Water, despite its central place in so many processes vital to life on Earth, remains a chemical mystery in many respects. One of those mysteries is the nature of water at the exact point where it comes into contact...
An illustration of aquaporin's effect on cells. Credit: M. Shapiro Laboratory/Caltech
Genes tell cells what to do—for example, when to repair DNA mistakes or when to die—and can be turned on or off like a light switch. Knowing which genes...
ETH scientists have been able to prove that a protein structure widespread in nature – the amyloid – is theoretically capable of multiplying itself. This makes it a potential predecessor to molecules that are regarded as the building blocks...
An artificial-intelligence approach created at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Eshelman School of Pharmacy can teach itself to design new drug molecules from scratch and has the potential to dramatically accelerate the design of new drug...
The Grignard reaction is used to synthesize carbon-carbon bonds, a crucial step for making new molecules for academic and industry uses. Finding efficient and selective methods for this reaction, using low cost materials and minimal energy resources has been...
Researchers at the Institute of Industrial Science at the University of Tokyo sifted through experimental data to probe the possibility that supercooled water has a liquid-to-liquid phase transition between disordered and tetrahedrally structured forms. They found evidence of a...
Securing enough energy to meet human needs is one of the greatest challenges society has ever faced. Previously reliable sources—oil, gas and coal—are degrading air quality, devastating land and ocean and altering the fragile balance of the global climate,...
Most people are familiar with uranium as a fuel for nuclear power plants. And while that's the most common application, this element is also used in many other fields, such as dyes, medical devices, and weapons. Scientists at EPFL's...
JILA researchers used their frequency comb spectroscopy technique (multicolored lightwaves between the mirrors) to follow each step of an important chemical reaction that occurs in the atmosphere. The technique identifies chemicals in real time based on the light they...
A study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry is the first to describe a signaling pathway that affects communication -- a process called quorum sensing -- between Streptococcus bacteria cells.
This type of bacterium is responsible for illnesses like strep throat,...
In India and other countries in Southeast Asia, curcumin is often used as a spice in cooking, particularly chicken or fish. It is known for its therapeutic effect and as a way to kill germs present in raw meat....
