Molecular

This study reveals carbon nanotubes with pH-switchable gates, enhancing our understanding of ion transport and offering insights for synthetic membrane design.

Before plants evolved, vegetative life consisted of primitive green algae living in the sea. Like plants, these algae survived by performing photosynthesis, turning sunlight into energy. However, little light reaches the ocean where algae live; therefore, they evolved specialized organs to grab what little is available.

Small RNAs are short RNA molecules that help determine which genes in a cell are switched on or off. Until now, it was assumed that the small RNAs necessary for pollen development originate in the pollen itself and in the directly surrounding maternal tissue. However, a new study conducted by the MPI-MP reveals a surprisingly different picture: The crucial signals do not originate in the pollen, but in maternal tissue and can be transported over long distances, for example from the roots.

Conventional treatments of Alzheimer's disease, one of the most common forms of dementia, have been largely focused on targeting individual pathological features. However, Alzheimer's disease is a multifactorial disorder driven by multiple, tightly interconnected processes, rendering single-target therapeutic approaches inherently limited. Addressing this challenge, KAIST researchers propose a new strategy that enables the simultaneous regulation of multiple disease-inducing factors simply by rearranging the structural positions of drug candidate molecules without altering their chemical substituents.

The discovery of a 13-atom sulfur ring in deep space links simple cosmic chemistry to the complex organic building blocks of life's origins.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), in collaboration with astrophysicists from the Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, have identified the largest sulfur-bearing molecule ever found in space: 2,5-cyclohexadiene-1-thione (C₆H₆S). They made this breakthrough by combining laboratory experiments with astronomical observations. The molecule resides in the molecular cloud G+0.693–0.027, about 27,000 light-years from Earth near the center of the Milky Way.

Inserting, removing or swapping individual atoms from the core of a molecule is a long-standing challenge in chemistry. This process, called skeletal editing, can dramatically speed up drug discovery or be applied for upcycling of plastics. Consequently, the field is witnessing a surge of interest spanning from fundamental chemical research to applications in the pharmaceutical industry.

Author(s): Ian MacPhail-Bartley, Alexander A. Milner, Frank Stienkemeier, and Valery MilnerA technique for spinning up molecules in a gas has now been adapted to work with superfluid helium as the host medium. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 033002] Published Thu Jan 22, 2026

Piezofluorochromism, the phenomenon of materials reversibly changing their fluorescent color when pressure is applied, is used to create the pressure sensors used in automotive and medical industries. By monitoring color changes, researchers can visually recognize phenomena, such as chemical changes, that actually take place. However, as devices get increasingly complicated, there is an increasing demand for ways to produce more sensitive sensors.

For 450 million years, plants and soil fungi have been trading partners. The fungi weave through plant roots, delivering phosphorus and other soil minerals in exchange for sugars and fats produced by the plant through photosynthesis. This ancient collaboration supports roughly 80% of Earth's plant species—including corn, wheat, and other crops that feed billions of people.

Initially stacked benzene layers increase fluorescent color change drastically when exposed to pressure, suggesting new ways to design the pressure sensors used in machinery and medical devices.

Sum-frequency generation (SFG) is a powerful vibrational spectroscopy that can selectively probe molecular structures at surfaces and interfaces, but its spatial resolution has been limited to the micrometer scale by the diffraction limit of light.

Young stars need time to grow into their final masses before they begin fusing lighter elements into heavier elements as main-sequence stars. They can spend hundreds of thousands of years as protostars, when they're still accreting mass from the molecular clouds they form in. But even though they haven't begun fusion, they still inject energy into their surroundings.

More efficient and sustainable energy conversion technologies, among other applications, hinge on lowering the amount of energy needed to trigger specific reactions on the surface of electrodes. Called electrocatalysis, the process conserves energy by transferring electrons and speeding up the reaction time, but the molecules involved typically cannot shuttle other particles or directly activate components of the system.

Scientists reported new discoveries about the tiny nanocourier machine that delivers essential molecular packages to the cell surface as part of exocytosis, a fundamental cellular process that is essential for maintaining cell health in nearly all eukaryotes. The post Tiny Nanocourier that Delivers Molecular Packages to Cell Surface Unveiled appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

Author(s): Daria Kývala and Jindřich KolorenčThe authors discuss here a theory of the inelastic electron tunneling spectra of a magnetic nanosystem (an atom or a molecule) adsorbed on a solid surface measured in a scanning tunneling microscope. They study scenarios when the tunneling electrons sequentially interact with several magnetic centers or when the magnetic centers are made out of heavy atoms with a strong spin-orbit coupling. They discuss how the exchange interaction between the nanosystem and the tunneling electrons changes when orbital moments enter the picture. [Phys. Rev. B 113, 035427] Published Fri Jan 16, 2026

Author(s): A. Voisine, P. Béjot, F. Billard, O. Faucher, and E. HertzMolecular rotational echoes can be selectively retrieved by angular momentum using vortex beams. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 023202] Published Fri Jan 16, 2026

Young protostars populate the cloudy regions in the Orion Molecular Cloud complex in these images from the Hubble Space Telescope. Three of the telescope's new images are part of a scientific effort to understand the gaseous, dusty envelopes around protostars. Scientists know that these young stars have powerful stellar winds and jets that carve caverns and bubbles out of the surrounding gas, but they have unanswered questions about that process.

Researchers have developed a new class of redox-switchable molecular mediators that activate halogen bonding to more efficiently and selectively drive carbon-nitrogen bond formation.

Although constipation and diarrhea may seem like opposite problems, they both hinge on the same underlying issue: how much fluid moves into the gut. These common issues affect millions of people in the U.S. each year, yet scientists have not fully understood what regulates intestinal fluid balance.

Scientists at Nagoya University in Japan have identified the genes that allow an organism to switch between living as single cells and forming multicellular structures. This ability to alternate between life forms provides new insights into how multicellular life may have evolved from single-celled ancestors and eventually led to complex organisms like animals and plants.

Detecting cancer in the earliest stages could dramatically reduce cancer deaths because cancers are usually easier to treat when caught early.

Astronomers from Cardiff University, UK, have employed the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA) to explore the nearby Andromeda galaxy. Results of the observational campaign, published December 27 on the pre-print server arXiv, yield important insights into the molecular cloud system of this galaxy.

Researchers at the University of St Andrews have uncovered a long‑elusive molecular "reshuffle," a breakthrough that tackles one of chemistry's most persistent challenges and could transform the way medicines are manufactured.

Northwestern University scientists have uncovered a hidden molecular "control switch" inside a protein that helps the body sense taste, control blood sugar and defend the gut.

Yale School of Medicine (YSM) scientists have discovered a molecular difference in the brains of autistic people compared

Scientists have found a way to see ultrafast molecular interactions inside liquids using an extreme laser technique once thought impossible for fluids. When they mixed nearly identical chemicals, one combination behaved strangely—producing less light and erasing a single harmonic signal altogether. Simulations revealed that a subtle molecular “handshake” was interfering with electron motion. The discovery shows that liquids can briefly organize in ways that dramatically change how electrons behave.

For more than 50 years, scientists have sought alternatives to silicon for building molecular electronics. The vision was elegant; the reality proved far more complex. Within a device, molecules behave not as orderly textbook entities but as densely interacting systems where electrons flow, ions redistribute, interfaces evolve, and even subtle structural variations can induce strongly nonlinear responses. The promise was compelling, yet predictive control remained elusive.

By analyzing the archival data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an international team of astronomers has inspected the outflow of a nearby galaxy known as NGC 1266. Results of the new study, presented Dec. 11 on the arXiv pre-print server, could help us better understand the nature of this galaxy.

In this James Webb telescope image, the gigantic molecular cloud near our galaxy's center appears as a canvas of pink and purple clouds set against a shadowy backdrop.

Molecular vanadium cluster on carbon nanotubes switches between oxygen and hydrogen production in acid, depending on assembly, offering a path beyond iridium and platinum.

Hydrogen production through water electrolysis is a cornerstone of the clean energy transition, but it relies on efficient and stable catalysts that work under acidic conditions—currently dominated by precious metals like iridium and platinum.

Matías Gómez-Corrales, a recent biological sciences Ph.D. graduate from the University of Rhode Island, and his advisor, Associate Professor Carlos Prada, have published a paper in Nature Communications, revealing key mechanisms in speciation in corals and proposing a new hypothesis on the origin of species in the ocean.

RIKEN researchers have discovered how right-handed molecules in our cells can give rise to cells that are not symmetrical about their central axes. This discovery is a key step toward determining why most of our organs lack left–right symmetry.

A research team led by Félix Viana, co-director of the Sensory Transduction and Nociception laboratory at the Institute for Neurosciences (IN), a joint research centre of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH), has demonstrated that the body uses different molecular mechanisms to detect cold in the skin and in internal organs.

For years, ETH researchers have been investigating a molecular complex that plays a key role in protein synthesis. They have now discovered that this complex also contributes a crucial function in ensuring that our DNA is properly processed and “packaged”.

Researchers at ETH Zurich recently explained the role of a molecular complex that orchestrates the production of proteins in our cells. They now show that this complex also controls the processing of proteins that compact DNA. These new insights could form the basis for new approaches in cancer treatment, but they also critically extend the current understanding of protein biosynthesis.

A team of researchers at Radboud University has discovered a promising new method to make ammonia—a key ingredient in fertilizers and many industrial chemicals—more efficiently and sustainably.

Gestational diabetes can cause a multitude of complications in the offspring, but to date, the reasons are incompletely understood.

The onset of sudden cold spells can threaten plant survival, especially during early growth phases. But how do plants detect low temperatures fast enough to initiate life-saving changes? Researchers at Chonnam National University have identified a hidden molecular "off-switch" that quickly reprograms root development to withstand the adverse cold conditions.

Globally, soils contain three times as much carbon as exists in the atmosphere and all plants, combined. Which means that understanding how soil microbes recycle organic materials—sometimes sending CO2 back into the atmosphere, sometimes mineralizing it for long-term storage—may be crucial for the fight against climate change.

There is more than one way to describe a water molecule, especially when communicating with a machine learning (ML) model, says chemist Robert DiStasio. You can feed the algorithm the molecule's structural information: two hydrogen atoms flanking an oxygen atom with the bonds a certain length and a certain bond angle.

Zoom in far enough on an empress cicada wing, and a strange landscape materializes. At the nanoscale, densely packed spires rise from the surface, covering the wing in an endless grove of bowling pins.

A new study identifies molecular factors that promote small vessel disease - and an active drug that can restore impaired vascular functions.

Liquids and solutions are complex environments—think, for example, of sugar dissolving in water, where each sugar molecule becomes surrounded by a restless crowd of water molecules. Inside living cells, the picture is even more complex: tiny liquid droplets carry proteins or RNA and help organize the cell's chemistry.

Author(s): J. Caylor, R. Biswas, B. Crawford, M. S. Dewey, N. Fomin, G. L. Greene, S. F. Hoogerheide, J. Hungria-Negron, H. P. Mumm, J. S. Nico, F. E. Wietfeldt, D. O. Valete, and J. ZuchegnoPrecision knowledge of the neutron lifetime is important in predicting the cosmological abundance of helium following the Big Bang, the flux of solar neutrinos, and the influence of beyond-standard-model theories with new massive particles on electroweak interactions. However, the neutron lifetime puzzle—the several-standard-deviation discrepancy between the neutron storage “bottle” experiments and the neutron decay “beam” experiments—limits a confident extraction of the experimental lifetime. This work addresses a previously unquantified systematic effect in the beam experiments, the loss of trapped protons due to charge exchange with molecular hydrogen in the residual gas.

With targeted molecularly designed contacts, researchers reach an efficiency of perovskite-silicon tandem cells of 31.4 percent.

Researchers have developed a new tool, FibrilPaint combined with the FibrilRuler test, that allows scientists to directly measure the length of toxic Tau amyloid fibrils in tiny fluid samples, from the earliest aggregation stages to mature fibrils and even at very low concentrations.

Author(s): Dalton Chaffee, Baruch Margulis, April Sheffield, Julian Schmidt, April Reisenfeld, David R. Leibrandt, Dietrich Leibfried, and Chin-Wen ChouMolecular quantum state preparation, coherent manipulation, and measurement with high fidelity are demonstrated in a polar molecule for the first time. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 240801] Published Tue Dec 09, 2025

Sens. Diagn.DOI: 10.1039/D5SD00176E, Critical Review Open Access   This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence.Yanping Wang, Huimin Jiang, Yanyin Zhang, Qingran Yang, Yujun Song, Yanfeng GaoThis review highlights recent advances in microfluidics-integrated CRISPR–Cas systems for rapid, sensitive, and portable detection of diverse biomarkers, emphasizing their potential to enable sample-to-answer point-of-care diagnostics.To cite this article before page numbers are assigned, use the DOI form of citation above.The content of this RSS Feed (c) The Royal Society of Chemistry

Countless bacterial species share cramped environments where competition for space and resources is fierce. Some rely on a molecular speargun to outcompete their opponents. One of them is Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It is widespread in nature but also notorious as a difficult-to-treat hospital pathogen.

Soil salinity is a key abiotic stress factor. Salt stress substantially impairs plant growth, development, and productivity, significantly reducing crop yields worldwide. It induces various kinds of stress in plant organs, including toxic ion accumulation, oxidative stress, and osmotic stress.

Scientists from Turkey have designed a next-generation implantable biosensor using genetically engineered E. coli for molecular-level monitoring within the body that runs on its own, wirelessly, with no external batteries required.

Researchers at Helmholtz Munich, the Technical University of Munich and the LMU University Hospital Munich uncovered a mechanism that protects nerve cells from premature cell death, known as ferroptosis.

Cholera is a deadly bacterial disease that kills about 95,000 people every year. Vibrio cholerae bacteria infect cells in the small intestine, which the bacteria can do in part due to their flagella—powerful tail-like structures that the pathogen uses to move around.

Researchers built a silver atomic switch that forms and breaks single-molecule junctions, enabling stable molecular wiring and advancing scalable, energy-efficient electronics.

Silver-based atomic switches that create stable electrical connections between individual molecules and electrodes have been developed by researchers from Japan, addressing a key challenge in wiring molecular electronics. The switch operates by forming and breaking silver atomic filaments when a voltage is applied and reversed, corresponding to the "on" and "off" states. This method enables the scalable integration of molecular components, paving the way for ultra-compact and energy-efficient circuits built from single molecules.

Viruses and their hosts—whether bacteria, animals, or humans—are locked in a constant evolutionary arms race. Cells evolve defenses against viral infection, viruses evolve ways around those defenses, and the cycle continues.

Author(s): Mytraya Gattu and J. K. JainThe quasiparticles associated with a phenomenon called the fractional quantum Hall effect can bind together into stable clusters. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 236601] Published Tue Dec 02, 2025

The Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope captured glowing cosmic dust heated by very young massive stars in unprecedented detail in this image of the Sagittarius B2 (Sgr B2) molecular cloud released on Sept. 24, 2025.

Fluorogenic DNA aptamers produce light only in the correct structural state, enabling programmable molecular logic, biosensing, DNA origami integrity reporting, and reusable mRNA detection through allosteric control.

Every second, trillions of tiny parcels travel through your bloodstream—carrying vital information between your body's cells. Now, scientists at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute have opened this molecular mail for the first time, revealing its contents in astonishing detail.

What if a surface could instantly switch from sticky to slippery at the push of a button? By using electricity to control how ions and water structure at the solid liquid interface of self-assembled monolayers of aromatic molecules, researchers at National Taiwan University have created a molecular-scale adhesion switch that turns attraction on and off.

A new study describes a key molecular mechanism that explains how cells exchange information through extracellular vesicles (EVs), small particles with great therapeutic potential. The results, published in the Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, reveal that the Commander protein complex, previously known for its role in membrane recycling, also coordinates the entry and internal destination of vesicles within the cell. This finding sheds light on the process of intercellular communication, which is fundamental to the development of new therapies and diagnostic tools.

Author(s): Matteo RiniThe one-dimensional confinement of molecules in an optical cavity allows researchers to measure a narrow absorption line without the blurring effects of molecular motion. [Physics 18, s153] Published Tue Nov 25, 2025

You won’t be drinking it any time soon, but the aquatic mammal’s milk is much more chemically complex than that of other mammals, including humans.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are important carriers of organic matter throughout the universe. As organic molecules, they play a central role in interstellar chemistry and are closely related to the origin of prebiotic molecules. Understanding how these organic compounds evolve in molecular clouds—the cold, dark cradles of star formation—is essential for tracing the origins of complex molecules that may lead to life.

Water trapped inside tiny molecular cavities behaves in a surprisingly energetic way, pushing outward like people crammed in an elevator. When a new molecule enters these narrow spaces, the confined water forces its way out—boosting the strength of the molecular bond that forms in its place. Researchers from KIT and Constructor University have now proven this effect both experimentally and theoretically, showing that these "highly energetic" water molecules can dramatically influence how other molecules interact.

An Emory University study, published Friday by Science Advances, provides the first evidence that exposure to higher temperatures during pregnancy is linked to specific biological changes in mothers that are also associated with preterm birth.

Scientists have developed a more heat-resistant material that keeps next-generation solar cells running more efficiently to enable durable, high-output solar panels.

Chemotherapy activates a stress sensor in immune cells, triggering inflammation and nerve damage, which may help explain why many cancer patients experience debilitating pain as a side effect, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine and Wake Forest University School of Medicine researchers

A machine-learning breakthrough could lift the veil on Earth’s early history—and supercharge the search for alien life

A new technique uses 'molecular antennas' to funnel electrical energy into insulating nanoparticles, creating a new class of ultra-pure near-infrared LEDs for medical diagnostics, optical communications, and sensing.

This review uncovers the molecular networks of coffee's compounds, showcasing their antioxidant and neuroprotective effects on immunity and metabolism.

Acetylation and deacetylation of MED1, a key subunit during transcription, acts as a regulatory switch that helps cancer cells reprogram gene expression in response to stress, supporting both survival and growth. The post Breast Cancer Cells Achieve Stress Resistance by Transcription Molecular Switch appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

About 400 years ago, a cross between cabernet franc and sauvignon blanc gave birth to cabernet sauvignon. Today, cabernet sauvignon is the world's most-planted wine grape, dominating vineyards from Napa to Bordeaux. New research from the University of California, Davis, reveals that the grape still carries a kind of gene memory of its parents.

Gestational diabetes can cause a multitude of complications in the offspring, but to date, the reasons are incompletely understood.

Out-of-equilibrium states that deviate from thermodynamic equilibrium are crucial not only for biological systems but also for designing synthetic functional materials.

Researchers capture exciton movement inside single CuPc nanofibers and show how molecular packing and defects shape energy transport in organic semiconductors.

Cells are regularly faced with environmental stresses that may damage or destroy them. To survive, they quickly adjust their gene expression to protect themselves.

Cells are regularly faced with environmental stresses that may damage or destroy them. To survive, they quickly adjust their gene expression to protect themselves. This is especially true for cancer cells, which must contend with a microenvironment that is inherently uncongenial. Yet they can thrive in these conditions, turning on genes that help them to develop into larger tumors or spread to other parts of the body.

Scientists have discovered a method to transform mesoscopic molecular assemblies into dimensionally distinct out-of-equilibrium structures.

Constructing out-of-equilibrium molecular assemblies that deviate from thermodynamic equilibrium is a central challenge in materials science. While numerous studies have reported the creation of such states using external energy sources such as chemical fuels or light, few systems can adaptively access different states depending on how much energy is input. Developing such systems could offer new design principles for advanced functional materials capable of flexibly adapting to environmental changes, much like biological systems.

A new study has discovered a molecular signal that tumors exploit to exhaust the T cells meant to destroy them-and how silencing that signal could revive the body's immunity.

Certain serious fungal infections occur in regions of the United States with specific environments and are often tied to soil exposure.

For a long time, evolutionary biologists have thought that the genetic mutations that drive the evolution of genes and proteins are largely neutral: they're neither good nor bad, but just ordinary enough to slip through the notice of selection.

Platelets are small, disk-shaped cell fragments in the blood that are essential to stop bleeding and to initiate blood clotting after injury. Platelet transfusions in patients with severe trauma or medical conditions, including bone marrow disease, leukemia, or sepsis, can be lifesaving.

Cell division is a process of remarkable precision: during each cycle, the genetic material must be evenly distributed between the two daughter cells. To achieve this, duplicated chromosomes, known as sister chromatids, are temporarily linked by cohesin—a ring-shaped protein complex that holds them together until separation.

Carolina Molecular Inc., a leading molecular testing services laboratory, and Pixelgen Technologies AB announced today a partnership to expand access to cutting-edge 3D protein interactomics capabilities to researchers and clinicians in the United States. Carolina Molecular will be the first certified U.S. service provider for Pixelgen.

A research team led by Prof. Wang Jianjun from the Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has produced a global map depicting the distribution and variation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) across Earth's oceans. The findings were recently published in Environmental Science & Technology.

Molecular and genetic testing has become a game-changer in brain tumour care - shaping diagnosis, guiding treatments and opening doors to new therapies.

What makes some plastics stick to metal without any glue? Osaka Metropolitan University scientists have peered into the invisible adhesive zone that forms between certain plastics and metals—one atom at a time—to uncover how chemistry and molecular structure determine whether such bonds bend or break.

New studies from Arizona State University reveal surprising ways bacteria can move without their flagella—the slender, whip-like propellers that usually drive them forward.

A research team from the Research Center Borstel, Leibniz Lung Center (FZB), Kiel University (CAU), the University of Lübeck (UzL), and the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH), together with additional partners, has gained new insights into the development of post-COVID syndrome.

A research group led by Prof. Li Xiangyang from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has made a new discovery: a single organic molecule can induce the Kondo effect in a magnetic atom, challenging the long-standing belief that this quantum phenomenon requires a vast sea of metallic electrons.

"Why do immune cells that are supposed to eliminate viruses suddenly turn against our own body?"

As the body ages, brown adipose tissue activity decreases, fewer calories are burned, and this can contribute to obesity and certain chronic cardiovascular diseases that worsen with age.