Red imported fire ants are named for the firelike burn of their sting. Now, the same venom that packs such a painful wallop may actually do some good for a change.
Ecology
Aug 6, 2013
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Gisele Beker, a 26-year-old Argentinian, trudged for hours in scorching sun to the sprawling Wirikuta desert, craving peyote, the cactus hallucinogen locals in Mexico deem sacred.
Plants & Animals
Jul 31, 2013
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Naturally occurring "keystone" molecules that have powerful behavioral effects on diverse organisms often play large but unrecognized roles in structuring ecosystems, according to a theory proposed in the June issue of BioScience.
Ecology
May 16, 2013
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Inspired by a chemical that fungi secrete to defend their territory, MIT chemists have synthesized and tested several dozen compounds that may hold promise as potential cancer drugs.
Biochemistry
Feb 27, 2013
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(Phys.org) -- In 1928, chemists Otto Diels and Kurt Alder first documented diene synthesis, a chemical reaction important for synthesizing many polymers, alkaloids and steroids. Their work on this mechanism, which came to ...
Materials Science
Jul 9, 2012
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The next time you take aspirin for a headache, thank a willow tree. Salicylic acid, a compound chemically similar to aspirin, is found in willow tree bark and is made by the plant as a chemical defense against pathogens. ...
Biotechnology
Nov 1, 2011
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The right combination of compounds produced by a beneficial fungus could lead to grasses that require fewer pesticides and are safer for wildlife and grazing animals, according to Purdue University scientists.
Ecology
Sep 6, 2011
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Organic chemists have found a new way of synthesizing multiple complex organic molecules that until now have needed to be synthesized using time-consuming methods. The new strategy, which mimics natural biosynthesis methods, ...
Loline alkaloids protect plants from attack by insects and have other interesting features that have yet to be studied in detail. Chemists from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet in Munich, Germany, have developed a method for ...
Other
Jun 20, 2011
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Humans have long taken advantage of the huge variety of medicinal compounds produced by plants. Now MIT chemists have found a new way to expand plants' pharmaceutical repertoire by genetically engineering them to produce ...
Biochemistry
Nov 3, 2010
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