How mosquito larva guts could help create highly specific insecticides

Did you know that the world’s deadliest animal is the mosquito?

10-Apr-2024 - Aedes aegypti is one of the most dangerous mosquito. This bug spreads viruses that cause dengue fever, which was recently declared as an epidemic in Puerto Rico. Research published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society reports new molecules that label proteins in the unique, alkaline ...

‘Artificial tongue’ detects and inactivates common mouth bacteria

In the future, bacterial dental diseases could also be diagnosed and treated using this sensor system

29-Feb-2024 - From the fuzzy feeling on your teeth to the unfortunate condition of halitosis, bacteria shape mouth health. When dental illnesses take hold, diagnosis and treatment is necessary, but identifying the microorganisms behind an infection can be a lengthy and expensive process. Now, researchers ...

Lighting up Alzheimer’s-related proteins to allow for earlier disease detection

08-Feb-2024 - Many neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, are difficult to diagnose before symptoms begin to appear. However, disease-related biomarkers such as aggregated proteins called amyloids could provide important insight much earlier, if they can be readily detected. ...

AI identifies antimalarial drug as possible osteoporosis treatment

Osteoporotic mice treated with the drug had significantly improved bone density

25-Oct-2023 - Artificial intelligence has exploded in popularity and is being harnessed by some scientists to predict which molecules could treat illnesses, or to quickly screen existing medicines for new applications. Researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have used one such deep learning algorithm, and ...

Obesity treatment could offer dramatic weight loss without surgery or nausea

03-Apr-2023 - Imagine getting the benefits of gastric bypass surgery without going under the knife — a new class of compounds could do just that. In lab animals, these potential treatments reduce weight dramatically and lower blood glucose. The injectable compounds also avoid the side effects of nausea and ...

Triggering bitter taste receptors could someday treat asthma, COPD

Surprisingly, bitter taste receptors are not only located in the mouth, but also elsewhere in the body, including the airways

15-Mar-2023 - Activating those receptors opens up lung passageways, so they’re a potential target for treating asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Now, researchers report in ACS’ Journal of Medicinal Chemistry that they have designed a potent and selective compound that could lead the way ...

Degrading modified proteins could treat Alzheimer’s, other ‘undruggable’ diseases

New technique specifically targets and breaks apart certain proteins — rather than just interfering with them

03-Mar-2023 - Certain diseases, including Alzheimer’s, are currently considered “undruggable” because traditional small molecule drugs can’t interfere with the proteins responsible for the illnesses. But a new technique that specifically targets and breaks apart certain proteins — rather than just interfering ...

Beer hops compounds could help protect against Alzheimer’s disease

09-Nov-2022 - Beer is one of the oldest and most popular beverages in the world, with some people loving and others hating the distinct, bitter taste of the hops used to flavor its many varieties. But an especially “hoppy” brew might have unique health benefits. Recent research published in ACS Chemical ...

Food allergies can be reversed in mice by targeting the microbiome

23-Aug-2022 - Although many people with dietary allergies experience mild symptoms when exposed to triggering foods, some face potentially fatal consequences. A bacterial compound called butyrate that’s made by healthy microbiomes has shown promise against allergic reactions in lab tests, but it’s nasty to ...

New drug candidate fights off more than 300 drug-resistant bacteria

16-Aug-2022 - Urinary tract infections are common, yet are increasingly tough to treat because the bacteria that cause them are becoming resistant to many antibiotics. Now, in ACS Central Science, researchers report a new molecule that inhibits drug-resistant bacteria in lab experiments, as well as in mice ...