Small Molecules News and Research

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Integrated approach addresses some of the biggest challenges in natural products drug discovery

Many successful drugs have their origins in natural sources such as plants, fungi, and bacteria, but screening natural products to identify potential drugs remains a difficult undertaking.

1 Dec 2022

Fingerprint-embedding framework can help find novel drug candidates

Researchers have developed a new computer framework that holds promise in the work to discover new drugs. Their framework uses an artificial intelligence method called convolutional neural network to provide global information about potential novel drug candidates.

30 Nov 2022

New guidelines for designing synthetic molecules that block interaction between two proteins

Inside cells, proteins constantly interact with each other to carry out different functions. For some diseases in which these functions are altered, blocking the binding between two or more proteins emerges as a possible therapeutic approach.

30 Nov 2022

Researchers discover a new function of CRISPR/Cas9 gene scissors

For several years now, the CRISPR/Cas9 gene scissors have been causing a sensation in science and medicine.

25 Nov 2022

Research reveals existence of a hidden ''pocket’ on the surface of key SARS-CoV-2 protein

With the continuous emergence of new variants and the risk of new strains of the virus, the development of innovative therapies against SARS-CoV-2 remains a major public health challenge.

23 Nov 2022

Molecular motion of many 'undruggable' proteins reveals previously unseen binding sites

Studying the molecular motion of proteins reveals previously unseen binding sites that could be targeted by new drug candidate molecules.

21 Nov 2022

Research reveals new treatment avenue for pediatric high grade gliomas harboring a genetic mutation

Researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center have identified a novel treatment approach to an aggressive type of pediatric brain cancer, using therapies already approved to treat cancer.

16 Nov 2022

Small molecules found in breast milk may reduce the likelihood of infants developing allergies

Breastfed babies are believed to suffer fewer allergic conditions, like eczema and food allergies, than formula-fed babies; yet the reason has not been well understood.

15 Nov 2022

UCR scientists pave the way for diabetes and cancer patients to forget injections

Researchers at UC Riverside are paving the way for diabetes and cancer patients to forget needles and injections, and instead take pills to manage their conditions.

10 Nov 2022

Study illuminates how a typical gut bacterium spreads through the body

A typical gut bacterium that can spread through the body and cause a serious infection resists natural immune defenses and antibiotics by enhancing its protective outer layer, known as the cell envelope, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

10 Nov 2022

Researchers find an innovative approach to improve waste clearance from the brain

Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and many other neurodegenerative diseases are marked by damaging clusters of proteins in the brain. Scientists have expended enormous effort searching for ways to treat such conditions by clearing these toxic clusters but have had limited success.

9 Nov 2022

Accelerating Scientific Discoveries through Advanced Data Analysis Platforms

In this interview, we speak to Victor Wong, Chief Scientific Officer at Core Life Analytics, about their StratoMineRTM product and how it helps researchers to rapidly process their data.

From Core Life Analytics 3 Nov 2022

Dietary inulin fiber can promote allergy-related type of inflammation in the gut and lungs

A type of dietary fiber called inulin, commonly used in health supplements and known to have certain anti-inflammatory properties, can also promote an allergy-related type of inflammation in the lung and gut, and other parts of the body, according to a preclinical study from researchers in the Friedman Center for Nutrition and Inflammation and Jill Roberts Institute for Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Weill Cornell Medicine and in the Boyce Thompson Institute on Cornell's Ithaca campus.

2 Nov 2022

Discovery of small molecule enzyme inhibitor could be the key to treating cancers, autoimmune diseases

Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have found a small molecule capable of manipulating an immune process that plays an important role in cancers and autoimmune diseases.

25 Oct 2022

Two small molecules reverse pancreatic acinar ductal metaplasia

Pancreatic cancer often lurks as a silent disease. With no known symptoms, it can progress undetected and spread to other organs.

20 Oct 2022

Newly identified gene may provide a therapeutic target for deadly glioblastoma multiforme

Research led by doctors and scientists at UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the UCLA Jane & Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior have identified a gene that may provide a therapeutic target for the deadly, treatment-resistant brain cancer glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

19 Oct 2022

Researchers explore drug-repurposing candidates acting against nucleotide-binding pockets of multiple SARS-CoV-2 proteins

In a new study, researchers pursued direct-acting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 drugs that compete for nucleotide-binding pockets (NBPs) of SARS-CoV-2 proteins.

11 Oct 2022

Small antiviral molecules termed assembly modulators show therapeutic efficacy against cancer

In a new study, researchers evaluated the anti-cancer therapeutic efficacy of two structurally-unrelated small molecules, PAV-617 and PAV-951.

4 Oct 2022

Many diverse nanopore research directions and applications beyond DNA sequencing

In a recent Nature Nanotechnology study, researchers describe diverse applications of nanopore-based technology beyond deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequencing. More specifically, the current research focuses on the advancements of this technology within chemistry, biophysics, and nanoscience.

29 Sep 2022

New capsule tunnels through mucus in the GI tract to deliver large protein drugs

One reason that it's so difficult to deliver large protein drugs orally is that these drugs can't pass through the mucus barrier that lines the digestive tract.

28 Sep 2022