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Thinking outside the binding site: Drug molecule makes a square peg fit a round hole

A square peg doesn’t fit a round hole. But what if the peg could change the shape of the hole? A newly developed drug molecule can do something surprisingly similar when binding to its target protein, according to a University at Buffalo-led study published Tuesday (Sept. 15) in Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

The molecule, an inhibitor designed to block activity, initially clashed with a flexible loop in the structure of a protein implicated in cancer and known as p38 delta. This clash would normally hinder binding, but it instead caused the loop to change shape and wrap around the molecule, creating an unusually snug fit.

The molecule represented a 12,000-fold improvement in selectivity for p38 delta and was 110-fold more potent than previously available compounds.

Circular Rydberg atoms set three records, staying stable for 11 milliseconds

Rydberg atoms are considered promising building blocks for quantum computers and their precursors, quantum simulators. Researchers at the 5th Institute of Physics of the University of Stuttgart have achieved record values for the lifetime, size, and storage time of circular Rydberg atoms, a special form of Rydberg atom in which electrons move in a stable circular orbit around the nucleus. The findings were published in Nature Communications.

Quantum simulators replicate quantum systems for research purposes and are the precursors to future quantum computers. “One major challenge in developing high-performance quantum simulators was that Rydberg atoms are highly sensitive and remain stable for only a short time. We overcame this challenge and increased the stability of the atoms by a factor of 20,” says Professor Dr. Tilman Pfau, head of the 5th Institute of Physics.

Rydberg atoms are important building blocks for neutral-atom quantum technologies, which use neutral (i.e., uncharged) atoms that can be trapped and controlled with laser light. They are several thousand times larger than ordinary atoms and can therefore interact with one another over unusually long distances of about 5 µm. Although this is only about one-tenth the thickness of a human hair, it is a huge distance in the tiny world of atoms.

Webb measures extreme gas outflows from distant ‘dead’ galaxies

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have measured the most powerful gas outflow ever recorded from a “dead” galaxy outside our cosmic neighborhood and found that even outflows this extreme may not be enough to permanently shut down star formation.

Studying 23 massive, quiescent galaxies from roughly 11–13 billion years ago, researchers traced neutral gas being blown outward using a specific absorption signature in their light, detecting outflows in many of them. Their paper was published in Astronomy & Astrophysics on Aug. 14.

Compact optical screen could pave the way for cheaper infrared cameras

New research led by the ARC Center of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems (TMOS) at the University of Melbourne demonstrates a new way to make invisible infrared light visible without relying on the expensive detector technology used in today’s infrared cameras.

Infrared is a type of light our eyes can’t see, but it carries information about heat and objects in the environment. It is widely used for environmental monitoring, industrial inspection, medicine and security.

However, technologies such as infrared cameras remain expensive because they rely on specialized detectors that are costly to manufacture and often require cooling.

Bacterial invasion proteins could improve detection of live crop pathogens

Scientists, clinicians, seed companies and others may soon have a new tool in their toolkit for detecting bacterial pathogens, thanks to a new study by researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. The research—published in Journal of Microbiological Methods—details a new method for detecting Pseudomonas syringae, a common bacterium that infects a wide variety of crops, vegetables and woody ornamentals.

The cost is similar to that of the traditional method, called enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, or ELISA. However, the researchers’ new method—called enzyme-linked chaperone assay, or ELCA—has the potential to detect only living bacteria, making it more sensitive and accurate.

Rachel Herschlag, lead author on the paper who earned her doctorate in plant pathology at Penn State, said the study is a proof of concept, with an opportunity in the future to adapt the method for detecting other pathogens.

Snow, monsoons and oceans shift Earth’s center of mass each year, satellite tracking shows

Seasonal changes redistribute enough water around Earth to shift the planet’s center of mass back and forth by fractions of an inch relative to its geometric center. NASA scientists are on the case, tracking the oscillations because Earth’s center of mass is a crucial reference point for satellite navigation and elevation measurements.

A team led by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California has proposed a way to calculate the seasonal swings with extreme precision. The technique and findings are detailed in a new study published in Geophysical Journal International. The authors paint a vivid picture of springtime thaws, churning oceans and dense winter air shifting massive surface loads from season to season.

The study isn’t the first attempt to pin down Earth’s center of mass. Scientists over the decades have pioneered several space-based techniques to define and locate it. But it’s a moving goalpost. If Earth were a hard blue marble, its center of mass would simply overlap its geometric center. In reality, the planet is sloshing and sagging under the weight of water, ice and air. Because of this, Earth’s center of mass continually swivels around its geometric center by as much as several millimeters.

Two DNA Molecules Should Repel. Instead, They “Zip” Together

Scientists have revealed how tiny metal ions help DNA molecules overcome electrical repulsion and “zip” together with striking precision.

DNA molecules carry the same negative charge, so they would normally be expected to push apart. Inside living cells, however, DNA must sometimes come together for processes such as genetic recombination, gene silencing and cancer development.

Researchers have now observed how that pairing can happen with striking precision. Using high-powered atomic force microscopy, the team watched short DNA fragments align groove for groove. Computer simulations then showed that positively charged metal ions can settle into those grooves and act as tiny molecular bridges that help hold the two DNA molecules together.

Harvard Scientists Use Tiny Sound Waves To Protect Quantum Information

The same tiny vibrations that carry quantum information across a chip could also keep that information from fading away.

Quantum technologies face a persistent problem: qubits are extraordinarily sensitive to disturbances from their surroundings. Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have now protected a qubit using mechanical vibrations, essentially sound waves at the quantum scale.

The advance came from the laboratory of Marko Lončar, Tiantsai Lin Professor of Electrical Engineering. It could help make quantum networks smaller, reduce interference between components, and connect different kinds of qubits within a single hybrid system.

Silver Nanocatalysts Have a Surprising Double Life

Tiny silver catalysts work differently when solid oxide cells generate electricity and when they produce hydrogen, revealing a potential route to more efficient clean energy systems.

Solid oxide cells can generate electricity or use electricity to split water and produce hydrogen. Silver nanocatalysts, tiny silver particles that speed up chemical reactions, can improve their performance in both modes. Researchers have now discovered for the first time that the particles’ main reaction site changes depending on which task the cell is performing.

The distinction lies at the air electrode, where the cells exchange oxygen with their surroundings. During electricity generation, silver primarily promotes oxygen reactions along the boundary where each particle meets the electrode. During hydrogen production, the silver particle’s own surface becomes the main reaction site.

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