Molecules that emulate in part the remarkable capabilities of protein motors were recently chemically synthesized. A promising approach is based on physically interlocked macromolecular complexes such as rotaxanes and catenanes. Using the latter, Leigh et al. [Leigh, D. A., Wong, J. K. Y., Dehez, F. & Zerbetto, F. (2003) Nature 424, 174-179] constructed a molecular rotor in which two small ring...

This SafetyNet suggests chemical substitutes for commonly used chemicals to promote a safer work environment. Consider using the safer substitute if it works in your process: Sample of Chemical Substitute List. View full list here [1].

Research in chemical induction [5] seeks to identify the compound or compounds responsible for differentiation [6] in a developing embryo. Soren Lovtrup [7] compared the search for these compounds to the search for the philosopher?s stone. It was based on the assumption that the differentiating agents have to be chemical substances either within cells or in the extracellular matrix. However, de...

Our current view of the nature of light started with the pioneering work of Newton, who in the seventeenth century showed that white light was a mixture of the rainbow colours, and these could be separated by, and combined back to white light, by a prism. Other landmarks in the field were experiments by Young to show the wave nature of light by diffraction and interference patterns. The work of...

Chemical tools have proven indispensable for studies in glycobiology. Synthetic oligosaccharides and glycoconjugates provide materials for correlating structure with function. Synthetic mimics of the complex assemblies found on cell surfaces can modulate cellular interactions and are under development as therapeutic agents. Small molecule inhibitors of carbohydrate biosynthetic and processing e...

Chemical genomics. By S. Jaroch and H. Weinmann (Editors). Ernst Schering Research Foundation Workshop 58. Pp. VII+173. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 2006. Price 64.15 Euro. ISBN 103 54

In the last decade, studies using approaches from molecular biology have substantially advanced our understanding of the early events in olfaction and taste. The many odorants that we can recognize may well interact with many distinct receptor proteins. Of the four taste qualities that we recognize, studies on salty and sour suggest that these tastes involve ion channels in the membrane of rece...