Molecular

Restructuring a molecule without rebuilding it from scratch is an increasingly important goal in modern organic chemistry. Skeletal editing is an approach that helps chemists explore new chemical structures and simplify the synthesis of molecules with potential pharmaceutical applications.

Welding plastic is a critically important part of everyday engineering—especially for preventing leaks in underground water and gas pipes. For decades, engineers have understood that a properly welded joint in polyethylene pipe can be just as strong as the pipe itself, if not stronger. However, the reason for this strength has remained a mystery.

Researchers have uncovered early molecular warning signs of inflammatory bowel disease, revealing the condition can begin before symptoms appear and continue silently even when patients appear well.

Researchers identified the immune cell population responsible for producing autoantibodies after SARS-CoV-2 infection, and uncovered the molecular program that drives this response, providing insights that might point to new therapeutic targets. The post Molecular Pathways Driving Autoantibody Production Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection Identified appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

Some of nature's most important chemical reactions rely on the coupled movement of negatively and positively charged particles. These processes play central roles in photosynthesis, catalysis and biological energy conversion yet remain difficult to observe.

Craniosynostosis is a congenital developmental disorder in which the skull's cranial sutures fuse prematurely.

For more than two decades, researchers have identified hundreds of genes that increase the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Near-infrared organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) that emit about 1,000 nanometers could support biomedical and security technologies. Yet pushing organic light to these longer wavelengths usually causes a steep drop in efficiency. As the energy gap becomes smaller, molecular vibrations more readily turn excited-state energy into heat rather than light.

As climate change drives more frequent and intense heat waves, plants face growing challenges to survive and remain productive. Researchers at VIB, Ghent University, KU Leuven and their international collaborators have uncovered an evolutionary innovation that helps plants cope with high temperatures.

What if amyloid plaques are not the whole story of Alzheimer's disease? New research suggests that a broad range of Alzheimer's pathologies may be orchestrated by a molecular switch called ERBB4 when it turns on in the wrong neurons.

A mother's obesity during pregnancy may send molecular signals across the placenta that permanently alter her son's liver metabolism, according to a new study in mice published in Nature Communications.

Researchers from the Department of Chemistry at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), led by Professor Jian He and collaborators, have developed a new light-driven method for constructing three-dimensional molecular building blocks that could give medicinal chemists greater flexibility in designing new drug candidates. The approach broadens the range of starting materials that can be used while suppressing unwanted polymerization, overcoming key limitations of existing synthetic methods. The findings have been published in Nature Chemistry.

Glaucoma is an eye disease that causes progressive damage to the optic nerve, leading to loss of sight. One major risk factor is an increase in intraocular pressure (IOP), or the pressure inside the eye.

Author(s): Michele Valsecchi, William S. Fall, Hendrik Meyer, Gary S. Grest, and Sanat K. KumarUnlike glassy plastics, semicrystalline polymers develop higher crystallinity right at the weld line, creating a unique weld that can surprisingly push mechanical failures away from the joint. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 137, 098101] Published Mon Aug 24, 2026

Researchers at TU Dortmund University, Paderborn University, the University of Duisburg-Essen, and the University of Oxford have developed a new method for selectively modifying the internal structure of specific types of glass. The study, published in the journal Nature Materials, shows how adding an organic molecule during melting causes the chemical bonds in the material to rearrange. The process reduces the required processing temperature, prevents the substance from decomposing, and allows the magnetic and optical properties to be precisely tuned. These specialized glasses are used, among other things, in gas storage, batteries, optical applications and catalysis.

Despite advances, AI applications in scientific research have not experienced their “Claude Code” moment. The compute power exists. The models exist. What’s missing is a system that coordinates them. The post From Models to Agents: The Next Phase of AI Adoption in Molecular Discovery appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

Once a cell has locked into an abnormal state — the way cancer cells do — can it ever be restored back to normal? A KAIST research team has identified the 'molecular lock' that keeps cells trapped in an altered state, opening a new path toward releasing that lock and reversing a cell's fate.

100 million years ago, long before human intervention, ancestors of grasses, including wheat, rice and maize, developed "bypasses" in chemical pathways used to create two critical compounds: lignin and starch. These more efficient pathways could explain why grass plants are so successful in nature and agriculture, according to a new paper published in Science on Aug. 20 by researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and their collaborators.

A paper published in the journal Science lays out a roadmap for broadening access to the process of discovering molecular tools that can benefit society, including medicines, materials and a wide range of everyday consumer products.

Proteins form complex three-dimensional shapes and can join together to create larger structures. Researchers want to use these properties to make artificial materials. However, arranging proteins and synthetic molecules together with a high level of structural precision is no easy task. This is partly because of the lack of large, clearly defined contact surfaces between the two components.

As we age, the skin loses part of its ability to regenerate, heal wounds, and maintain an effective barrier against the outside world.

A research team has developed a new molecular editing strategy that can directly convert pyridine compounds into their positional isomers. Instead of moving individual substituents around the molecule, the method relocates the nitrogen atom within the pyridine ring itself, allowing existing molecular structures to be reorganized while preserving their substituents.

In humans and many other animals, a mother's age can affect the physical and behavioral characteristics of the next generation. Scientists call these changes maternal age effects, and while they are widespread across the animal kingdom, researchers still don't fully understand how or why they occur.

The deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of living organisms contains regulatory elements that control when, where and to what extent specific genes are turned on or off. They can be co-opted to create "gene switches" that hold significant potential for understanding gene expression and for therapeutic applications, particularly for the noninvasive treatment or management of genetic disorders.

Sprint-interval exercise triggers a much larger and faster shift in circulating proteins and metabolites than moderate-intensity exercise, revealing distinct patterns of predicted communication between organs. The findings suggest that exercise intensity shapes systemic molecular signaling, with skeletal muscle and adipose tissue emerging as potential source and target tissues linked to cardiometabolic health.

Scientists often describe life as a series of chemical reactions. Pallav Kosuri, PhD, describes life as movement. Chemical reactions are how you drive the movement of atoms, proteins, cells, and bodies-without movement, there is no life.

Three minutes of sprinting can do something that 90 minutes of moderate exercise apparently cannot: dramatically reshape the molecular contents of the bloodstream.

Researchers engineered a fuel-driven DNA origami nanosyringe that moves in approximately 14 nm steps to reversibly penetrate model lipid membranes and transport molecular cargo. The device also triggered localized DNA assembly, RNA transcription, and catalytic RNA cleavage inside synthetic cell-like vesicles.

A vaccine's molecular structure plays a key role in determining how the immune system responds and prepares to protect the body from future exposure to a specific pathogen. To develop a vaccine that offers long-term protection from HIV, it's essential to promote a long-lasting immune response in which immune cells and antibodies prepared to combat the virus persist within the body. This has inspired scientists to find ways to alter vaccine structure to increase the duration and persistence of the immune response.

Author(s): Roman Fanta and Michal BajdichHere, the authors show that quantum Monte Carlo adsorption energies can inherit a distinct error from the gas-phase molecules used as references. They introduce a hybrid thermodynamic cycle that retains quantum Monte Carlo for molecule–surface binding while using coupled-cluster benchmarks for molecular formation. Applications to oxygenated intermediates on Pt(111) and carbon-containing intermediates on Cu(111) reveal chemically specific corrections and provide a practical route to more balanced surface thermochemistry. [Phys. Rev. B 114, 125107] Published Wed Aug 12, 2026

The iconic grassland savannas of Africa are geographically extensive and important for both local fauna and the global climate. But where did they come from, and how will they change in the future? Ongoing warming, rising CO2 levels and shifting rainfall patterns are likely to profoundly change these ecosystems. These effects are difficult to predict because they can alter ecosystems in competing ways.

Whether it's neurons responding to electrical signals or plants stretching toward light, nature is filled with examples of biological materials that respond to their environment. Now, researchers want to develop new responsive materials for a wide range of applications, such as sensing or low-energy technologies. However, achieving a balance of useful properties at the molecular level is challenging.

A new study that explores gene expression during heart transplant rejection marks a step forward for precision medicine approaches to treat organ rejection.

Human peripheral nerves have a remarkable ability to regenerate after damage. However, when re-growing axons fail to meet their target organ, they can transform into painful neuromas.

A UCLA-led international research collaboration unveiled a new technology that may help scientists better understand how small molecules,

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a hereditary autoinflammatory disease in which the body's own immune system overreacts to minimal or inappropriate stimuli, producing recurrent attacks of fever and painful inflammation.

A scalable platform to discover molecular glue degraders has been developed, identifying the first metabolically activated glue. The approach expands protein degradation targets, enabling selective elimination of previously undruggable cancer-related proteins for therapeutic development. The post Novel Molecular Glue Discovery Platform Unlocks Undruggable Cancer Targets appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

Investigators at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have developed a platform for systematically discovering molecular glues that could become protein degradation drug candidates.

Investigators at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have developed a platform for systematically discovering molecular glues that could become protein degradation drug candidates. The platform could help drug developers dramatically expand the range of disease-related proteins that can be therapeutically targeted for elimination via protein degradation.

The cell membrane is a fundamental biological structure. These lipid layers surround and organize every cell, controlling everything from signaling to transport. But for membranes to function properly, their physicochemical properties must sit within a narrow range: for instance, not too rigid or too fluid.

Cells are enclosed by a cell membrane, a sophisticated structure mainly made of lipids that is vital for fundamental biological processes. Artificial lipid membranes have many practical applications, such as drug delivery, but engineering their properties is a huge challenge. Now, a team in Japan has found a new way to control membrane structure.

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths, and surgery is a critical treatment option for early-stage disease.

For an animal to develop normally, cells must not only become the right types but also do so at the right time. In the worm C. elegans, the protein LIN28 has long been known as an important regulator of this timing: It keeps cells in a flexible state and delays their shift toward adult-like forms. In humans and other mammals, related LIN28 proteins have been associated with the timing of puberty.

One of the most famous and intriguing results of quantum mechanics is the finding that fundamental particles, such as electrons, cannot be pinned down to one single location. Instead, a particle is described by its "wavefunction," which allows researchers to derive probability distributions—a sort of mathematical map that shows the possibilities—of fundamental properties such as its position and momentum. In particular, the electron wavefunctions within a molecule, known as "molecular orbitals," carry information about how the molecule interacts with its surroundings. For example, they show how it may absorb light or how a chemical reaction might take place.

Malaria parasites proliferate in an unusual way. Rather than dividing into two daughter cells like human cells, they first amplify their genetic material tenfold, hundredfold or even thousandfold before simultaneously producing a corresponding number of daughter parasites. Until now, the mechanisms controlling these processes were only partly understood.

Through a multistep process, signals from infected cells trigger the formation of a receptor complex that directs neutrophils out of blood vessels toward infection sites without damaging healthy tissue. The post Molecular GPS Guides Neutrophils to Sites of Infection appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

Researchers 3D-nanoprinted hollow-core Photonic Scaffolds with up to 80% cladding openness, with models predicting attenuation at or below 1 dB/mm at that openness and experiments measuring sub-1 dB/mm losses at 68% openness. The waveguides supported dye diffusion in about 34 seconds, a 1.4 nL effective interaction volume, and quantum-dot emission with output photon statistics consistent with single-photon emission after transmission.

Unlike humans, plants cannot make simple lifestyle adjustments to adapt to changing environments. When exposed to conditions like extreme heat or water scarcity, instead of putting on sweaters or turning on air conditioners, plants need to sense and respond to these environmental changes at the molecular level. Entering a sort of "survival mode," plants shift their physiological and metabolic priorities, sacrificing things like growth and reproduction for survival.

Over the past few decades, scientists have become increasingly interested in developing materials that do not simply withstand mechanical forces but instead respond to them in useful, detectable ways. For example, it is now possible to engineer materials that signal when they are under stress through changes in color or brightness. This growing domain, sometimes called mechanochromic or mechanoresponsive materials science, has found applications in structural sensors and advanced optical technology.

Researchers at Duke University School of Medicine have developed an artificial intelligence framework that can redesign proteins on a scale previously seen only in natural evolution. The tool can create shorter, longer and highly modified versions of proteins while preserving their structure and function.

Rice University chemists have found a new way to make neodymium, a rare-earth metal, interact with oxygen. Using a specially designed molecular structure described as a “basket,” the team positioned the atoms so they could form a bond once thought unlikely. The breakthrough produced highly reactive compounds that could eventually give chemists alternatives to iron-based molecules used in biological reactions and chemical manufacturing.

Researchers from the Universities of Hildesheim, Bonn, and Freiburg have now uncovered how human skeletal muscle responds to resistance exercise at the molecular level.

Plastic recycling could become far more effective thanks to a new technique that restores the strength of damaged engineering plastics by repairing them at the molecular level.

Author(s): B. Gurrutxaga-Lerma and J. E. ArnoldDislocation mobility in concentrated alloys is normally extracted from driven molecular dynamics, one costly simulation per data point. Here the authors obtain it instead from equilibrium lattice dynamics: integrating out the phonons on the Keldysh contour gives a causal memory kernel, whose zero-frequency limit is the dislocation’s phonon drag coefficient. The authors show drag to vary non-monotonically with composition, and that averaging the chemistry discards a positive variance term, so effective medium estimates underpredict drag by about 2 to 8. [Phys. Rev. B 114, 034116] Published Mon Jul 27, 2026

A new study suggests that simple molecules on early Earth may have worked together to create more stable, cell-like structures, offering fresh clues about one of science's biggest questions: how life began. Led by Dr. Moran Frenkel-Pinter of Hebrew University and her postdoctoral researcher, Dr. Rotem Edri, the research shows that two types of simple molecules, fatty acids and hydroxy acids, can combine to create structures that are stronger and more stable than either molecule can form alone.

Cells carry their own growth switches. When enough nutrients—amino acids in particular—are available, cells flip this switch on and begin to grow. Researchers at KAIST and Yonsei University have uncovered the molecular mechanism by which amino acid signals activate this cellular growth switch. The findings are expected to open a new avenue for anticancer therapies that target abnormal growth signaling in tumor cells.

Human color vision depends on three types of cone cells in the retina. Although all three contain the same light-absorbing molecule, 11-cis-retinal, differences in the surrounding protein determine sensitivity to red, green, or blue light.

Cells carry their own growth switches. When enough nutrients-amino acids in particular-are available, cells flip this switch on and begin to grow. Researchers at KAIST and Yonsei University have now uncovered the molecular mechanism by which amino acid signals activate this cellular growth switch.

Sanchi ginseng (Panax notoginseng) is a cornerstone of traditional Chinese medicine, prized for its saponins-bioactive compounds with anti-inflammatory, cardiovascular, and anticancer properties.

The pearly razorfish (Xyrichtys novacula) is a small marine animal that lives in sandy coastal waters and feeds on creatures like shrimp. Known locally in Spain's Balearic Islands as raors, it is a popular dish in many homes and restaurants across the region.

Chiral molecules can exist in left- and right-handed forms. Although these mirror-image forms may look almost identical, they can behave very differently in chemical reactions, biological systems and advanced materials. Preparing one mirror-image form in high purity is therefore an important goal in chemistry.

An international collaborative research group led by Professor Bong June Sung of the Department of Chemistry at Sogang University and Professor Shinji Saito of the Institute for Molecular Science (IMS), National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS), and the Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, has elucidated, at the molecular level, how lithium ions move within organic ionic plastic crystals (OIPCs)—which are attracting attention as solid electrolytes for next-generation batteries.

Author(s): Ryan WilkinsonA new atomic force microscope captures the structures of individual molecules and their chemical bonds at record speeds. [Physics 19, s93] Published Thu Jul 23, 2026

Heavy polar molecules are some of the most sensitive tools physicists have for probing what lies beyond the Standard Model, the theory that describes the particles and forces we know about. But turning that sensitivity into precise, trustworthy measurements has long been held back by one stubborn problem: Stray electric and magnetic fields drown out the tiny signals researchers are actually looking for.

Lifestyle modification is the cornerstone of managing metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), a growing cause of chronic liver disease worldwide.

Semiconductor surfaces can generally be studied only with considerable experimental effort, for example, in an ultrahigh vacuum. To more easily gain new insights into their properties and the possibilities for targeted modification, scientists at Heidelberg University have developed a molecular model for the so-called "buckled dimer" using synthetic and computational chemistry methods.

Controlling how oxygen reacts is important for improving technologies such as batteries, fuel cells and environmentally sustainable chemical processes. A research team led by professor Seung Jun Hwang from KAIST's Department of Chemistry has developed a molecular system capable of directing oxygen activation along a selected electron-transfer pathway.

Scientists uncovered how influenza A commandeers human cells, including a surprising strategy that dissolves tiny structures in the nucleus and releases proteins the virus may use to reproduce. The detailed molecular map could reveal new drug targets and help researchers study dangerous flu strains such as H5N1.

Author(s): Yuiki Takahashi, Harish D. Ramachandran, Arian Jadbabaie, Yi Zeng, Chi Zhang, and Nicholas R. HutzlerSpecial clock transitions in heavy polar molecules have been engineered to probe physics beyond the standard model, suppressing disruptive electromagnetic noise by orders of magnitude while preserving high sensitivity. [Phys. Rev. X 16, 031011] Published Mon Jul 20, 2026

Advances in medical technology have improved health in part by bringing key aspects of care, once difficult to access, into the home. Tracking symptoms and even screening for certain types of illness outside of a laboratory or clinical setting puts more control into the hands of patients.

Eleven new molecular drug targets receive approval in 2025, expanding treatment options for rare diseases, cancer, and infectious diseases.

A nerve cell resembles a vast tree with branches that communicate with thousands of other cells. To function, it depends on a motor protein that walks on two legs, hauling urgent cargo from the center of the cell to the faraway tips of every branch.

Driving an electric current through a molecule can create a magnetic field. Yet in practice, such fields are often too weak to be detected experimentally. Through theoretical modeling, researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) show how quantum effects can turn single molecules into effective magnets—including one shaped like a microscopic soccer ball, just in time for the FIFA World Cup final. The findings are published in Nature Communications.

Cells are crowded, dynamic places where thousands of molecules interact in tight quarters. Until now, scientists lacked a reliable way to see many of these molecular interactions as they happen.

Mathematics has always been at the core of securing information. From online banking to government communications, modern society relies on cryptography, in which complex mathematical algorithms transform readable information into an unreadable form to keep it secure. But as computing power grows and quantum technology advances, these mathematical safeguards are increasingly vulnerable to being broken. That's where biology stepped in.

Water-saving irrigation practices, including intermittent irrigation, are essential for sustainable rice cultivation amid growing freshwater shortages. However, periodic drainage creates aerobic soil conditions that drastically boost cadmium (Cd) bioavailability, leading to severe grain Cd enrichment. Disentangling the relationship between water conservation and high grain Cd has been a critical challenge for rice breeders and soil scientists worldwide.

Rotaxanes are dumbbell-shaped mechanically interlocked molecules in which one or more ring-shaped molecules are threaded through a linear segment, known as the axle. To keep the ring from sliding off, two bulky groups, sometimes called stoppers, are added to the ends of the axle. Making a rotaxane has always been as challenging as its structure suggests.

Northwestern Medicine scientists have identified a novel mechanism used by the bacteria responsible for gonorrhea to evade immune detection and achieve widespread infection, according to a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Neisseria gonorrhoeae causes gonorrhea, which is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections. If not treated promptly with antibiotics, the disease can cause infertility, sepsis and pregnancy complications.

Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the human body, yet once damaged, it cannot regenerate naturally.

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and Birkbeck, University of London, have identified a site where a commonly used anesthetic binds to sodium ion channels, revealing a molecular mechanism that may explain how these drugs dampen communication between neurons.

A team of researchers led by Felipe Herrera, a professor at the University of Santiago and a researcher at the Millennium Institute for Research in Optics (MIRO), has identified a quantum phenomenon that enables chemical bonds to be broken using significantly less energy than is normally required.

What happens to the human body in space may help scientists create new anti-aging therapies.

A study led by the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC), working in collaboration with an international research team, has identified a new molecular mechanism involved in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the most common inherited cardiovascular disease.

Researchers at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI) at Kanazawa University, the Institute for Molecular Science and SOKENDAI have uncovered the hidden mechanism behind a molecular switch—a molecule that can change between different structural states in response to a chemical signal. Their study, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, reveals how molecules can gradually switch between alternative states, a process that could help scientists design future molecular machines, smart materials and molecular information technologies.

Two people may be the same age and have similar family histories or risk factors, yet only one of them may develop thrombosis.

Researchers from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) have taken an important step toward developing intelligent molecular materials. The team headed by Dr. Bernd M. Schmidt (Institute of Organic Chemistry and Macromolecular Chemistry) and Professor Dr. Jan Meisner (Institute of Physical Chemistry) has shown that complex molecular nanostructures can be selectively activated, disassembled in a controlled way and even reassembled using ultrasound. The results, published in Nature Communications, could, for example, aid the development of more targeted cancer medication in the future.

New research has revealed that water behaves differently when confined to spaces just one molecule thick. For the first time, scientists have directly measured the vibrational signatures of truly two-dimensional water. In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers used ultrathin channels only a few angstroms high to trap water in isolated layers and probe how its hydrogen-bonding network changes under extreme confinement.

Water is the most abundant liquid on Earth's surface, and it is highly anomalous compared with other liquids because it expands upon freezing. The anomalies in water have been linked to how its microscopic structure changes with temperature and pressure. However, there is no systematic scheme for characterizing these structural changes.

Today, the World Health Organization (WHO) has added the first molecular diagnostic test for Bundibugyo virus (BDBV) to its Emergency Use Listing (EUL).

Researchers from the Molecular Physics and Physical Chemistry departments of the Fritz Haber Institute have shown how two highly synchronized infrared (IR) laser beams can control molecules as they switch between different structural conformations. Their study provides a new window into how molecules rearrange themselves during chemical reactions, offering fundamental insights into the microscopic processes that govern chemistry.

Graphene can be used to produce diamond nanoparticles of a specific size and with desired properties. Versatile Nanodiamonds: Diamond

Organic molecular crystals can respond to external stimuli such as heat, light, and mechanical force, making them attractive candidates for next-generation functional materials. However, predicting how multiple intermolecular interactions cooperate or compete to govern crystal behavior remains a major challenge.

A novel study has found that obesity is associated with a distinct molecular program driving the transition from early-stage, premalignant breast lesions to invasive breast cancer.