In a new study in PNAS, a research team at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, shows that both catnip and pea aphids produce the substance nepetalactone, even though the plant and the insect evolved ...
Evolution
Oct 13, 2022
0
202
Researchers at Princeton Chemistry have discovered a biosynthetic pathway that incorporates selenium into microbial small molecules, marking the first time such atoms have been uncovered in natural products, and opening new ...
Biochemistry
Sep 9, 2022
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274
The fact that nature is an excellent chemist is demonstrated by the abundance of molecules, so-called natural products, which it produces biosynthetically. These natural products are also of central importance to us humans. ...
Biochemistry
May 27, 2022
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317
An international team of scientists has identified the genes and the biosynthetic pathway that enable certain types of cyanobacteria found in freshwater environments to produce a potent neurotoxin called guanitoxin.
Biochemistry
May 19, 2022
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28
That cherry flavor you enjoy in candy and soda is likely a combination of aromatic and flavor compounds discovered through the study of plants in laboratories far from cherry trees. It and the sweet scent of your almond extract ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 23, 2022
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33
Researchers have traced the remaining last steps of the biological pathway that gives oats resistance to the deadly crop disease take-all.
Biotechnology
May 7, 2021
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130
Maize (Zea mays) produces a plethora of antibiotics called zealexins. Even though scientists have identified at least 15 zealexins, they suspect there are even more to find. Zealexins are produced in every corn variety and ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 9, 2020
0
156
Catmint, also known as catnip, is well-known for its intoxicating effect on cats. The chemical responsible for the cats' strange behavior is nepetalactone, a volatile iridoid produced by catmint. An international team of ...
Biotechnology
May 13, 2020
0
80
For more than 40 years, scientists have hypothesized the existence of enzyme clusters, or "metabolons," in facilitating various processes within cells. Using a novel imaging technology combined with mass spectrometry, researchers ...
Biochemistry
Apr 16, 2020
0
402
Glycosylation—the attachment of sugars to proteins—plays a critical role in both cellular function and in the development of therapeutics, like vaccines.
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 27, 2019
0
57
