A photo of a Pfizer facility in Italy. (Image Source: Dr. János Korom, Wikimedia Commons) On November 5th, 2021, Pfizer announced that it would seek FDA approval for its new drug, called Paxlovid. It is given to those with an active case of COVID-19 and has been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization and …
The Biochemistry and Broad Utility of Pfizer’s New COVID-19 Drug: Paxlovid Read More »
Lead Author: Jillian Troth1 Co-Authors (alphabetical order): Roxanna Attar2, Julia Gainski3, Vincent Lai4, Grace Lee5, Callie Moody1, Megan Nelson6 1Dartmouth College, 2University of Texas at Austin, 3University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 4Rice University, 5Williams College, 6Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University Cover Image: A fluorescently-stained image of a three-dimensional culture of human breast cancer cells. …
Considering the Microbiota-Gut-Brain-Axis in Cancer Research Read More »
Lead Authors: Dina Rabadi1, Sarah Matatov2 Co-Authors: Carolina Guerrero1, Nina Klee1,Whitney Nicanor Mabwi3, Bamlak Messay1, Yu Quan Ng4, Melanie Prakash1, Andrew Sasser1, Jillian Troth1 Dartmouth College1, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign2, Moi University3, Williams College4 Cover Figure: A clipboard surrounded by various drugs and delivery methods to treat cancer, showing the vast options and challenges …
Executive Board Advisor: Nishi Jain Co-Authors: Daniela Galvez-Cepeda, Katherine Faulkner, Sonia Fung, Alexandra McOsker, Sarah Matatov, Arooba Ahmed, Lina Lew, Maria Clara Trajano, Sreya Roy, Carolina Guerrero, Anahita Kodali, Maeen Arslan, Aadhishre Kasat Figure 1: UV Spectroscopy is a powerful tool that’s emerging in a wide array of academic labs to characterize molecules, chemical compounds, …
UV-Vis Spectroscopy: A Step in the Light Direction Read More »
Executive Board Advisor: Nishi Jain Co-Authors: Vivek Babu, Collins Kariuki, Carolina Guerrero, Alex MckOsker, Daniela Galvez-Cepeda, Anahita Kodali, Sonia Fung, Maeen Arslan Figure 1:PCR is a widely used technique that was developed in the 1970s to replicate DNA for experimental purposes Source: Pixabay DNA has long been an enigma, evading the understanding of scientists for …
Figure 1: Two enantiomers of an amino acid. These molecules are non-superimposable mirror images of one another, in the same way human hands are. Because enantiomers can have different physiological effects, chemists have been greatly interested in designing pathways to selectively produce a desired enantiomer Source: Wikimedia Commons Introduction: During the development of new synthetic …
Super Selective Synthesis: The Evolution of Enantioselective Methods Read More »
Figure 1: A negative stain transmission electron micrograph of Influenza virions Source: Wikimedia Commons Researchers at the University of Manchester have developed a new sugar-based virucidal medicine that is effective against a broad array of viruses (Jones et al., 2020). Cyclodextrins (also called CDs) are non-toxic cyclic glucose oligosaccharides produced as a result of starch …
A Spoonful of (Modified) Sugar as an Antiviral Medicine Read More »
Figure 1: One of the few things that we know about it, einsteinium has a strong luminescence because of its highly radioactive nature. Many of its other physical and chemical properties remain unknown due to its rarity Source: Wikimedia Commons In studying the chemical properties of transition metals many properties such as the placement of …
Unusual Chemistry of the Rare Element Einsteinium Read More »
Figure 1: The image on the left displays a standard N-nucleoside, one of the naturally occurring building blocks of RNA. The image on the right depicts the far more biochemically useful C-nucleoside. Since the C-nucleoside is so desirable, scientists have been researching ways to synthesize these molecules efficiently Source: Wikimedia Commons The COVID-19 pandemic has …
Researchers produce important RNA subunit using a biocatalyst for the first time Read More »
Figure 1: As Alzheimer’s disease research begins to shift away from longstanding hypotheses, new avenues for diagnosis and treatment are emerging—a number of which converge on the endogenous signaling molecule nitric oxide Source: Image Created by Audrey Herrald, 2020 Ever since Alois Alzheimer first identified the “peculiar severe disease process of the cerebral cortex” that …
There’s NO Telling What Nitric Oxide Might Bring to Alzheimer’s Disease Research Read More »