Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: biotech/medical – Page 213

Replacing trial and error: Molecular methods clear the way for faster and more cost-effective separations

The process of separating useful molecules from mixtures of other substances accounts for 15% of the nation’s energy, emits 100 million tons of carbon dioxide and costs $4 billion annually.

Commercial manufacturers produce columns of porous materials to separate potential new drugs developed by the pharmaceutical industry, for example, and also for energy and chemical production, environmental science and making foods and beverages.

But in a new study, researchers at Case Western Reserve University have found these manufactured separation materials don’t function as intended because the pores are so packed with polymer they become blocked. That means the separations are inefficient and unnecessarily expensive.

Mouse model unveils dynamics through which SYNGAP1 gene supports cognitive function

The SYNGAP1 gene, which supports the production of a protein called SynGAP (Synaptic Ras GTPase-Activating Protein), is known to play a key role in supporting the development of synapses and neural circuits (i.e., connections between neurons). Mutations in this gene have been linked to various learning disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, speech and language delays, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and epilepsy.

Researchers at the Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology recently carried out a study aimed at better understanding the via which the SYNGAP1 gene contributes to healthy cognitive function. Their findings, published in Nature Communications, suggest that the autonomous expression of this gene in the cortical excitatory neurons of mice promotes the animals’ cognitive abilities via the assembly of long-range integrating sensory and motor information.

“Our paper builds on our ongoing research into how major risk genes for mental health disorders, including autism, regulate brain organization and function,” Gavin Rumbaugh, senior author of the paper, told Medical Xpress. “The field knows the major risk genes that directly contribute to cognitive and behavioral impairments that lead to diagnosable forms of autism and related neuropsychiatric disorders in humans.

New findings on the power of enzymes could reshape biochemistry

Using a series of more than 1,000 X-ray snapshots of the shapeshifting of enzymes in action, researchers at Stanford University have illuminated one of the great mysteries of life—how enzymes are able to speed up life-sustaining biochemical reactions so dramatically. Their findings could impact fields ranging from basic science to drug discovery, and provoke a rethinking of how science is taught in the classroom.

“When I say enzymes speed up reactions, I mean as in a trillion-trillion times faster for some reactions,” noted senior author of the study, Dan Herschlag, professor of biochemistry in the School of Medicine. “Enzymes are really remarkable little machines, but our understanding of exactly how they work has been lacking.”

There are lots of ideas and theories that make sense, Herschlag said, but biochemists have not been able to translate those ideas into a specific understanding of the chemical and physical interactions responsible for enzymes’ enormous reaction rates. As a result, biochemists don’t have a basic understanding and, therefore, have been unable to predict rates or design new enzymes as well as nature does, an ability that would be impactful across industry and medicine.

AI model generates antimicrobial peptide structures for screening against treatment-resistant microbes

A team of microbiologists, chemists and pharmaceutical specialists at Shandong University, Guangzhou Medical University, Second Military Medical University and Qingdao University, all in China, has developed an AI model that generates antimicrobial peptide structures for screening against treatment-resistant microbes.

In their study published in the journal Science Advances, the group developed a compression method to reduce the number of elements needed in training data for an AI system, which helped to reduce diversification issues with current AI models.

Prior research has suggested that drug-resistant microbes are one of the most pressing problems in medical science. Researchers around the world have been looking for new ways to treat people infected with such microbes—one approach involves developing , which work by targeting bacterial membranes.

Scientists create hydrogen with no direct CO₂ emissions at source

A new way of creating hydrogen, which eliminates direct CO2 emissions at source, has been developed by an international team of scientists.

The process reacts hydrogen-rich and sustainably sourced bioethanol taken from agricultural waste with water at just 270°C using a new bimetallic catalyst. Unlike traditional methods, which operate between 400°C and 600°C, are energy-intensive and generate large amounts of CO2, the catalyst shifts the chemical reaction to create hydrogen without releasing as a byproduct.

Instead, the process co-produces high-value , an organic liquid used in , household cleaning products, manufacturing and medicine, and has an annual global consumption exceeding 15 million tons.

Eating yogurt may offer protection against hard-to-detect colon cancer

Beyond the general recommendation to consume yogurt, this research raises questions about which products might offer the most benefit. Not all yogurts contain the same bacterial strains or concentrations. While many products include Bifidobacterium, the amounts can vary significantly. Future research may help determine whether certain formulations provide better protection against colorectal cancer.

Different subtypes of colorectal cancer may respond differently to preventive measures, suggesting that a one-size-fits-all approach to prevention might not be optimal. This understanding could eventually lead to more personalized prevention strategies based on individual risk factors and gut bacterial composition.

A Nose-Computer Interface Could Turn Dogs Into Super Detectors

Thanks to their excellent smelling ability, dogs have been used for hundreds of years to hunt down wild game and search for criminals. At airports, they help identify explosives and illicit drugs. In disaster situations, they can rescue survivors and find human remains.

But each dog can only be trained to detect one class of odor compounds, which limits the range of smells it’s able to detect. Training costs tens of thousands of dollars and takes several months. For Florida startup Canaery, the solution is merging canines with neurotechnology to allow them to detect everything from bombs and other contraband to human diseases and environmental toxins—no specialized training needed.

Gene-edited rice can produce a compound that’s vital for human health

A team of Chinese scientists has used targeted gene editing to develop rice that produces coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), a vital compound for human health.

Led by Prof. Chen Xiaoya from the CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences/Shanghai Chenshan Research Center and Prof. Gao Caixia from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the researchers used targeted gene editing to modify just five amino acids of the Coq1 rice enzyme, creating new rice varieties capable of synthesizing CoQ10.

The study is published in Cell.