DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the genetic material common to all of Earth's organisms. Our biological understanding of DNA is extensive and well-exploited. In recent years, chemists have begun to develop DNA for nonbiological applications in catalysis, encoding, and stereochemical control. This Review summarizes key advances in these three exciting research areas, each of which takes advantage...

The structure of a new antibiotic designated lydicamycin was elucidated as shown in Fig. 1 by NMR spectral analysis including a variety of 2D techniques. Lydicamycin possesses a novel skeleton containing tetramic acid and amidinopyrrolidine moieties.

In many crop producing areas of the world there are reports of yield decline and loss of productive potential in soils. Little is known about the long term effects of sugarcane monocropping on changes in physical, chemical and biological properties of soils. The aim of this study was to quantify the physical and chemical condition of soils under sugarcane production in northern Kwazulu-Natal, a...

The concept of hormesis, as an adaptive response of biological systems to moderate environmental challenges, has raised considerable nano-toxicological interests in view of the rapid pace of production and application of even more innovative nanomaterials and the expected increasing likelihood of environmental and human exposure to low-dose concentrations. Therefore, the aim of this review is t...

Morphological control of nanocrystals has become increasingly important, as many of their physical and chemical properties are highly shape dependent. Nanocrystal shape control for both single- and multiple-material systems, however, remains empirical and challenging. New methods need to be explored for the rational synthetic design of heterostructures with controlled morphology. Overgrowth of ...

Characterisation of engineered nanomaterials (NMs) is of outmost importance for the assessment of the potential risks arising from their extensive use. NMs display indeed a large variety of physico-chemical properties that drastically affect their interaction with biological systems. Among them, hydrophobicity is an important property that is nevertheless only slightly covered by the current ph...

Peptide-bond isosteres can enable a deep interrogation of the structure and function of a peptide or protein by amplifying or attenuating particular chemical properties. In this Minireview, the electronic, structural, and conformational attributes of four such isosteres-thioamides, esters, alkenes, and fluoroalkenes-are examined in detail. In particular, the ability of these isosteres to partak...

The melting curve of hydrogen was computed for pressures up to 200 GPa, using molecular dynamics. The inter- and intramolecular interactions were described by the reactive force field (ReaxFF) model. The model describes the pressure-volume equation of state solid hydrogen in good agreement with experiment up to pressures over 150 GPa, however the corresponding equation of state for liquid devia...

The terms biosurfactant and bioemulsifier have often been used interchangeably to describe surface active biomolecules. However, it is important to note that there are marked differences between them especially based on their physico-chemical properties and physiological roles. Although bioemulsifiers and biosurfactants are both amphiphilic in nature and are produced by a wide range of microorg...