A molecular switch influences addiction behavior and determines how strong the response to addictive drugs is. A research team made the discovery in mice treated with cocaine. The researchers demonstrated that the protein Npas4 regulates the structure and function of nerve cells that control addiction behavior in mice. If the quantity of Npas4 was reduced in an experiment, the animals' response to cocaine was much weaker.

New research demonstrates a metabolic regulatory molecule called Them1 prevents fat burning in cells by blocking access to their fuel source. The study may contribute to the development of a new type of obesity treatment.

Linked to serious health problems including cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, obesity affects more than a third of

Getting energy and nutrients from the environment—eating—is such an important function that it has been regulated through sophisticated mechanisms over hundreds of millions of years. Some of these mechanisms are only now beginning to be unraveled. A group at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) has found one of their key components—a switch that controls the ability of organisms to adapt to low cellular nutrient levels.

Researchers from the Hubrecht Institute in Utrecht (The Netherlands) and the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine in Münster (Germany) used computer simulations to reveal in atomic detail how a short piece of DNA opens while it is tightly wrapped around the proteins that package our genome. These simulations provide unprecedented insights into the mechanisms that regulate gene expression. The results will be published in PLOS Computational Biology on 3 June.

Jumping movement is commonly observed in nature, including for mammals, insects and the other land creatures; this fluid motion aims for rapid mobility, a faster arrival time at a destination over large obstacles and rough terrain. The qualitative properties of the jump such as direction and height are regulated by mere fractions of potential and kinetic energy. In addition, an organism can opt to repeat its jumping motions as decided by its own free will.

Kidney development is a balancing act between the self-renewal of stem and progenitor cells to maintain and expand their numbers, and the differentiation of these cells into more specialized cell types. Scientists demonstrates the importance of a molecule called beta-catenin in striking this balance.

In the past few years, researchers have turned increasingly to data science techniques to aid problem-solving in organic synthesis.

Scanning probe microscopes like the scanning tunneling microscope and the atomic force microscope give researchers valuable information about individual molecules. One of the most interesting areas of research is molecular switches, which can be switched from one configuration to another.

Researchers have developed a groundbreaking method to detect the dynamics of light on such a small scale with high temporal resolution.

A team of researchers with Google's AI Quantum team (working with unspecified collaborators) has conducted the largest chemical simulation on a quantum computer to date. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes their work and why they believe it was a step forward in quantum computing. Xiao Yuan of Stanford University has written a Perspective piece outlining the potential benefits of quantum computer use to conduct chemical simulations and the work by the team at AI Quantum, published in the same journal issue.

NUS biologists discovered the mobile TERMINAL FLOWER1 (TFL1) protein as an essential molecular switch for regulating endosperm development and seed size.

Around 1 billion people on the planet are infected with parasitic helminths, round worms that live in soil and colonize human guts through dirty water. The helminths owe their ability to survive in the low oxygen environment of the human gut to a unique enzyme variant, Donnelly Centre researchers have found.

Molecular switches are the molecular counterparts of electrical switches and play an important role in many processes in nature. Nanotechnologist now produced a photographic film at the atomic level and thus tracked the motion of a molecular building block. The result was a light-controlled 'pedalo-type motion', going forward and backward.

Molecular switches—they are the molecular counterparts of electrical switches and play an important role in many processes in nature. Such molecules can reversibly interconvert between two or more states and thereby control molecular processes. In living organisms, for example, they play a role in muscle contraction but also our visual perception is based on the dynamics of a molecular switch in the eye. Scientists are working intensively to develop novel molecular components that enable switching between different states, so that molecular processes can be specifically controlled.

Molecular switches are the molecular counterparts of electrical switches and play an important role in many processes in nature. Nanotechnologist now produced a photographic film at the atomic level and thus tracked the motion of a molecular building block.

Hokkaido University scientists have succeeded in synthesizing an α,α-difluoroglycine derivative, a type of α-amino acid, based on a reaction path predicted by quantum chemical calculations. This novel method, combining experimental chemistry and computational chemistry, could innovate the development of new chemical reactions.

When bacteria such as Salmonella or Yersinia cause fever, diarrhoea or abdominal pain, tiny 'injection needles' are at work: their type 3 secretion system, or T3SS for short, shoots bacterial virulence proteins directly into the eukaryotic host cells. Researchers have thought of using bacterial injection devices to introduce proteins into eukaryotic cells. A Max Planck research team has now succeeded in controlling the injection system optogenetically, i.e. with light. In the future this will enable to use the system in biotechnological or medical applications.

Neurobiologists have discovered how the signalling molecule Neuromedin U plays a crucial role in our learning process. The protein allows the brain to recall negative memories and, as such, learn from the past.

Scientists from UC San Diego, UC Santa Cruz and Duke University synchronized their research watches to study what

Researchers have revealed how an essential protein helps to activate genomic DNA during the conversion of regular adult human cells into stem cells.

A new study of molecular interactions central to the functioning of biological clocks explains how certain mutations can shorten clock timing, making some people extreme 'morning larks' because their internal clocks operate on a 20-hour cycle instead of being synchronized with the 24-hour cycle of day and night. Researchers found that the same molecular switch mechanism affected by these mutations is at work in animals ranging from fruit flies to people.

The molecular blueprint of life is stored in DNA within the genome. The digital revolution in biology, driven by DNA sequencing, enables scientists to read the genomes of the many microbes and multicellular organisms that populate our world. Today, DNA sequences of over 200,000 microbial genomes are deposited in digital genome databases and have exponentially increased the understanding of how DNA programs living systems. Using this incredible treasure trove of molecular building blocks, bioengineers learn to sequence and synthesize long DNA molecules and to breed useful microbes with the help of computers.

Researchers from the group of Vlad Cojocaru together with colleagues the Max Planck Institute in Münster (Germany) have revealed how an essential protein helps to activate genomic DNA during the conversion of regular adult human cells into stem cells. Their findings are published in the Biophysical Journal.

Chronic inflammation, which results when old age, stress or environmental toxins keep the body’s immune system in overdrive,

Scientists have identified a molecular 'switch' that controls the immune machinery responsible for chronic inflammation in the body. The finding could lead to new ways to halt or even reverse many age-related conditions, from from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's to diabetes and cancer.

A molecular switch has the ability to turn on a substance in animals that repairs neurological damage in disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS) researchers discovered. The early research in animal models could advance an already approved Food and Drug Administration therapy and also could lead to new strategies for treating diseases of the central nervous system.

A research team has revealed a new mechanism which controls the causes of infection with H. pylori, triggering the development of stomach diseases. It is hoped that these findings will lead in time to new therapies.

A DNA computer consisting of strands of DNA in a test tube can calculate the square root of numbers up to 900

French researchers taking the fight to sarcopenia.

An organic material that can repeatedly change shape without breaking would have many useful applications, such as artificial muscles, pumps or as a switch. Physicists accidentally discovered a material with that property.

An organic material that can repeatedly change shape without breaking would have many useful applications, such as artificial muscles, pumps or as a switch. Physicists at Radboud University accidentally discovered a material with that property. Their findings will be published in the scientific journal Nature Communications on October 8th.

Research by William Kaelin Jr., Peter Ratcliffe and Gregg Semenza led the way for applications in treating anemia, cancer and other diseases -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com

Research by William Kaelin Jr., Peter Ratcliffe and Gregg Semenza led the way for applications in treating anemia, cancer and other diseases -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com

Circuits of chemicals could carry out calculations

Tumors and certain viral infections pose a challenge to the human body which the immune system typically fails to hand. In these diseases it switches to hypofunctional state that prevent adequate protection. A research team has achieved a major success: They identified the crucial molecular switch that triggers such dysfunctional immune responses. This could make it possible in the future to switch off or to prevent this state.

Scientists have developed an entirely new class of molecular photoswitches that meet many of the 'holy grail' requirements so far thought to be impossible to achieve.

A collaborative of institutions including the University of Groningen has developed an entirely new class of molecular photoswitches that meet many requirements previously considered unobtainable. The results have been published in Nature Communications on 3 June.

A large number of genes have to be switched on or off at different times during development. A

Computer scientists have created DNA molecules that can self-assemble into patterns essentially by running their own program.

In a paper published in the journal Circulation Research, they used this technique to uncover the effects of genetic

DNA sequencing of microbial samples can give researchers and medical professionals a wealth of information about microbiomes – the communities of microorganisms that inhabit our bodies and the environments all around us. Understanding the microbiome can aid our understanding of what ails us and why. But what happens when microbial samples are contaminated with DNA from other sources?

Researchers at MIT and Arizona State University have designed a computer program that allows users to translate any free-form drawing into a two-dimensional, nanoscale structure made of DNA.

A new quantum algorithm has been implemented for quantum chemical calculations such as Full-CI on quantum computers without exponential/combinatorial explosion, giving exact solutions of Schroedinger Equations for atoms and molecules, for the first time.

Researchers have made an unexpected and vital contribution to an international collaborative effort in Parkinson's disease research.

How to create nanocages, i.e., robust and stable objects with regular voids and tunable properties? Short segments of DNA molecules are perfect candidates for the controllable design of novel complex structures. Physicists investigated methodologies to synthesize DNA-based dendrimers in the lab and to predict their behavior using detailed computer simulations.

How to create nanocages, i.e., robust and stable objects with regular voids and tunable properties? Short segments of DNA molecules are perfect candidates for the controllable design of novel complex structures. Physicists from the University of Vienna, the Technical University of Vienna, the Jülich Research Center in Germany and Cornell University in the U.S.A., investigated methodologies to synthesize DNA-based dendrimers in the lab and to predict their behavior using detailed computer simulations. Their results are published in Nanoscale.

Physicists investigated methodologies to synthesize DNA-based dendrimers in the lab and to predict their behavior using detailed computer simulations.

Researchers have used computer models on the Stampede2 supercomputer to replicate the dispersal of gases from the April 4, 2017 chemical weapons attack in northwest Syria. The simulations were able to capture real world conditions despite a scarcity of information. Recently, the team developed a coarse model that uses seasonal conditions as background information to speed up calculations, reducing forecasting time from days to minutes.

If certain signaling cascades are misregulated, diseases like cancer, obesity and diabetes may occur. A mechanism recently discovered has a crucial influence on such signaling cascades and may be an important key for the future development of therapies against these diseases.

An international team led by researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, has designed a family of molecules capable of binding to metal ions present in the surrounding environment and providing an easily detectable light signal during binding. This new type of sensor forms a 3-D structure whose molecules are chiral, that is to say, structurally identical but not superimposable, like the left and right hands. These molecules consist of a ring and two luminescent arms that emit a particular type of light in a process called Circular Polarized Luminescence (CPL), and selectively detect ions such as sodium. This research has been published in Chemical Science.

If certain signaling cascades are misregulated, diseases like cancer, obesity and diabetes may occur. A mechanism recently discovered by scientists at the Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP) in Berlin and at the University of Geneva has a crucial influence on such signaling cascades and may be an important key for the future development of therapies against these diseases. The results of the study have just been published in the prestigious scientific journal Molecular Cell.

Researchers have designed a family of molecules capable of binding to metal ions present in its environment and providing an easily detectable light signal during binding. This new type of sensor forms a 3D structure whose molecules consist of a ring and two luminescent arms that emit a particular type of light in a process called circular polarized luminescence, and detect ions, such as sodium.

Researchers programmed a computer to compare structures and toxic effects of different chemicals, making it possible to then predict the toxicity of new chemicals based on their structural similarity... -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com

Simulation of chemical bonds and reactions is expected to be one of the first applications for at-scale quantum computers. Physicists have now demonstrated the world-first simulation of a chemical bond using trapped ion qubits, one of the most promising pathways to full-scale quantum computing.

An international group of researchers has achieved the world's first multi-qubit demonstration of a quantum chemistry calculation performed on a system of trapped ions, one of the leading hardware platforms in the race to develop a universal quantum computer.

DNA and other stringy molecules could store data much more efficiently than hard drives in modern computers.

Scientists have discovered a chemical compound that could lower sugar levels as effectively as the diabetes drug metformin but with a lower dose.

A research team led by physicists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has developed molecular nanoswitches that can be toggled between two structurally different states using an applied voltage. These can serve as the basis for a pioneering class of devices that could replace silicon-based components with organic molecules.

Chemists have found a molecular switch such that two compounds that would readily react with each other can be in the same solution, separated by a very thin membrane and kept from reacting with each other until a molecular switch is thrown.

Computer code serves as a useful analogy for what our genes do, but the complexity and messiness of life go well beyond simple analogies and mathematical models.

In 1996, when a computer won a match against reigning world chess champion Garry Kasparov, it was nothing short of a sensation. After this breakthrough in the world of chess, the board game Go was long considered to be a bastion reserved for human players due to its complexity. But the world's best players cannot compete with the AlphaGo software. The recipe for the success of this computer program is made possible through a combination of the so-called Monte Carlo Tree Search and deep neural networks based on machine learning and artificial intelligence. A team of researchers from the University of Muenster in Germany has now demonstrated that this combination is extremely well suited to planning chemical syntheses—so-called retrosyntheses—with unprecedented efficiency. The study has been published in the current issue of Nature.

The board game Go was long considered to be a bastion reserved for human players due to its complexity. Now, however, the world's best players no longer have any chance of winning against the 'AlphaGo' software. Researchers have now demonstrated that the recipe for the success of this software can be put to excellent use to plan chemical syntheses.

Armed with a “robust” computational approach that stretches the amount of time needed to capture the gyrations of

Researchers have developed a novel strategy to control the shapes of polymeric materials by utilizing photoresponsive molecular switches, which may evolve tractable stimuli-responsive soft materials.

Researchers have developed a novel strategy to control the shapes of polymeric materials by utilizing photoresponsive molecular switches, which may evolve tractable stimuli-responsive soft materials.

An Imperial alumus has developed a bio-pixel display that can play games such as Tetris, Snake or Pong using the protein that makes jellyfish glow

If you've ever tried to untangle a pair of earbuds, you'll understand how loops and cords can get twisted up. DNA can get tangled in the same way, and in some cases, has to be cut and reconnected to resolve the knots. Now a team of mathematicians, biologists and computer scientists has unraveled how E. coli bacteria can unlink tangled DNA by a local reconnection process. The math behind the research could have implications far beyond biology.

In what they're calling the first evidence of a DNA-based exploit of a computer system, a team of scientists have successfully shown that a computer can be hacked through malicious code incorporated into synthetic DNA. While the exploit is still essentially hypothetical, with no evidence there are such threats currently in the wild, it does expose a major security flaw that could pose a significant problem in the future. .. Continue Reading Researchers hack computer using malware encoded in synthetic DNA Category: Computers Tags: Computer DNA Hack Security Virus Related Articles: Is the "NotPetya" ransomware a Russian cyberattack in disguise? DroneSentry jamming system open for orders Pentagon puts the call out to hackers to test its cyber defences Department of

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Malware can be encoded into a gene and used to take over a computer program.

Science and the IT industry have high hopes for quantum computing, but descriptions of possible applications tend to be vague. Researchers have now come up with a concrete example that demonstrates what quantum computers will actually be able to achieve in the future.

Science and the IT industry have high hopes for quantum computing, but descriptions of possible applications tend to be vague. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now come up with a concrete example that demonstrates what quantum computers will actually be able to achieve in the future.

Machine learning approach could aid the design of industrial processes for drug manufacturing. When organic chemists identify a

Researchers have succeeded in detecting output molecules that are the calculation results of DNA computing using DNA molecules as electric information through a nanopore membrane protein.

Think of a computer. You’re probably imagining a smartphone or laptop, or even one of Google or Amazon’s huge server buildings if you’re in the know about the physical internet. Those modern computers serve us well, but in the future, the word “computer” may conjure images of something much more…squishy. Researchers from the University of…

The theoretical physicists Junior Professor Fabian Pauly and his postdoc Dr. Safa G. Bahoosh now succeeded in a team of experimental physicists and chemists in demonstrating a reliable and reproducible single molecule switch. The basis for this switch is a specifically synthesized molecule with special properties. This is an important step towards realising fundamental ideas of molecular electronics. The results were published in the online journal Nature Communications on 9 March 2017.

It turns out that after an appropriate teaching procedure even a relatively simple chemical system can perform non-trivial operations. In their most recent computer simulations researchers have shown that correctly programmed chemical matrices of oscillating droplets can recognize the shape of a sphere with great accuracy.

Chemical computers are becoming ever more of a reality. It turns out that after an appropriate teaching procedure even a relatively simple chemical system can perform non-trivial operations. In their most recent computer simulations researchers have shown that correctly programmed chemical matrices of oscillating droplets can recognize the shape of a sphere with great accuracy.

A proof-of-concept molecular modeling study that analyzes the efficiency of amine solutions in capturing carbon dioxide is the first step toward the design of cheaper, more efficient amine chemicals for capturing carbon dioxide -- and reducing harmful CO2 emissions -- in industrial installations.

A proof-of-concept molecular modeling study from North Carolina State University analyzes the efficiency of amine solutions in capturing carbon dioxide. This series of new computer models is the first step toward the design of cheaper, more efficient amine chemicals for capturing carbon dioxide - and reducing harmful CO2 emissions - in industrial installations.

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The computer can copy itself many times over, making calculations much faster.

Researchers claim it is possible to build a super-fast computer that "grows as it computes". A team of scientists, led by professor Ross D King from the University of Manchester, has demonstrated the feasibility of engineering a nondeterministic universal Turing machine (NUTM). DNA molecules are small, highly stable and come with self-replicating abilities, making them ideal candidates for the processors of future organic computers.

An algorithm designed for streaming video on a cellphone can unlock DNA's nearly full storage potential by squeezing more information into its four base nucleotides, say researchers. They demonstrate that this technology is also extremely reliable.

Humanity may soon generate more data than hard drives or magnetic tape can handle, a problem that has scientists turning to nature's age-old solution for information-storage—DNA.

Researchers present a new method that should enable controlled drug delivery into the bloodstream using DNA computers. The team developed the first DNA computer capable of detecting several antibodies in the blood and performing subsequent calculations based on this input. This is an important step towards the development of smart, 'intelligent' drugs that may allow better control of medication with fewer side-effects and at lower cost.

Researchers present a new method that should enable controlled drug delivery into the bloodstream using DNA computers.

Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) present a new method for controlled drug delivery into the bloodstream using DNA computers. In the journal Nature Communications, the team, led by biomedical engineer Maarten Merkx, describes how it has developed the first DNA computer capable of detecting several antibodies in the blood and performing subsequent calculations based on this input. This is an important step toward the development of smart drugs for better delivery of medication for conditions such as rheumatism and Crohn's disease, with fewer side effects and at lower cost.

Plants are capable of producing powerful movement that is initiated at the molecular level. This fast motion is often supported by helix-based architectures, for example in vetches or orchids that spread seeds by explosive opening of their pods. Researchers now demonstrate in the journal Angewandte Chemie that these biological strategies can be re-engineered by interfacing molecular switches with man-made materials.

Nature539, 437–442 (2016); doi:10.1038/nature19834In this Letter, the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) accession number for the RNA sequencing data (for in vivo tumour and tumour-associated macrophage samples) was incorrectly listed in the ‘Data availability’ section as

Shortly after mating, marine bristle worms die, leaving thousands of newly fertilized eggs to develop in the water. This extreme all-or-nothing mode of reproduction demonstrates a general principle: Animals need to decide if they invest their available energy stores either in growth or in reproduction. Researchers are now able to solve a 60-year-old riddle and determine the molecule that orchestrates this decision in marine bristle worms.

"Till death do us part" – for marine bristle worms, these words are invariably true: Shortly after mating, the parent worms die, leaving thousands of newly fertilized eggs to develop in the water. This extreme all-or-nothing mode of reproduction demonstrates a general principle: Animals need to decide if they invest their available energy stores either in growth or in reproduction. Researchers around Florian Raible at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories (MFPL) of the University of Vienna and Medical University of Vienna were now able to solve a 60-year-old riddle and determine the molecule that orchestrates this decision in marine bristle worms. Their results are published in the journal eLife.

Macrophages play critical, but opposite, roles in acute and chronic inflammation and cancer. In response to pathogens or injury, inflammatory macrophages express cytokines that stimulate cytotoxic T cells, whereas macrophages in neoplastic and parasitic diseases express anti-inflammatory cytokines that induce immune suppression and may promote resistance to T cell checkpoint inhibitors. Here we show that macrophage PI 3-kinase γ controls a critical switch between immune stimulation and suppression during inflammation and cancer. PI3Kγ signalling through Akt and mTor inhibits NFκB activation while stimulating C/EBPβ activation, thereby inducing a transcriptional program that promotes immune suppression during inflammation and tumour growth. By contrast, selective inactivation of macrophage PI3Kγ stimulates and prolongs NFκB activation and inhibits C/EBPβ activation, thus promoting an immunostimulatory transcriptional program that restores CD8+ T cell activation and cytotoxicity. PI3Kγ

Tinier than the AIDS virus—that is currently the circumference of the smallest transistors. The industry has shrunk the central elements of their computer chips to fourteen nanometers in the last sixty years. Conventional methods, however, are hitting physical boundaries. Researchers around the world are looking for alternatives. One method could be the self-organization of complex components from molecules and atoms. Scientists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and Paderborn University have now made an important advance: the physicists conducted a current through gold-plated nanowires, which independently assembled themselves from single DNA strands. Their results have been published in the scientific journal Langmuir.

Scientists from MIPT's Research Center for Molecular Mechanisms of Aging and Age-Related Diseases, together with Inria research center, Grenoble, France, have developed a software package called Knodle to determine an atom's hybridization, bond orders and functional groups' annotation in molecules. The program streamlines one of the stages of developing new drugs. A paper on the new development has been published in the Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling.

Scientists have developed a software package called Knodle to determine an atom's hybridization, bond orders and functional groups' annotation in molecules.