https://phys.org/chemistry-news/biochemistry/ en-us The latest news on biochemistry University of Missouri researchers have discovered a new way to harness one of the body's natural defenses: copper. While copper is essential for life and helps power important biological processes, having too much of it can be toxic. To keep copper levels in balance, cells rely on specialized proteins that regulate where it goes and how much is present. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-harness-copper-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria.html Biochemistry Tue, 08 Sep 2026 12:20:12 EDT news708081541 Packaged food usually sits in plastic-lined bags designed to keep air, moisture and contaminants out. That same protection can also increase the chances of chemicals from the packaging seeping into the food. When a chemical raises health concerns, industries often swap it for a molecular cousin, a substitution that may either be genuinely safer or simply be too understudied to know whether it is harmful. With thousands of chemicals in use, one-by-one regulation can't keep pace, so untested replacements can slide through unchecked. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-screening-flags-food-packaging-chemicals.html Biochemistry Tue, 08 Sep 2026 09:00:09 EDT news707998019 University of California, Davis, researchers have stripped down LSD to the base features responsible for its hallucinogenic and therapeutic effects. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-lsd-reveals-features-linked-hallucinogenic.html Biochemistry Mon, 07 Sep 2026 15:00:10 EDT news707742302 The human body and its gut microbiome produce thousands of small molecules that shape how the body functions—influencing immunity, metabolism and more. Identifying what those molecules actually are has been one of the biomedical sciences' most persistent bottlenecks. More than 80% of compounds detected in a typical biological sample cannot be matched to any known structure using current methods. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-tool-hidden-universe-small.html Biochemistry Fri, 04 Sep 2026 17:00:01 EDT news707746802 Researchers have been elucidating the structures of complex molecules for more than 100 years using a variety of techniques. Some molecular structures, however, are more difficult to solve than others. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ultrafast-sample-protein-dizzying-proportions.html Biochemistry Fri, 04 Sep 2026 11:40:01 EDT news707736781 Scientists from Leeds' School of Food Science and Nutrition have developed an advanced AI process that can rapidly identify plant proteins capable of acting as emulsifiers from tens of millions of initial candidates. To date, it has identified nearly 800. The discovery will cut years of costly trial-and-error research and bring the next generation of plant-based foods and cosmetics closer. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-peas-potatoes-ai-proteins-food.html Biochemistry Thu, 03 Sep 2026 19:00:04 EDT news707663648 Separating things and then putting them back together is a common principle in industrial food production. Agricultural raw materials are broken down into their individual constituents, such as proteins, starches and fats, and the food industry then reassembles these building blocks into specific products. In many cases, not all of the harvested crop ends up in the food we eat. In some instances, byproducts are formed that must be reused outside the food industry. These processing steps can also lead to the loss of dietary fibers, vitamins and minerals in the finished product. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-food-kitchen-peas-beans-lentils.html Biochemistry Tue, 01 Sep 2026 05:00:09 EDT news707404861 Swapping out one letter in a word can entirely change its meaning. Similarly, swapping one atom in a molecule can completely change its identity. A group of chemists at the University of Chicago has demonstrated a new way to make a single-atom edit to a molecule without changing any of its other components. The innovative method can be used to make a family of molecules known as pyrroles, including many widely used medicines, and is significantly simpler, faster and more cost-effective than previous processes. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-method-swaps-atom-molecule-drug.html Biochemistry Mon, 31 Aug 2026 16:40:01 EDT news707400601 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. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-fuse-strategy-route-molecular-skeletal.html Biochemistry Sun, 30 Aug 2026 17:00:03 EDT news707112646 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. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-scientists-capture-molecular-images-reaction.html Biochemistry Fri, 28 Aug 2026 14:00:08 EDT news707141522 A large international team has developed a new compound that showed strong antiviral activity against HIV, including some drug-resistant variants. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-compound-potential-drug-resistant-hiv.html Biochemistry Fri, 28 Aug 2026 09:40:06 EDT news707125081 Many cars and not enough lanes is a recipe for traffic jams. Now, researchers from Japan show that even proteins can get backed up and start behaving poorly when too many try to squeeze too quickly through a small space. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-narrow-channels-amyloid-formation-reveal.html Biochemistry Thu, 27 Aug 2026 18:00:03 EDT news707064721 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. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-chemists-harness-3d-molecular-drug.html Biochemistry Tue, 25 Aug 2026 15:40:05 EDT news706878361 Fibrinogen, the abundant plasma protein best known for forming blood clots, may play a second and far less benign role during SARS-CoV-2 infection: acting as a molecular bridge that simultaneously hides the virus from neutralizing antibodies and delivers it to the cells lining blood vessels. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-blood-clotting-protein-sars-cov.html Biochemistry Mon, 24 Aug 2026 20:00:01 EDT news706783360 Since the COVID-19 pandemic, developing surfaces that can inactivate viruses upon contact has become an important goal in public health care. Ideally, such surfaces would work on their own without requiring chemical disinfectants, so they could offer consistent protection in hospitals, public transportation and other shared spaces. This has driven scientists worldwide to search for durable antiviral materials that can be used in everyday surfaces. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ball-milling-antiviral-inexpensive-inorganic.html Biochemistry Mon, 24 Aug 2026 16:10:02 EDT news706804921 If you want to describe a particular color, you could look to the Pantone color wheel to find its exact hue, saturation and brightness, and how it compares with other colors. But nothing like that has existed for complex odors. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-complex-odors-easier-machine.html Biochemistry Fri, 21 Aug 2026 17:00:01 EDT news706536961 Scientists have redefined how the key blood-clotting protein fibrinogen behaves when it contacts air, overturning two decades of scientific consensus on wound healing. It is the culmination of more than a decade of international collaboration by Dr. Richard Campbell of The University of Manchester, Professor Juan Ruso of the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain and Dr. Natalia Hassan of the Metropolitan Technological University in Chile. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-fibrinogen-discovery-reshapes-wounds.html Biochemistry Thu, 20 Aug 2026 18:20:03 EDT news706445083 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. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-foldamerprotein-pair-precise-blocks-artificial.html Biochemistry Wed, 19 Aug 2026 12:40:01 EDT news706354444 Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) are omega-3 fatty acids known to have beneficial effects and are popular as functional foods and dietary supplements. They are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs); the primary source of these PUFAs for humans is fish oil. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-reusing-liquid-pickle-omega-fatty.html Biochemistry Wed, 19 Aug 2026 09:52:25 EDT news706351922 In the living world, roughly a third of all proteins we know rely on metals to function. Zinc helps enzymes break down molecules, iron helps carry oxygen in the blood, calcium helps relay signals in cells and potassium flows through channels that help keep our hearts beating. But despite the important role they play, scientists have long struggled to pinpoint exactly where metal ions bind in a protein to get the job done. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-deep-approach-rapidly-metals-proteins.html Biochemistry Tue, 18 Aug 2026 16:40:05 EDT news706272722 Sugars, or glycans, play a crucial role in biology—from cell signaling and recognition to interactions with pathogens. Changes in glycosylation are also associated with diseases including cancer. But studying glycans poses a major challenge: because many glycans are highly water-soluble, or hydrophilic, they cannot easily cross the cell membrane and must be modified with a hydrophobic moiety—a water-repelling chemical group—and prepared and delivered using potentially harmful solvents. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-scientists-method-sugars-cells.html Biochemistry Fri, 14 Aug 2026 13:40:04 EDT news705931261 Researchers have developed a potential new approach against the highly drug-resistant hospital fungus Candida auris. They discovered that a synthetic sugar molecule that is a natural part of the fungus's cell wall, but is not present in humans, could underpin a future vaccine, develop protective antibodies and form the basis of a prototype rapid diagnostic test. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-sugar-molecule-dangerous-hospital-fungus.html Biochemistry Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:20:01 EDT news705835595 A new joint study from Constructor University and Princeton University in the Journal of the American Chemical Society focuses on PC645, a protein complex that contributes to cryptophyte algae's ability to photosynthesize efficiently using specialized light-harvesting pigments that can capture energy from dim, blue-green underwater light. During photosynthesis, the pH inside the algae can fluctuate significantly, affecting how they manage light energy. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-nature-dimmer-algae-photosynthesis-ph.html Biochemistry Thu, 13 Aug 2026 10:20:03 EDT news705831782 Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have developed a simpler way to produce a fast-growing class of targeted cancer therapies, a discovery that could make the medicines easier to manufacture consistently while driving the development of new treatment options. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-sugar-swap-production-cancer-therapies.html Biochemistry Wed, 12 Aug 2026 16:30:01 EDT news705769201 Researchers from the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, including Dr. Zachary Birch-Price and professor Anthony Green, have developed a new family of engineered enzymes that can create several different types of chemical bonds used to build complex molecules. This work demonstrates how artificial enzymes can be adapted to carry out a broad range of carbon-carbon (C-C) and carbon-nitrogen (C-N) bond-forming reactions with high selectivity, offering new possibilities for biocatalysis. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-enzymes-forge-carbon-nitrogen-bonds.html Biochemistry Mon, 10 Aug 2026 18:20:05 EDT news705595261 Biofilms—bacterial communities encased in a sticky, polymer-rich matrix—can be difficult to treat because that matrix slows antibiotics and drug-carrying particles. With help from salt, though, Yale researchers have found a way to steer these particles into some biofilms and even deform the biofilm itself in certain cases. The study is published in Soft Matter. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-salt-drug-particles-deeper-difficult.html Biochemistry Mon, 10 Aug 2026 11:40:05 EDT news705580741 The cuts of meat in a supermarket case can look perfectly fresh even as bacteria are already multiplying inside the package. Is there a way to know before you open it? https://phys.org/news/2026-08-smart-hydrogel-packaging-food-fresh.html Biochemistry Thu, 06 Aug 2026 18:40:02 EDT news705252001 The search for leather alternatives has led researchers somewhere unexpected: fungi. Although traditional leather is durable, producing it requires animal agriculture, which carries negative environmental impacts. Meanwhile, vegan alternatives are typically made from petroleum-based plastics that are difficult to recycle. Researchers report in ACS Applied Bio Materials that mycelium, the underground network of fibers below mushroom caps, can be pressed into a durable yet compostable leather-like fabric. They even sewed the fabric into a purse. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-handbag-mushrooms.html Biochemistry Thu, 06 Aug 2026 10:40:06 EDT news705229201 Cancer cells have a voracious appetite for sugar—using it to fuel their rapid growth. This is why many scientists have tried to develop drugs that block cancer cells' metabolism by cutting off their sugar supply. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-experimental-drug-cancer-favorite-fuel.html Biochemistry Wed, 05 Aug 2026 18:20:06 EDT news705160922 University of British Columbia researchers have developed an edible, seaweed-derived coating that can keep strawberries fresh for at least four days at room temperature, outperforming uncoated berries stored in the refrigerator. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-seaweed-derived-coating-strawberries-fresher.html Biochemistry Tue, 04 Aug 2026 13:40:05 EDT news705064321