Biochemistry News and Research

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Dual epigenetic marks found to regulate cell identity

Shedding light on what determines how cells become what they are meant to be-nerves, bone, muscles, etc.-can also help researchers understand how diseases develop when these biological programs break down.

14 Aug 2025

AI breakthrough designs peptide drugs to target previously untreatable proteins

A study published in Nature Biotechnology reveals a powerful new use for artificial intelligence: designing small, drug-like molecules that can stick to and break down harmful proteins in the body - even when scientists don't know what those proteins look like.

13 Aug 2025

Rising human adaptive potential seen in 2.3.4.4b clade of H5N1

In recent years, there has been growing concern over the H5N1 influenza virus. It was first identified in birds three decades ago and has now gradually found its way to humans.

12 Aug 2025

AI discovers promising antibiotic compounds in Archaea microbes

They've survived for billions of years in boiling acid, deep-sea vents and salt flats. Now, some of Earth's oldest life forms - microbes called Archaea - are offering a new weapon in the fight against one of today's most urgent health threats: antibiotic resistance.

12 Aug 2025

Researchers develop machine learning models to identify biomarkers for chronic fatigue syndrome

When cells expire, they leave behind an activity log of sorts: RNA expelled into blood plasma that reveal changes in gene expression, cellular signaling, tissue injury and other biological processes.

11 Aug 2025

Newly discovered drug class could someday lead to breakthrough treatments for fungal infections

A research team at McMaster University has discovered a new drug class that could someday lead to breakthrough treatments for dangerous fungal infections.

11 Aug 2025

Researchers develop precise tool to identify omega positions in lipids

Omega-3 fatty acids are known to be an essential part of a healthy diet. As humans cannot produce them, they have to be consumed in sufficient amounts. However, omega-6, -7, -9, and -10 fatty acids also play important roles in the metabolism of fats.

11 Aug 2025

New imaging technique reveals how antibodies reshape cancer cell receptors

A new study shows how the single-molecule organization of receptors in a cellular context determines the function of antibodies, opening up new pathways for the development of cancer immunotherapies.

11 Aug 2025

Aging brains lose key proteins despite intact genetic blueprints

An international research team involving the Leibniz Institute on Aging - Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI) in Jena, the Scuola Normale Superiore Pisa, and Stanford University has discovered that in the aging brain, certain proteins are lost even though their mRNA blueprints remain intact.

8 Aug 2025

Subtle genetic shifts in brain enzyme offer clues to human evolution

The evolutionary success of our species may have hinged on minute changes to our brain biochemistry after we diverged from the lineage leading to Neanderthals and Denisovans about half a million years ago.

5 Aug 2025

Psychedelic and non-hallucinogenic drugs promote neuroplasticity through shared pathways

Understanding exactly how psychedelics promote new connections in the brain is critical to developing targeted, non-hallucinogenic therapeutics that can treat neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases.

4 Aug 2025

Study sheds light on molecular mechanisms of brain aging

Aging and neurodegeneration are both known to disrupt the production of functional proteins in cells – a process called "proteostasis," or protein homeostasis.

31 Jul 2025

Respiratory infections can reactivate dormant breast cancer cells

Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center (MECCC), and Utrecht University have found the first direct evidence that common respiratory infections, including COVID-19 and influenza, can awaken dormant breast cancer cells that have spread to the lungs, setting the stage for new metastatic tumors.

30 Jul 2025

Canadian scientists trap gut microbe fuel to improve blood sugar and liver health

A team of Canadian scientists has discovered a surprising new way to improve blood sugar levels and reduce liver damage: by trapping a little-known fuel made by gut bacteria before they wreak havoc on the body.

30 Jul 2025

Bacteria use amyloids as molecular armor against predators

Amyloids are perhaps best known as a key driver of Alzheimer's disease.

30 Jul 2025

Vanderbilt team explores functional β-cell enhancement for diabetes

If it has seemed like more people you know are developing diabetes, you are right. The diabetes epidemic is not called that for nothing: According to the American Diabetes Association, over 10 percent of the U.S. population-approximately 38.4 million people-had diabetes in 2021, and 1.2 million more people get diagnosed each year.

30 Jul 2025