The field of materials science has become abuzz with “metal-organic frameworks” (MOFs), versatile compounds made up of metal ions connected to organic ligands, thus forming one-, two-, or three-dimensional structures. There is now an ever-growing list of applications for MOF, including separating petrochemicals, detoxing water from heavy metals and fluoride anions, and recovering hydrogen or […]
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Labeling proteins with ubiquitin paves new road to cell regulation research
Human cells have a sophisticated regulatory system at their disposal: labeling proteins with the small molecule ubiquitin. In a first, a team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has succeeded in marking proteins with ubiquitin in a targeted manner, in test tubes as well as in living cells. The procedure opens the door to […]
Creating more potent cancer therapy using ‘theranostics’
A City of Hope scientist and his colleagues have developed a user-friendly approach to creating “theranostics” — therapy combined with diagnostics — that target specific tumors and diseases. Key to the process are molecules called metallocorroles, which serve as versatile platforms for the development of drugs and imaging agents. City of Hope’s John Termini, Ph.D., […]
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Helping Marvel superheroes breathe
Marvel comics superheroes Ant-Man and the Wasp — nom de guerre stars of the eponymous 2018 film — possess the ability to temporarily shrink down to the size of insects, while retaining the mass and strength of their normal human bodies. But a new study suggests that, when bug-sized, Ant-Man and the Wasp would face […]
A topical gel to protect farmers from lethal effects of pesticides: Topical gel to prevent pesticide-induced toxicity and lethality
Farmers are exposed to toxic pesticides, through skin contact and inhalation, during the spraying of pesticides. This is a severe health hazard. In the last year, from the Vidharbha region in Maharashtra alone, spraying is thought to have led to over 40 deaths, 25 cases of lost vision, and over 1000 hospitalizations. This is just […]
Glow-in-the-dark paper as a rapid test for infectious diseases
Researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology (The Netherlands) and Keio University (Japan) present a practicable and reliable way to test for infectious diseases: All you need are a special glowing paper strip, a drop of blood and a digital camera, as they write in the scientific journal Angewandte Chemie. Not only does this make the […]
Farewell flat biology: Tackling infectious disease using 3-D tissue engineering
In a new invited review article, ASU Biodesign microbiologists and tissue engineers Cheryl Nickerson, Jennifer Barrila and colleagues discuss the development and application of three-dimensional (3-D) tissue culture models as they pertain to infectious disease. They describe these models as predictive pre-clinical platforms to study host-pathogen interactions, infectious disease mechanisms, and antimicrobial drug development. The […]
Chemists make historic fluorine discovery: Discovery impacts the way pharmaceutical companies develop new drug treatments
A groundbreaking discovery by chemists at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) will have a significant impact on how pharmaceutical companies develop new drug treatments. The breakthrough involves fluorine, which forms the second strongest carbon bond (C-F) known to science, after the carbon-silicon (C-S) bond. Fluorine is one of the most fundamental elements […]