News by Subject Chemistry & Physics

In a laboratory experiment with rats, Brazilian researchers succeeded in reversing natural processes associated with aging that lead to loss of bone density and strength.

DNA information is stored in a sequence of chemical building blocks; computers store information as sequences of zeros and ones. Researchers want to transfer this concept to artificial molecules. UC Berkeley and Ruhr-Universität Bochum researchers have taken another step toward encoding information in the sequence of metal atoms in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), showing how to read the sequence. Multivariate MOFs could encode digital information, but also conduct programmed chemical modifications or controlled drug release.

Researchers in Lásló Forró's lab at EPFL, Switzerland, are working on a membrane made of titanium oxide nanowires, similar in appearance to filter paper but with antibacterial and antiviral properties. Their material works by using the photocatalytic properties of titanium dioxide: when exposed to ultraviolet radiation, the fibers convert resident moisture into oxidizing agents such as hydrogen peroxide, which have the ability to destroy pathogens.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a rare disease in which excessive proliferation of the cells of pulmonary arterial walls obstructs the blood flow in the lungs. A group of scientists based in Okayama, Japan, has now used 3D cell culture technology to recapitulate the pathogenetic process involved in pulmonary arterial hypertension in the laboratory, with potential applications in drug testing.

Engineers at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and their colleagues at Stanford School of Medicine have demonstrated that drug levels inside the body can be tracked in real time using a custom smartwatch that analyzes the chemicals found in sweat. This wearable technology could be incorporated into a more personalized approach to medicine -- where an ideal drug and dosages can be tailored to an individual.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is shining a spotlight on vaccine development. As numerous vaccines race through clinical trials, physicians and researchers continue to develop new vaccine technologies to generate the most effective vaccines with the fewest side effects. A new proof-of-concept study by researchers at the University of Chicago and Duke University demonstrates the potential for one such platform, using self-assembling peptide nanofibers tagged with antigens to prime the immune system against a potential invasion.