External structure can affect the function of enzymes

A research team from Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) and from South Africa has analysed two enzymes with identical substrate binding pockets that nevertheless convert different substrates. In the process, it emerged that changes ...

Mapping biological functions of NUDIX enzymes

In a large multidisciplinary project, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have explored different properties of an enzyme family called NUDIX hydrolases. The study, published in Nature Communications, reveals novel insights ...

Chemists slide a splitting catalyst over DNA for the first time

Chemists from Nijmegen, The Netherlands, have developed a catalyst that binds to DNA, slides over it and splits the molecule in particular places. The researchers were able to do this by synthetically modifying a natural ...

Small-scale soil studies provide big benefits

When it comes to studying microbial communities in soil, the smaller the sample, the better. Only by approaching the scale at which microbes interact and function, the micron scale, can scientists understand how the community ...

A question of gene silencing

When investigating cancer cells, researchers discovered numerous peculiarities: Particular RNA molecules are present in large numbers, particular genes are overactive. Do these characteristics have a relation to cancer? Do ...

Boosting crop yields in Australia

Andrew Hansen grows wheat, barley, canola, and oats on his farm at Coomandook in South Australia, where his family has farmed the land for more than 60 years. But now the family's way of life is threatened.

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