https://phys.org/chemistry-news/biochemistry/ en-us The latest news on biochemistry Researchers at IMDEA Materials Institute and the Institute of Polymer Science and Technology (ICTP-CSIC) have developed an innovative biodegradable multilayer film capable of protecting and controlling the release of anthocyanins inside the body. Published in the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, this innovation opens the door to more effective functional foods and supplements for intestinal health. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-pectin-chitosan-bioactive-compounds-foods.html Biochemistry Tue, 09 Jun 2026 16:00:05 EDT news700231917 Plants are undeniably one of nature's most promising sources of new medicines, with monoterpenoid indole alkaloids (MIAs) being a great example. Some intricate compounds are built from multiple-linked chemical units that form highly complex three-dimensional structures. Because of their size and shape, scientists believe such oligomeric MIAs may be able to interfere with specific protein–protein interactions inside cells—a biological target that conventional small-molecule drugs often struggle to reach. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-chemists-total-synthesis-rare-alkaloid.html Biochemistry Mon, 08 Jun 2026 18:30:03 EDT news700157041 A research team has developed a novel organocatalysis method based on a silylium Lewis acid. This technology employs an ion-pair catalyst combining a diethylsilylium ion with a weakly coordinating anion, enabling the direct installation of sulfonamide groups into functionalized ketone compounds, including β-ketoesters, which had previously been difficult to react using conventional catalytic methods. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-secondary-silylium-ion-pot-ketone.html Biochemistry Mon, 08 Jun 2026 11:00:03 EDT news700132151 For many of us, a warm cup of coffee is how we start our day. For Texas A&M Health researchers, it may also offer a new way to control engineered cells in future medicines. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-ai-brews-caffeine-powered-safety.html Biochemistry Fri, 05 Jun 2026 12:40:02 EDT news699880081 A pilot study has developed a new sensory evaluation method that links the chemical structures of polyphenols with their distinct taste properties. Using trained human panelists, researchers showed that different polyphenols produce unique sensory effects, including bitterness, acidity, and astringency. The findings may help improve functional food design and food processing technologies while advancing understanding of how taste-related sensory pathways contribute to digestion, metabolism, and health-related responses. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-polyphenol-reveal-tea-cocoa-fruit.html Biochemistry Thu, 04 Jun 2026 20:00:03 EDT news699805681 The building‐block chemicals behind everyday products—like shampoo bottles, food containers, and kitchen spatulas—are largely derived from oil. Researchers are now working to replace those fossil‐fuel‐based inputs with materials sourced from renewable biological systems, a shift with implications for health, economic resilience, and national security. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-gold-palladium-catalysis-mechanism-advance.html Biochemistry Thu, 04 Jun 2026 05:00:05 EDT news699717002 Though decaf fans might disagree, caffeine is a critical component of a cup of joe. This compound is incredibly bitter on its own, but regular coffee itself is not. A team reporting in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry has investigated why and explains that the answer may lie within interactions between caffeine and other coffee molecules called melanoidins that are produced during the roasting process. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-doesnt-coffee-caffeine.html Biochemistry Wed, 03 Jun 2026 17:50:01 EDT news699723901 Potent drugs like chemotherapy can be life-saving, but often with life-threatening side effects. Notably, they can be indiscriminate, killing both cancer cells and healthy cells in one swoop. Increasing a drug's on-target efficiency can reduce side effects and enable healthier outcomes for patients. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-programmable-chemistry-drugs-cells-aiming.html Biochemistry Wed, 03 Jun 2026 17:40:02 EDT news699718108 Researchers from the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences (FCMS) at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP) in Sorocaba, in the interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, have developed a biomaterial containing jackfruit latex, pomegranate peel extract, and simvastatin (a statin-based medication) that shows promising efficacy in treating periodontitis. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-biomaterial-jackfruit-latex-treatment-periodontitis.html Biochemistry Tue, 02 Jun 2026 19:40:03 EDT news699632101 How does nature build one of the most sophisticated catalytic metal centers found in biology? An international team of researchers has now resolved a long-standing debate surrounding the assembly of the active site of [FeFe]-hydrogenases—enzymes that rank among nature's most efficient catalysts for hydrogen production and consumption. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-bridged-scientists-uncover-key-hydrogenase.html Biochemistry Mon, 01 Jun 2026 18:20:03 EDT news699537826 Nylon is a representative plastic material used throughout our daily lives, from clothing to automobiles. However, most of its raw materials have been produced through petrochemical processes, resulting in large carbon emissions. KAIST researchers have developed a technology that can produce key nylon precursors in an eco-friendly way using microbes. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-microbes-biodiesel-byproduct-nylon-blocks.html Biochemistry Mon, 01 Jun 2026 16:40:06 EDT news699545161 The latest production from the "molecular movie" imaging technology developed at Oregon State University is a new, inexpensive way of dealing with a common environmental pollutant. Based on short-pulse lasers, the imaging technology allows chemical and biological actions to be measured as they are occurring, one high-speed frame at a time. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-molecular-movie-technology-reveals-thwart.html Biochemistry Mon, 01 Jun 2026 15:20:07 EDT news699543767 Proteins systematically lose their protective hydration shell when their environment becomes more acidic. Until recently, this was just a theory. State-of-the-art imaging techniques have helped researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) directly observe this process for the first time at the level of the individual water molecule. This has answered a question in biochemistry that had remained unanswered for 50 years. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-fifty-year-protein-mystery-acid.html Biochemistry Mon, 01 Jun 2026 11:40:07 EDT news699528961 Many diseases are driven by proteins interacting with each other inside cells. But blocking these interactions with drugs is difficult because typical "small-molecule" drugs often prove to be too small to grip the broad, flat surfaces involved in protein-protein interactions. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-peptides-cells-block-hard-protein.html Biochemistry Mon, 01 Jun 2026 11:00:22 EDT news699530402 Plastic waste poses an urgent problem for the planet's ecosystems, especially in waterways. Millions of tons of plastic waste enter Earth's oceans every year, and plastic has been found in every part of the ocean, including at the bottom of the deepest ocean trenches. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-bio-stickers-plastic-breakdown-marine.html Biochemistry Fri, 29 May 2026 10:00:07 EDT news699265681 The St. George's mushroom (Calocybe gambosa) is a popular edible mushroom, usually picked in May. Unfortunately, however, it also carries a risk as it can easily be confused with the young deadly fiber cap, which can potentially lead to fatal poisoning. The reason for this is the mushroom toxin muscarine, which is present in high concentrations in the deadly fiber cap. Muscarine is best known from the fly agaric, in which it was first discovered. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-mushroom-toxin-pathway-poisoning.html Biochemistry Wed, 27 May 2026 16:40:07 EDT news699113461 Many medically important drugs originate from natural sources. Microorganisms produce these compounds using highly sophisticated and remarkably precise enzymatic assembly lines. Many natural microbial products belong to a class known as nonribosomal peptides—short chains of amino acids that often possess pharmacologically relevant biological activities, including antibiotic effects. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-biosynthesis-platform-enable-bioactive-compounds.html Biochemistry Wed, 27 May 2026 15:20:13 EDT news699111421 A University of Mississippi professor and his team have developed a technology that may one day lead to the early diagnosis of juvenile diabetes and CTE caused by traumatic brain injuries. The technology allows researchers to see and label protein shapes and interactions in mammal blood that can possibly lead to an earlier diagnosis of disease before a person even shows symptoms. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-protein-diseases-symptoms.html Biochemistry Tue, 26 May 2026 14:20:01 EDT news699016501 Over the past few years, kombucha has become one of the world's most popular fermented beverages. While most consumers focus primarily on its taste, scientists are increasingly analyzing its chemical composition and potential biological properties. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-tea-comparison-reveals-kombucha-biological.html Biochemistry Tue, 26 May 2026 13:00:02 EDT news699015001 When it comes to technology and innovation, we have a lot to thank Mother Nature for. Learning from the natural world has led to a range of useful products, including Velcro, self-cleaning paint, and ultra-strong body armor. And now, a study published in the journal Nature Communications reports that scientists have developed a way to turn a corn protein into a plastic-like material using a method inspired by spider silk. The breakthrough could one day lead to biodegradable food packaging wraps to help reduce environmental waste. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-spider-silk-corn-protein-tougher.html Biochemistry Tue, 26 May 2026 12:40:02 EDT news699014410 Carboranes are molecules composed of carbon, boron and hydrogen atoms that are proving to have applications of great interest in chemistry, materials science and biomedicine. They are being used, for example, in the fight against cancer through boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT), an experimental form of radiotherapy against malignant tumors that is highly selective at the cellular level. These compounds, which are highly stable at high temperatures and under radiation, possess unique electronic properties and can interact with various biochemical molecules. However, chemically modifying them to expand their potential properties and applications remains a challenge. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-metal-free-method-carborane-cancer.html Biochemistry Tue, 26 May 2026 12:20:07 EDT news699012058 New details of how DNA protects itself from harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation show a hidden network of ultrafast molecular reactions that help prevent damage before it can trigger mutations that might lead to cancer, according to a study led by the University of Surrey. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-dna-reveals-hidden-uv-defense.html Biochemistry Tue, 26 May 2026 09:40:01 EDT news699000001 Living bacteria embedded in coatings could clean wastewater, capture carbon and generate biofuels—but only if they survive the manufacturing process. Researchers at the University of Surrey and the University of Warwick have developed a method that keeps bacteria submerged throughout coating formation, increasing the number of surviving cells by around 500 times compared to conventional approaches. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-permanently-coating-method-wastewater-treatment.html Biochemistry Sat, 23 May 2026 14:00:05 EDT news698423065 Biomolecules, also known as organic molecules, include sugars, proteins and lipids and are the building blocks of all life. They play a role in the structure and metabolism of all living organisms. To make them visible under a microscope, researchers use special dyes to make them glow. A research team at the University of Göttingen has now developed a new method to do this better. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-biomolecules-dye-imaging-problem.html Biochemistry Fri, 22 May 2026 17:20:01 EDT news698676002 In a new discovery, researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Weizmann Institute of Science have found that something in the direction of a magnetic field can influence how molecules of life behave at the most fundamental level and how early chemical processes linked to life may have unfolded. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-magnet-blocks-life.html Biochemistry Wed, 20 May 2026 09:40:03 EDT news698485141 A new study led by Dr. Lin Su of Queen Mary University of London, published today in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, describes a new integrated solar reactor in which engineered Escherichia coli (E. coli) are grown directly inside the same liquid that converts CO₂ into a usable energy source using sunlight. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-solar-reactor-paves-chemicals-plastics.html Biochemistry Tue, 19 May 2026 18:00:08 EDT news698426101 A team at the University of Vienna, led by chemist Nuno Maulide, has developed a new method for controlling chemical reactions in a more targeted and efficient manner. At the heart of this is the concept of "cation sampling": specially selected groups (ketones), in a sense, function as molecular signposts for randomly migrating positive charges, enabling reactions to take place at sites on a molecule that were previously difficult to access. The method allows carbon-hydrogen bonds (C–H bonds) to be specifically modified. The study was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-migrating-hard-bond-molecules.html Biochemistry Tue, 19 May 2026 16:50:02 EDT news698427061 Florida State University chemists have synthesized new molecules derived from bacteria found in a Pacific Ocean sea sponge, a breakthrough for the future of drug development, particularly for rare forms of cancer. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-chemists-sea-sponge-bacteria-molecules.html Biochemistry Tue, 19 May 2026 16:20:05 EDT news698420435 What happens when a scientific problem seems too complex to solve precisely, yet understanding it could reshape how researchers design new materials and medicines? For decades, much of the polymer science community has relied on a "good enough" approach to a stubborn problem: binding a polymer to a protein in a precise way that reliably controls how the protein behaves. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-imperfect-polymer-sequences-protein-function.html Biochemistry Tue, 19 May 2026 14:40:04 EDT news698415361 Scientists have uncovered how tobacco plants naturally make nicotine, solving a mystery that has puzzled researchers for nearly two centuries. The discovery, published in Nature Communications, could lead to safer production of medicines and vaccines using tobacco plants, without the unwanted nicotine. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-scientists-year-puzzle-tobacco-nicotine.html Biochemistry Tue, 19 May 2026 10:20:01 EDT news698404003