Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Futurity

    Synthetic proteins mimic the real thing

    Synthetic proteins with improved properties could fight infection, help treat diseases, and more.
    by National Science Foundation Jun 30, 2019 1 minute
    woman working in the lab (synthetic proteins concept)

    Researchers are creating synthetic versions of proteins with improved properties.

    Imagine synthetic antibiotics that could fight infections like MRSA, custom pharmaceuticals to treat advanced prostate cancer, and new enzymes that will turn cellulose into fuel.

    Chemist Kent Kirshenbaum and his team at New York University are engineering molecules to mimic the shape, structure, and function of natural proteins.

    “We’ve really developed the building block approach to crafting these molecules in an extremely reliable way,” Kirshenbaum says. “We’re confident that if we can design a molecule, we’re going to be able to build it.”

    The ultimate goal of this biomimetic chemistry research is to develop a reliable way to build synthetic proteins that can be put to work at the industrial scale.

    The National Science Foundation funded the work.

    Source: National Science Foundation

    The post Synthetic proteins mimic the real thing appeared first on Futurity.

    More from Futurity

    Futurity4 min read
    New Tech Could Lead To Smaller, Stronger Wireless Devices
    A new class of synthetic materials could lead to the next revolution of  wireless technologies, enabling devices to be smaller, require less signal strength, and use less power. The key to these advances lies in what experts call phononics, which is
    Futurity4 min read
    Mom’s Immune Status Changes With How She Feeds Baby
    The immune status of postpartum mothers shifts with how she feeds her baby, a new study finds. According to the paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, certain inflammatory proteins—substances that are secreted as part of an immune respons
    Futurity4 min readPopular Culture & Media Studies
    Social Media May Affect Desire For Cosmetic Procedures
    The more time you spend on social media, the more likely you are to want to undergo a cosmetic procedure, new research shows. It’s a familiar pattern: you open your social media app of choice and end up sucked into a digital wormhole, mindlessly scro

    Related