https://phys.org/chemistry-news/biochemistry/ en-us The latest news on biochemistry 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 In collaboration with the University of Vienna, the Technical University of Munich (TUM), and Heidelberg University, researchers at the TUD Dresden University of Technology have developed an innovative tool that significantly simplifies lipid research. The new open-source platform, LipidLibrarian, enables the automated consolidation of fragmented data from international lipid databases, such as LIPID MAPS, SwissLipids, and ALEX123, into a single, user-friendly interface for the first time. This enables researchers to identify new diagnostic markers more quickly, and to develop personalized therapies and innovative medicines. A study published in the Journal of Lipid Research details the platform's functionality and potential https://phys.org/news/2026-08-source-tool-automated-lipid.html Biochemistry Wed, 12 Aug 2026 16:40:01 EDT news705770282 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 Food insecurity is a major problem in many parts of the world, particularly Africa, where more than 300 million people regularly go hungry. Now, using the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan, researchers from Morocco have developed a way to produce fertilizer from local African rocks, which could make it easier for farmers to grow the crops needed to feed local residents. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-fertilizer-local-hungry-africa.html Biochemistry Wed, 12 Aug 2026 14:40:01 EDT news705763827 Food and pharmaceutical manufacturers increasingly seek lipids with carefully controlled fatty-acid compositions. However, natural oils usually contain mixtures of closely related fatty acids, and conventional enzymes often cannot distinguish reliably between them. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-lipase-production-higher-specialized-lipids.html Biochemistry Wed, 12 Aug 2026 13:20:03 EDT news705755416 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 A research team from AIST, the Institute of Science Tokyo, and Ritsumeikan University has demonstrated that the phase behavior of histone–DNA condensates depends on the site of histone acetylation. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-histone-acetylation-sites-reshape-dna.html Biochemistry Wed, 05 Aug 2026 17:00:03 EDT news705163682 When Northeastern University industrial engineering student Sierre Ternoey started her research position in Aachen, Germany, she was challenged to fix an issue that frustrates chemical engineers worldwide. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ai-tool-chemical-blueprints.html Biochemistry Tue, 04 Aug 2026 14:20:08 EDT news705057002 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 The dancing lights of fireflies and the eerie blue sparkle in crashing waves get their glow when a molecular square of carbon and oxygen atoms breaks. New research from Stanford University has shown that mechanical force can cause that break to happen in a way different from what was previously known. The study, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, has implications for developing light sensors and understanding luminescence in nature. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-unexpected-bond-reveals-path-bioluminescence.html Biochemistry Tue, 04 Aug 2026 11:20:06 EDT news705060412 Rice is the most-eaten food on the planet, and its discarded outer husk results in some 300 billion pounds of waste per year. FIU chemistry researcher Islam Ibrahim Hussein says the inedible castoffs could be the key to cleaner water. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-discarded-rice-husks-capture-toxic.html Biochemistry Mon, 03 Aug 2026 18:20:02 EDT news704987757 3D bioprinting allows scientists to build custom tissue structures for medicine, but printing soft tissues like the human brain remains a major challenge. The strong pushing forces required to squeeze biological materials through tiny printer nozzles often crush and damage sensitive cells, leading to low survival rates and weak printed structures. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-smart-bioink-shields-delicate-neural.html Biochemistry Mon, 03 Aug 2026 18:00:01 EDT news704991980 Nitrogen gas is abundant in Earth's atmosphere, but most living organisms can't readily use it. Only a subset of microbes with enzymes known as nitrogenases can break nitrogen gas apart and convert it into ammonia. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-nitrogen-enzymes-efficient.html Biochemistry Sun, 02 Aug 2026 12:00:01 EDT news704646542 NYU researchers have made microscopic oil droplets in water do something usually reserved for living cells: change shape in complex, controllable ways and even engulf their surroundings. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-oil-droplets-remodel-swallow-cells.html Biochemistry Sat, 01 Aug 2026 14:00:03 EDT news704551315 A University of California San Diego research team has found a better way to understand and stabilize hydroxyapatite, the calcium phosphate mineral that makes up much of our teeth and bones. By adding tiny amounts of europium, a rare-earth element that mimics calcium, the team discovered a way to make the material potentially more useful for medical imaging. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-bone-minerals.html Biochemistry Thu, 30 Jul 2026 23:20:03 EDT news704633811 Algae are increasingly being explored as sustainable "living factories" that can convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into renewable fuels, plastics, pharmaceuticals and other valuable products. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-redistributing-sunlight-boosts-algae-biomass.html Biochemistry Thu, 30 Jul 2026 17:10:02 EDT news704647981 Pharmaceutical drugs often rely on chemical compounds found in the body. Take phosphate, a common compound cells use as a chemical switch. In a process called phosphorylation, cells can add a phosphate to a molecule and turn its function on. When the function is no longer needed, cells can remove the phosphate through dephosphorylation, turning the molecule back off. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-atps-recycling-cheaper-pathways-drug.html Biochemistry Thu, 30 Jul 2026 17:00:08 EDT news704642281 The pulp and paper industry, which manufactures everything from tissue paper to cardboard, also generates a significant yet often overlooked byproduct—a complex polymer called lignin. Around 100 million tons of lignin are produced each year. Despite being the largest natural source of aromatic carbon on the planet, most of it is burned for energy. This is due to its complex structure, which is notoriously difficult to process. Researchers are exploring ways to leverage industrial lignin by developing methods to convert it into useful bio-based chemicals. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-industry-toughest-lignin-byproducts-feedstock.html Biochemistry Wed, 29 Jul 2026 18:40:03 EDT news704553481 The chemical synthesis of oligonucleotides (ONs) is central to modern molecular biology, diagnostics and nucleic acid therapeutics. While demand for high-quality ONs is increasing, the conventional synthetic method has long-standing efficiency challenges. Widely adopted P(III)-phosphoramidite-based ON synthesis requires an oxidation step after every nucleotide coupling cycle and uses moisture-sensitive building blocks, adding complexity to the workflow and slowing the process. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-stable-dna-blocks-enable-faster.html Biochemistry Wed, 29 Jul 2026 16:20:06 EDT news704550121 For decades, scientists have largely relied on painstaking trial and error to coax proteins into crystalline forms. Crystallization enables scientists to determine the molecular structures of proteins, which can provide a blueprint for designing drugs, engineering enzymes and understanding disease. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-flexible-dna-proteins-atomically-crystals.html Biochemistry Wed, 29 Jul 2026 14:00:05 EDT news704473861 A naturally abundant plant material best known for giving trees and crops their strength may one day help repair broken bones, according to a new study led by postdoctoral researcher Dr. Srinath Palakurthy and Professor Rivka Elbaum of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-derived-lignin-bone-minerals.html Biochemistry Tue, 28 Jul 2026 14:40:01 EDT news704463362 A new study suggests that simple molecules on early Earth may have worked together to create more stable, cell-like structures, offering fresh clues about one of science's biggest questions: how life began. Led by Dr. Moran Frenkel-Pinter of Hebrew University and her postdoctoral researcher, Dr. Rotem Edri, the research shows that two types of simple molecules, fatty acids and hydroxy acids, can combine to create structures that are stronger and more stable than either molecule can form alone. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-polymers-primitive-membranes-molecular-cooperation.html Biochemistry Mon, 27 Jul 2026 19:40:01 EDT news704386021 Biomolecular condensates are ubiquitous in living cells, including bacteria, viruses, plants and mammalian systems. These membraneless bodies, or molecular communities made up of DNA, RNA and proteins, are where molecules large and small within the cell come together to coordinate various biochemical reactions. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-biomolecular-condensates-reveal-catalysts.html Biochemistry Mon, 27 Jul 2026 13:40:05 EDT news704371561 Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) have found that today's leading artificial intelligence tools for predicting protein structures routinely generate results that are physically and chemically impossible, exposing critical blind spots in how AI is being applied across scientific research. The work, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, serves as a cautionary reminder that AI still requires human oversight and physics-based verification to produce reliable results in the lab. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ai-tools-protein-chemically-impossible.html Biochemistry Mon, 27 Jul 2026 12:20:03 EDT news704370361