News by Subject Chemistry & Physics

A new study by Scripps Research, published today in Nature Communications, suggests scientists could build better drugs by learning from bacteria-derived molecules called thiocarboxylic acids.

An algorithm to monitor the joints of patients with arthritis, which could change the way that the severity of the condition is assessed, has been developed by a team of engineers, physicians and radiologists led by the University of Cambridge.

Constructing biological tissues, such as skin, muscle, or bone, in customized shapes is now one step closer. Researchers at EMBL have succeeded in guiding the folding and thus shape of tissues with optogenetics: a technique to control protein activity with light. Nature Communications publishes their results, with implications for regenerative medicine, on June 18.

In a study in The American Journal of Pathology, investigators report that treatment with aleglitazar, a dual peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha/gamma (PPARα/γ) agonist, reduced inflammation, vasoconstriction, angiogenesis, mucosal disruption, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α overproduction in cirrhotic rats with PH. This suggests a promising new approach for treating liver cirrhosis.

A diverse mix of species improves the stability and fuel-oil yield of algal biofuel systems, as well as their resistance to invasion by outsiders, according to the findings of a federally funded outdoor study by University of Michigan researchers.

An international team of scientists have predicted a new superhard material that can be used in drilling, machine building and other fields. The new tungsten boride they discovered outperforms the widely used 'pobedit' ? a hard tungsten carbide and cobalt composite material with artificial diamond interspersing.