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A team of chemists, biochemists and mathematicians at the University of Bristol have published a paper Chemical Biology, which explores how protein structures are stabilised. There are many forces that hold together the three-dimensional, functional structures of proteins. Despite considerable effort, understanding of these forces is still quite rudimentary.

The COMPASS experiment at CERN reports a key measurement on the strong interaction. The strong interaction binds quarks into protons and neutrons, and protons and neutrons into the nuclei of all the elements from which matter is built. Inside those nuclei, particles called pions made up of a quark and an antiquark mediate the interaction.

A novel approach to growing nanowires promises a new means of control over their light-emitting and electronic properties. In a recent issue of  Nano Letters , scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (Berkeley Lab) demonstrated a new growth technique that uses specially engineered catalysts.

A Yale-led research team has identified the molecular mechanism by which insulin normally inhibits production of glucose by the liver and why this process stops working in patients with type 2 diabetes, leading to hyperglycemia. The findings are published Feb. 5 in the journal Cell.

A team of international scientists has discovered a new mechanism by which immune cells in the skin act as the body's 'border control', revealing how these cells sense whether lipid or fat-like molecules might indicate the presence of foreign invaders. The findings could improve how we fight some infections, allergies and auto-immune diseases.

University of Illinois postdoctoral researcher Adrian Smith, right, and entomology professor Andrew Suarez found that ants are highly attuned to the chemical context of the hive. CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Researchers report that trap-jaw ants recognize the unique odor of a fertile queen only if the queen also shares the workers' own chemical cologne - a distinctive blend of dozens of smelly, waxy compounds that coat the ants' bodies from head to tarsus.

Chemists at the University of Bristol, in collaboration with colleagues at the Central Laser Facility at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) and Heriot-Watt University (HWU), can now follow chemical reactions in liquids with unprecedented, atomically resolved detail on sub-picosecond timescales (1 picosecond = 10-12s) - matching the time intervals between molecular collisions.

Human taste receptors are specialized to distinguish several distinct compounds: sugars taste sweet, salts taste salty, and acidic compounds taste sour. Now a new study from MIT finds that the worm Caenorhabditis elegans has taken its powers of detection a step further: The worm can taste hydrogen peroxide, triggering it to stop eating the potentially dangerous substance.

Research combining experimental work and detailed molecular simulations has revealed, for the first time, the complex role that water plays in collagen - a protein that is a component of tendons, bone, skin and other structural tissues in the body. The new analysis reveals an important mechanism that had never been observed before: Adding even small amounts of water to, or removing water from, collagen in tendons can generate surprisingly strong forces, as much as 300 times stronger than the forces generated by muscles.

More efficient medical treatments could be developed thanks to a new method for triggering the rearrangement of chemical particles. The new method, developed at the University of Warwick, uses two 'parent' nanoparticles that are designed to interact only when in proximity to each other and trigger the release of drug molecules contained within both.

New and improved solar panels could result from the discovery of a new liquid crystal material, making printable organic solar cells better performing. Published today in  Nature ,  University of Melbourne researchers say their discovery of the highly sought-after 'nematic liquid crystals' can now lead to vastly improved organic solar cell performance.

Tseng Lab at UCLA The device, developed at UCLA, enables scientists to control the blood's temperature - the way coffeehouses would with an espresso machine - to capture and release the cancer cells in optimal conditions. An international group led by scientists at UCLA's California NanoSystems Institute has developed a new method for effectively extracting and analyzing cancer cells circulating in patients' blood.

A small transparent roundworm with the remarkable ability to self-heal may hold the secret to treating nerve injuries in humans. In a study published today in renowned scientific journal Nature , University of Queensland scientists have discovered the molecular mechanisms that allow severed nerves in roundworms to fuse back together.

New research shows that the natural reactions taking place in some of the underground reservoirs used to store carbon dioxide may prevent carbon emissions from being transported to greater depths, where it may be less likely to leak into the atmosphere.

ANN ARBOR-The most complicated crystal structure ever produced in a computer simulation has been achieved by researchers at the University of Michigan. They say the findings help demonstrate how complexity can emerge from simple rules. Their "icosahedral quasicrystal" (eye-KO-suh-HE-druhl QUAZ-eye-cris-tahl) looks ordered to the eye, but has no repeating pattern.

The official UK-wide assessment of all university research, the Research Excellence Framework, found that Oxford has the largest volume of world-leading research in the country.

Scientists are making it easier for pharmaceutical companies and researchers to see the detailed inner workings of molecular machines. "Understanding how all these machines work is the key to developing new therapeutics, for treating genetic disorders, and for developing new ways to make useful materials." EMBARGOED for Monday, December 22, 11 a.m. Eastern Time Phenix software uses X-ray diffraction spots to produce 3-D image LOS ALAMOS, N.M. Dec.

The lithium-ion batteries that mobilize our electronic devices need to be improved if they are to power electric vehicles or store electrical energy for the grid. Berkeley Lab researchers looking for a better understanding of liquid electrolyte may have found a pathway forward.

Finding represents "a quantum change in our understanding" of how much of Earth's crust may be habitable, says world-renowned researcher A team of scientists led by the University of Toronto's Barbara Sherwood Lollar has mapped the location of hydrogen-rich waters found trapped kilometres beneath Earth's surface in rock fractures in Canada, South Africa and Scandinavia.

The entire semiconductor industry, not to mention Silicon Valley, is built on the propensity of electrons in silicon to get kicked out of their atomic shells and become free. These mobile electrons are routed and switched though transistors, carrying the digital information that characterizes our age.