Hubblecast 14: First organic molecule on extrasolar planet Video sent by spacetelescope_org The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has made the first detection ever of an organic molecule in a planet orbiting another star. This breakthrough is an important step in eventually identifying signs of life on a planet outside our Solar System.
"Hydroxyl, an important but difficult-to-detect molecule, is made up of a hydrogen and oxygen atom each. It has been found in the upper reaches of the Venusian atmosphere, some 100 km above the surface, by Venus Express’s Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer, VIRTIS."[via psy org]
The Laboratory of Ultrafast Spectroscopy at the University of Castilla-La Mancha (Toledo, Spain) is seeking for an outstanding postdoc candidate for a research project based on the use of ultrafast...
Marijuana is a puzzling drug, and a contentious one at that. Pure THC is sold pharmaceutically (and DEA-OK), but the whole plant isn’t OK with the feds. That said, many states have decriminalized it for medical use. The pharmacology of cannabinoids is complex; marijuana aficionados report the drug exhibits a certain capacity to make eating [...]
Book Description
ISBN-0080440312
This is the first book solely devoted to single-molecule biochemistry and molecular biology.
Authors were selected on the basis of their contribution to this new and exciting field, and were asked to focus more on the biological problems that can be approached using single-molecule techniques rather than on the techniques per se.
It is thought that [...]
Water may seem simple when we see it like that: H2O, two hydrogen atoms bound to an oxygen one.
Or not?
A research team at the University of Delaware and Radboud University in the Netherlands have employed high-speed computers and physics to peek into the hidden properties of water.
Their novel first-principle simulation of water molecules, [...]
The U.S. company whose blood thinner was responsible for as many deaths and injuries at home is now claiming that the problem originated with a China supplier. Most companies that have taken a hit due to quality problems in China have been a bit more politic, and so have the traditional media outlets that report [...]
Scientists have discovered a new signaling molecule that prevents immune responses from running amok and damaging the body and could lead to the development of new treatments for cancer (using vaccines), for autoimmune diseases(Type 1 diabetes), for inflammatory diseases bowel disease and asthma.
Specialized immune lymphocytes (regulatory T cells) release a protein complex composed of two [...]
by Andrea Thompson
A strange gaseous molecule has been discovered lurking in the atmospheres of both Mars and Venus, scientists announced today, adding that it could affect Venus’s hyperactive greenhouse effect.
The molecule’s signature was first noticed in Venus’s atmosphere in April 2006, when the European Space Agency’s Venus Express arrived at the planet and began to measure the composition of the atmosphere.
The Infrared Atmospheric Spectrometer instrument aboard the spacecraft watched the sun set behind the planet and measured the wavelengths of light absorbed by the planet’s atmosphere. Because different gases absorb at different wavelengths, scientists can infer the composition of the atmosphere from the wavelengths that are strongly absorbed.
While observing Venus, scientists noted an unusual signature in the mid-infrared region of the spectrum that they couldn’t identify.
“It was conspicuous and systematic, increasing with depth in t
A vital molecule for resistance to food allergy has been identified and offers a potential target for therapy.There is currently no way to treat food allergy and the only way for sufferers to manage the problem is to avoid certain foods and make sure they have injectable adrenaline at hand.AdvertisementScientists led by Dr Claudio Nicoletti at the Institute of Food Research in Norwich have found that a molecule called Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is absent during allergic responses. Dr Nicoletti suggests that by delivering an allergen in the presence of IL-12, allergic reactions could be brought back under control.Missing molecule identified“A food protein can be perfectly harmless to one person and lethal to another, said Dr Nicoletti. “We have identified the missing molecule that normally keeps immune responses under control and appropriate.”Having a food allergy means that the immune system responds to a food protein as if it were harmful. The immune system produces immunoglobulin
“It’s almost as if you have a piece of paper that’s yellowed over time, and you put it in a dark room for a day, and it comes back brand-new,” said Kuzyk.Sometimes all an overworked molecule needs is a good night’s rest. According to a study by physicist Mark Kuzyk and colleagues at Washington State University, a molecule that loses its ability to fluoresce when struck by a laser beam regains that ability if it’s allowed to ‘rest’ in the dark. Recovery begins within 30 minutes and is nearly complete after 8 hours of rest, the study found.The research team of Kuzyk and students Ye Zhu and Juefei Zhou discovered the “self-healing” property in AF455, a dye compound that was designed to excel at two-photon absorption. That’s a process in which the absorption of light energy from a laser causes a change in the molecule that can be harnessed for various purposes. Many molecules also glow, or fluoresce, during two-photon absorption, which allows researchers to monitor th
Computer-designed molecule to clean up fluorocarbons? The chemical bond between carbon and fluorine is one of the strongest in nature, and has been both a blessing and a curse in the complex history of fluorocarbons.Now, in a powerful demonstration of the relatively new field of "computational chemistry," researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Interdisciplinary Network of Emerging Science and Technology group (INEST, sponsored by Philip Morris USA) have designed—in a computer—a wholly theoretical molecule to pull the fluorine out of fluorocarbons.*At sea level, the strong C-F bond makes fluorocarbons thermally and chemically stable. As a result, fluorocarbons have been used in many commercial applications including refrigerants, pesticides and non-stick coatings. In the upper atmosphere, however, high-energy photons and highly reactive ozone molecules can break apart fluorocarbons, with the well-known consequence of a depleted ozone layer a
