A team of researchers encoded their specialized knowledge into the computer game Foldit to enable citizen scientists to successfully design synthetic proteins for the first time.
Biochemistry
Jun 5, 2019
0
765
Thanks to a team of researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, scientists are able to read patterns on long chains of molecules to understand and predict behavior ...
Polymers
Jun 3, 2019
0
497
Synthetic proteins have been created that move in response to their environment in predictable and tunable ways. These motile molecules were designed from scratch on computers, then produced inside living cells.
Biochemistry
May 16, 2019
0
115
Mussels stick to rocks on the seafloor, to aquatic plants, and—to the consternation of boaters—they can hitch rides fastened to seafaring vessels no matter their composition: metals, rubber, glass, wood and more.
Materials Science
Apr 17, 2019
0
10
Which criteria do a synthetically created cell have to meet to be considered alive? What are the minimal requirements for individual functions of such a cell?
Biochemistry
Jan 31, 2019
0
51
Scientists have long dreamed of creating synthetic structures out of the same raw material that nature uses in living systems—proteins—believing such an advance would allow for the development of transformative nanomachines, ...
Biochemistry
Jan 14, 2019
8
165
Scientists from the University of Liverpool have, for the first time, synthesized a new material that exhibits structural change and triggered chemical activity like a protein.
Materials Science
Jan 9, 2019
0
29
Transcription activator-like effector (TALE) proteins can be designed to bind to almost any selected DNA. Researchers now report that a TALE can displace another TALE protein from DNA in a highly polarized way – it can ...
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 26, 2018
0
27
Designing synthetic proteins that can act as drugs for cancer or other diseases can be a tedious process: It generally involves creating a library of millions of proteins, then screening the library to find proteins that ...
Biochemistry
Oct 16, 2018
0
81
Nature is full of wonderful, time-tested solutions to different challenges. Science has turned its attention to reproducing and repurposing these phenomena to create more sustainable responses to human challenges. This relatively ...
Materials Science
Oct 11, 2018
0
5
