A new artificial enzyme has shown it can chew through lignin, the tough polymer that helps woody plants hold their shape. Lignin also stores tremendous potential for renewable energy and materials.
Materials Science
May 31, 2022
3
903
Ever since the late 19th century, physicists have known about a counterintuitive property of some electric circuits called negative resistance. Typically, increasing the voltage in a circuit causes the electric current to ...
A typical human cell is metabolically active, roaring with chemical reactions that convert nutrients into energy and useful products that sustain life. These reactions also create reactive oxygen species, dangerous by-products ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 1, 2023
0
1263
Methanotrophic bacteria consume 30 million metric tons of methane per year and have captivated researchers for their natural ability to convert the potent greenhouse gas into usable fuel. Yet we know very little about how ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 17, 2022
5
2242
Efficiently releasing stored chemical energy harnessed from renewable sources remains one of the great scientific challenges facing the catalysis research community. Meanwhile, Mother Nature performs this transformation with ...
Materials Science
Jun 3, 2016
4
1173
Venus flytraps have fascinated biologists for centuries, however, the molecular underpinnings of their carnivorous lifestyle remain largely unknown. In a study published online today in Genome Research, researchers characterized ...
Plants & Animals
May 4, 2016
0
35
Amid the zoo of biomolecules essential to life, enzymes are among the most vital. Without these specialized proteins, which speed up the rates of chemical reactions, thousands of essential life processes, from cell growth ...
Bio & Medicine
Oct 31, 2019
0
437
North and South Carolina have seen a steady increase in swine production over the last 15 years. In North Carolina alone, swine production generates approximately a quarter of the state's gross farm receipts. The presence ...
Environment
Mar 4, 2011
1
0
Membrane-associated proteins play a vital role in a variety of cellular processes, yet little is known about the membrane-association mechanism. Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) is one such protein with an ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jan 3, 2022
0
143
(Phys.org)—Two unique chemical probes designed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are helping scientists find how a pathogenic organism responsible for a severe lung infection thrives in human serum. These probes ...
Biochemistry
Jan 4, 2013
0
0
