Issue 2 Chemical Biology

A supplement providing a snapshot of the latest developments in chemical biology

Issue 2

Research Highlights

Small molecules are the key to directly controlling stem cell development and could contribute to the advancement of tissue repair and regeneration say researchers in the US.

X-ray scattering of biological systems

Studying biological materials by x-ray scattering has been made possible by advances in synchrotron radiation (SR) sources and instrumentation.

Sun damage deregulates cell death causing skin cancer

Deregulation of the pathways involved in the death and survival of sunburn cells leads to the development of UV-induced skin cancer say Belgian researchers.

Handheld microfluidic chip

A microfluidic system that enables maintenance-free, portable, handheld cell culture over periods of up to weeks has been prepared by US engineers.

Advances in platinum chemotherapy

Side-effects of platinum containing antitumour drugs could soon be a thing of the past thanks to a new series of platinum compounds developed by researchers in the Netherlands.

Revealing peptide conformation for drug design

Drugs designed to treat diseases like Alzheimer's, type II diabetes and Parkinson's could soon be improved thanks to chemists from Sweden and Thailand.

Making cell signalling proteins in their native state

The study of cancer causing proteins could now be improved thanks to researchers in Germany who have synthesised fully functional lipid modified K-Ras proteins.

Bacterial light harvesting antennae models

Man-made mimics of light harvesting bacteria antennae are bringing Japanese researchers closer to making photoactive nanodevices.

Surfactant allows separation of hydrophobic molecules

Hydrophobic peptides associated with neurodegenerative conditions could now be separated using a microfluidic device technique that utilizes a common surfactant.