Tag Archives: molecules

The Next Big Step Toward Atom-Specific Dynamical Chemistry

By Guest PostJanuary 8, 2012Science2p orbitals, 2s orbitals, advanced light source, ali belkacem, america, atomic levels, atoms, berkeley lab, chemical bonding, chemical energy, chemistry, complex systems, components, electrical conductivity, electron, electronic spectroscopy, electronic states of neon, emergence, energy flow in photosynthesis, evolution of energy, fels, femtoseconds, free electron lasers, graham fleming, harmonics, high frequency x rays, molecular level, molecules, nonlinear, nonlinear multidimensional spectroscopy, nonlinear spectroscopic technique, orbitals, photon flux, positive charge, pulse, quadrillionths of second, s orbitals, spectroscopy, stimulated coherent raman scattering, sunlight energy, synchrotron light sources, table top laser, ultraviolet light, valence electrons, valence shell, x ray lasers, x ray photon, x ray spectroscopy, x-rays

*Berkeley Lab scientists push chemistry to the edge, testing plans for a new generation of light sources*

For Ali Belkacem of Berkeley Lab’s Chemical Sciences Division, “What is chemistry?” is not a rhetorical question.

“Chemistry is inherently dynamical,” he answers. “That means, to make inroads in understanding – and ultimately control – we have to understand how atoms combine to form molecules; how electrons and nuclei couple; how molecules interact, react, and transform; how electrical charges flow; and how different forms of energy move within a molecule or across molecular boundaries.” The list ends with a final and most important question: “How do all these things behave in a correlated way, ‘dynamically’ in time and space, both at the electron and atomic levels?” (more…)

Andrew Artenstein: Essential Enzymes Key to Disease, Maybe Treatments

By Guest PostJanuary 2, 2012Healthalzheimer, andrew artenstein, anthrax, athlerosclerosis, bacteria and viruses, biodefense, body, cancer, chemical reactions, david orenstein, disease, ebola, enzymes, essential proteins, Europe, flu, iaips, infectious diseases, inter alpha inhibitor proteins, measles, microscopic level, molecules, natural human proteins, outbreak of h1n1, pathways, pcs, proprotein convertases, proteins, sars, steven opal, therapies, viruses

*Proprotein convertases are enzymes that activate many essential proteins, but they are also implicated in many processes that cause disease. In a research review in the New England Journal of Medicine, Andrew Artenstein and Steven Opal argue that proprotein convertases are potentially rich targets for developing therapies.*

Most people have never heard of proprotein convertases, but the enzymes activate many proteins that are essential for life. Unfortunately, their fundamental role puts them in the middle of many processes that cause disease – not just cancer or athlerosclerosis, but both of those and Alzheimer’s and anthrax and the flu and an amazing variety of other maladies.

In a research review article appearing Dec. 29 in the New England Journal of Medicine, Andrew Artenstein, physician-in-chief in the Department of Medicine at Memorial Hospital, and Steven Opal, chief of infectious diseases at Memorial Hospital, argue that proprotein convertases (PCs) are potentially rich targets for developing therapies. Artenstein, who with Opal is on the faculty of the Warren Alpert School of Medicine, explained PCs to David Orenstein. (more…)

Microneedle Sensors May Allow Real-Time Monitoring of Body Chemistry

By Guest PostDecember 27, 2011Sciencebiomedical engineering, diabetic patient, electrochemical sensors, glucose, lactate, microneedle sensor, microneedles, molecules, monitor glucose levels, north carolina state university, one dimension, ph levels, philip miller, roger narayan, shelby skoog, Technology, types of sensors, university of california, variety of chemicals

Researchers from North Carolina State University, Sandia National Laboratories, and the University of California, San Diego have developed new technology that uses microneedles to allow doctors to detect real-time chemical changes in the body – and to continuously do so for an extended period of time.

“We’ve loaded the hollow channels within microneedles with electrochemical sensors that can be used to detect specific molecules or pH levels,” says Dr. Roger Narayan, co-author of a paper describing the research, and a professor in the joint biomedical engineering department of NC State’s College of Engineering and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (more…)

CAD for RNA

By Guest PostDecember 27, 2011Scienceaptazyme, biodegradable plastics, biofuels, biological systems, cad, cad platforms, cad type models, cells, computer assisted design, control systems, darmawi juminaga, diabetes, e coli, escherichia coli bacterium, genetic circuits, genetic expression, james carothers, jay keasling, jbei, jonathan goler, lignocellulosic biomass, microbes, microbial fuel production, molecules, parkinson, petrochemicals, ribozyme, rna devices, rna functions, rna molecules, simulations, synberc, synthetic biology, tools, university of california

*Joint BioEnergy Institute Researchers Develop CAD-Type Tools for Engineering RNA Control Systems*

The computer assisted design (CAD) tools that made it possible to fabricate integrated circuits with millions of transistors may soon be coming to the biological sciences. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) have developed CAD-type models and simulations for RNA molecules that make it possible to engineer biological components or “RNA devices” for controlling genetic expression in microbes. This holds enormous potential for microbial-based sustainable production of advanced biofuels, biodegradable plastics, therapeutic drugs and a host of other goods now derived from petrochemicals. (more…)

MSU Chemists Become The First To Support an 84-Year-Old Theory

By Guest PostDecember 23, 2011Scienceabsorption of light, angular momentum, chemical reactions, energy, energy transfer, molecules

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The same principle that causes figure skaters to spin faster as they draw their arms into their bodies has now been used by Michigan State University researchers to understand how molecules move energy around following the absorption of light. (more…)

Yale-led Team Finds CO2 Levels Plunged as Antarctica Froze

By Guest PostDecember 3, 2011Environmentalgae, atmosphere, carbon dioxide levels, climate transition, co2 and climate change, critical condition, cryosphere, earth, eocene epoch, eocene to oligocene, freezing of antarctica, fundamental link, geochemist, global climate change, global cooling, greenhouse gases, ice sheets, icing of antarctica, mark pagani, matthew huber, molecules, oligocene, polar ice caps, robert m deconto, sea level, temperatures, yale university, zhonghui liu

A Yale University-led research team has found evidence that carbon dioxide levels in Earth’s atmosphere plunged prior to and during the initial icing of Antarctica, about 34 million years ago. The new findings provide further evidence of atmospheric carbon dioxide’s role as a major trigger of global climate change.

“CO2 is tracking global cooling at that time,” said Yale geochemist Mark Pagani, lead author of a paper published online Dec. 1 in the journal Science. “It’s important to demonstrate that there are obvious linkages between CO2 and climate change. It’s one more piece of evidence that CO2 is a primary lever on climate.” (more…)

UCLA Scientists Design Experimental Treatment for Iron-Overload Diseases

By Guest PostNovember 6, 2011Health, Scienceamino acids, bo qiao, change in iron flow in the body, cooley anemia, damage, effects of hepcidin in mice, elizabeta nemeth, emilio ramos, excess iron in the body, ferroportin, genetic disorders, gloria c preza, heart, hepcidin, hereditary hemochromatosis, hormone, iron overload, iron overload diseases, iron regulating activity, iron regulation, liver, minihepcidins, molecules, organs, piotr ruchala, therapy, tomas ganz, toxic

Iron overload is a common condition affecting millions of people worldwide. Excess iron in the body is toxic, and deposits can cause damage to the liver, heart and other organs. Current treatments, researchers say, are not ideal and have significant side effects.

Iron in the body is regulated by a hormone called hepcidin, and a deficiency in this hormone can cause the iron overload seen in genetic disorders like hereditary hemochromatosis and Cooley’s anemia. (more…)

Shaken, not Stirred: Berkeley Lab Scientists Spy Molecular Maneuvers

By Guest PostOctober 24, 2011Scienceandrew cho, atomic precision, babak sanii, berkeley lab, biomimetic materials, catalyze a reaction, development of peptoids, gloria olivier, james bond, langmuir blodgett trough, lawrence berkeley national laboratory, liquid, membrane for filtration, misfolded proteins, molecules, nanomaterials, nanoscale ropes, nanosheet, neeraja venkateswaran, peptoid nanosheets, peptoids, protein like structures, romas kudirka, ron zuckermann, shake, synthetic polymers, two dimensional nanomaterials

Stir this clear liquid in a glass vial and nothing happens. Shake this liquid, and free-floating sheets of protein-like structures emerge, ready to detect molecules or catalyze a reaction. This isn’t the latest gadget from James Bond’s arsenal—rather, the latest research from the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) scientists unveiling how slim sheets of protein-like structures self-assemble. This “shaken, not stirred” mechanism provides a way to scale up production of these two-dimensional nanosheets for a wide range of applications, such as platforms for sensing, filtration and templating growth of other nanostructures.

“Our findings tell us how to engineer two-dimensional, biomimetic materials with atomic precision in water,” said Ron Zuckermann, Director of the Biological Nanostructures Facility at the Molecular Foundry, a DOE nanoscience user facility at Berkeley Lab. “What’s more, we can produce these materials for specific applications, such as a platform for sensing molecules or a membrane for filtration.” (more…)