Small Molecules News and Research

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Disorientating the malaria parasite to prevent its replication and transmission

With almost 250 million cases a year, 621,000 of them fatal, malaria remains a major public health problem, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

16 Jun 2023

Heat-damaged DNA in food may contribute to genetic risks

Researchers have newly discovered a surprising and potentially significant reason why eating foods frequently cooked at high temperatures, such as red meat and deep-fried fare, elevates cancer risk. The alleged culprit: DNA within the food that's been damaged by the cooking process.

13 Jun 2023

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone neurons play a key role in the response to fasting and weight loss

Regulation of thyroid hormone (TH) levels is a complex multilevel phenomenon. The paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus (the region of the brain that controls the involuntary nervous system) has been identified as a direct regulator of thyrotropin (a hormone secreted by the pituitary gland that regulates the production of thyroid hormones).

12 Jun 2023

A SARS-CoV-2 spike-targeting bispecific T-cell engager strategy for controlling SARS-CoV-2 infection

Researchers described a novel strategy for controlling severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.

5 Jun 2023

Scientists study the structure and function of a transporter involved in cancer, immunity

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center studied the structure and function of a transporter involved in cancer and immunity.

24 May 2023

39th Barcelona BioMed Conference focuses on latest advances in proximity induction-based pharmacology

Targeted protein degradation uses different types of "degrading" drugs (degraders) to force proximity between a target protein (for example, a mutated protein that contributes to the development of a disease) and the cellular machinery that directs protein degradation.

23 May 2023

Specially designed capsule gives a fuller picture of normal digestion in healthy people

Using a specially designed capsule, researchers can now voyage through the digestive system, collecting new data about digestion and microorganisms.

10 May 2023

Mount Sinai researchers identify a new therapeutic target for MS and other brain disorders

Cross-talk between brain cells and peripheral immune cells can modulate the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS), Mount Sinai researchers have discovered.

8 May 2023

Anticoronavirals: the development of COVID-19 therapies and the challenges that remain

Researchers highlighted the pace of development of COVID-19 therapies during the pandemic and the challenges that hinder the widespread availability of anticoronavirals.

8 May 2023

New approach addresses the challenge of directly connecting genetic variants to human traits, health

A major challenge in human genetics is understanding which parts of the genome drive specific traits or contribute to disease risk. This challenge is even greater for genetic variants found in the 98% of the genome that does not encode proteins.

5 May 2023

Exploring the World of RNA Chemistry

In this interview conducted at Pittcon 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, we spoke to Philip Bevilacqua from Pennsylvania State University about the world of RNA chemistry.

From Pittcon 5 May 2023

Crohn’s disease: Symptoms, diagnosis, and treatments

Anyone newly diagnosed with Crohn's disease likely has a lot of questions – and probably some anxiety – about having a chronic ailment for which there's no cure.

4 May 2023

Using PandaOmics to identify dual-purpose therapeutic targets to treat aging and glioblastoma

A new research paper was published in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 15, Issue 8, entitled, "Identification of dual-purpose therapeutic targets implicated in aging and glioblastoma multiforme using PandaOmics - an AI-enabled biological target discovery platform."

3 May 2023

Researchers develop gene-edited stem cells to reduce arrhythmias in heart attack patients

In a recent study published in the journal Cell Stem Cell, researchers hypothesized that pacemaker-like activity of human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hPSC-CMs) resulted in engraftment arrhythmias (EAs), which hampers the clinical use of cell-based therapy using hPSC-CMs for treatment of myocardial infarction (MI).

2 May 2023

A dimensional reduction strategy for enhanced cryopreservation of red blood cells

Small amounts of nanometer-thin metal-organic layers efficiently protect red blood cells during freezing and thawing, as a team of researchers writing in the journal Angewandte Chemie has discovered. The nanolayers, made from metal-organic frameworks based on the metal hafnium, prevent ice crystal formation at very low concentrations. This effective novel cryoprotection mode could be used to develop new and more efficient cryoprotectants for the biosciences.

29 Apr 2023

Researchers develop novel bio-inspired molecules to enhance bone regeneration

People's ability to regenerate bones declines with age and is further decreased by diseases such as osteoporosis.

28 Apr 2023

Revolutionizing drug discovery: Giga-scale screening unleashes power of AI and virtual libraries

Research discusses recent advances in computer-aided drug discovery, including the use of virtual screening and deep learning methods and their potential to revolutionize the drug discovery process by identifying diverse, potent, and drug-like ligands to protein targets.

28 Apr 2023

New strategy for identifying small molecules offers a promising path for discovering targeted drugs

Scripps Research scientists have developed a new strategy for identifying small molecules that can change the function of proteins, offering a promising path for discovering targeted drugs.

27 Apr 2023

Developing Next-Generation Nanomaterials for Medical Applications

In this interview conducted at Pittcon 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, we spoke to Dr. Chad Merkin, Director of the International Institute for Nanotechnology, about his work developing next-generation nanomaterials for medical applications.

From Pittcon 27 Apr 2023

Study uncovers a protein-protein interaction that contributes to Parkinson's disease

In a study published in Nature Communications, a team led by Krembil Brain Institute Senior Scientists, Drs. Lorraine Kalia and Suneil Kalia, and University of Toronto (U of T) Professor, Dr. Philip M. Kim, identified a protein-protein interaction that contributes to Parkinson's disease.

20 Apr 2023