novel food source in 2015. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-methods-edible-protein-mealworms.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Wed, 21 Aug 2024 03:10:01 EDT news643366502 In a new study published in Communications Biology, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology and the University of Giessen show that the adaptation of antlions to their ecological niche has also changed their venom. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-scientists-antlions-venom-ecological-niche.html Evolution Ecology Tue, 13 Aug 2024 11:05:59 EDT news642765955 The Earth's atmosphere contains large amounts of nitrogen in the form of dinitrogen gas (N2). Converting N2 to ammonia (NH3) is critical for making the fertilizer needed for agriculture. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-powering-enzymes-ammonia.html Materials Science Fri, 09 Aug 2024 05:33:01 EDT news642400374 Insights into the function of DNA Topoisomerase VI (Topo VI) may provide a springboard for drug discovery and crop protection. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-dna-topoisomerase-insights-potential-drug.html Plants & Animals Agriculture Thu, 08 Aug 2024 10:05:03 EDT news642330300 For many plants, more branches means more fruit. But what causes a plant to grow branches? New research from the University of California, Davis shows how plants break down the hormone strigolactone, which suppresses branching, to become more "bushy." Understanding how strigolactone is regulated could have big implications for many crop plants. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-bushy-hormone.html Plants & Animals Agriculture Tue, 06 Aug 2024 15:02:23 EDT news642175338 Plant diseases pose significant challenges to agricultural productivity, presenting formidable hurdles that require urgent attention. Left unchecked, these diseases can spread rapidly, inflicting widespread damage on crops and leading to reduced yields and substantial economic losses. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-breakthrough-disease-enzyme-anti-bacterial.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 01 Aug 2024 09:25:31 EDT news641723125 Researchers at University of Tsukuba have made a significant contribution to the understanding of the regeneration of skeletal muscle stem cells, shedding light on the mechanisms underlying muscle aging and regeneration. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-elucidate-molecule-muscle-stem-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 31 Jul 2024 09:30:44 EDT news641637041 Bacteria have different strategies for protecting themselves. Some bacterial pathogens surround themselves with a shell made of many sugar chains that lie close together, also known as capsular polymers. This protects the bacteria from drying out and physical stress. In addition, the capsule makes the pathogens invisible to our body's own defenses, so to speak, and helps them to survive in the body. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-bacteria-cloaks-invisibility-immune-defenses.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Tue, 30 Jul 2024 09:58:49 EDT news641552320 Researchers at the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) have achieved a significant breakthrough that could lead to better—and greener—agricultural chemicals and everyday products. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-enzymes-greener-chemicals.html Materials Science Sat, 27 Jul 2024 05:14:05 EDT news641276031 Scientists from King's College London have recreated the active site of Acetyl-CoA Synthase, an enzyme involved in capturing carbon from the atmosphere. The research, carried out in collaboration with Imperial College London, advances our understanding of this important enzyme, and offers a potential new solution to capture CO2 from the atmosphere in the fight against climate change. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-scientists-replicate-enzyme-captures-carbon.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Thu, 18 Jul 2024 10:35:18 EDT news640517715 A UC Riverside environmental engineering team has discovered specific bacterial species that can destroy certain kinds of "forever chemicals," a step further toward low-cost treatments of contaminated drinking water sources. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-microbes-destroy-chemicals-cleaving-stubborn.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Wed, 17 Jul 2024 14:00:01 EDT news640429109 A team from the University of Illinois has developed a modeling framework connecting enzyme activity related to photosynthesis to yield. This is the first time a model has tied the dynamic photosynthetic pathways directly to crop growth. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-team-enzyme-yields.html Plants & Animals Agriculture Thu, 11 Jul 2024 16:42:49 EDT news639934966 In a rat study, RIKEN biologists have solved the mystery of where glycan molecules in the blood come from, tracking them down to the liver. This finding could lead to new biomarkers for liver-related diseases. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-biologists-liver-source-free-glycans.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 11 Jul 2024 15:51:02 EDT news639931861 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers have determined whether a specific chemical modification of a protein that packages the genome called a histone affects gene activity and cell proliferation, according to the paper, "Drosophila melanogaster Set8 and L(3)mbt function in gene expression independently of histone H4 lysine 20 methylation," published in Genes & Development. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-team-chemical-modifications-gain-deeper.html Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 10 Jul 2024 16:47:03 EDT news639848822 Researchers at the School of Medicine have identified a novel enzyme involved in building the cell wall of Cryptococcus neoformans, a fungus that causes lung infections and potentially deadly cases of meningitis, primarily in people with AIDS. About 150,000 people worldwide die every year of cryptococcal infections. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-newly-enzyme-pathogenic-fungus-cell.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 09 Jul 2024 15:45:28 EDT news639758726 Scientists from the University of Manchester have uncovered a more efficient and sustainable way to make peptide-based medicines, showing promising effectiveness in combating cancers. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-scientists-sustainably-peptide-based-medicines.html Biochemistry Mon, 08 Jul 2024 11:09:39 EDT news639655776 A team of researchers has established a ribonucleic acid (RNA)-based method that drives cells in the body to produce therapeutic proteins and secrete them into the bloodstream. The approach could potentially extend the lifespan of drugs in the body, reducing the burden on patients who require frequent drug administrations. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-mrna-technology-cells-drug-factories.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Wed, 03 Jul 2024 09:36:38 EDT news639218194 New experimental research shows that muscle metabolic activity may be an important factor in the incredible longevity of the world's oldest living vertebrate species—the Greenland shark. These findings may have applications for conservation of this vulnerable species against climate change or even for human cardiovascular health. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-anti-aging-secrets-world-longest.html Plants & Animals Wed, 03 Jul 2024 09:00:01 EDT news639151861 Researchers at the Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry (IPC), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), have developed an enzymatic platform that can efficiently transform naturally abundant and inexpensive fatty acids to valuable hydrocarbons called 1-alkenes, which are promising biofuels. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-biocatalyst-biofuels.html Biochemistry Fri, 28 Jun 2024 05:47:50 EDT news638772465 Researchers have uncovered how a structure in bodily carbohydrates (sugar chains or "glycans") that regulates how they attach themselves to other molecules interacts with key enzymes, and in so doing can contribute to a range of diseases. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-biologists-uncover-key-carbohydrate-mechanism.html Biochemistry Wed, 26 Jun 2024 10:12:45 EDT news638615560