Molecule

India's top Chemistry expert creates magic with gels

Gardening is Dr Ajayaghosh's hobby, a getaway when he is not doing what he's best at which is working with molecules. ...  

Key molecule behind Alzheimer's disease identified

Toronto: Canadian researchers have identified a key molecule that controls a scissor-like protein responsible for sprouting of plaques -- the telltale sign of Alzheimer's disease. Molecule GSK3-beta activates a gene that creates a protein, called BACE1. When BACE1 cuts another protein, called amyloid precursor protein (APP), the resulting fragment - known as amyloid beta - forms tiny fibres that clump together into plaques, eventually killing neural (brain) cells. Using an...  

From IIT-M, nano-scale device to detect big explosives

Chennai: Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, (IIT-M) have developed a novel device that can visually detect even a single molecule of TNT used in the making of powerful explosives. Apart from national security, this ultra-sensitive and highly selective detection method will have applications in early identification of diseases and in radiation prevention, the IIT researchers claim. Chemistry professor Thalappil Pradeep and his students Ammu Mathew and P.R....  

Breast cancers 'can be blocked'

London: In a major breakthrough, an Indian- norigin scientist-led team has discovered a molecule which it claims can block the development and spread of breast cancer. Prof Shankar Balasubramanian and colleagues at Cancer Research UK's Cambridge Research Institute says the naturally occurring molecule -- thiostrepton -- "clamps" on to a cancer -causing protein called FOXM1, preventing it from working. The scientists say that one of the main challenges is to...  

In a decade, you can eat what you want!

The world may be able to get rid of the fear of food allergies in 10 years if the right vaccine is created. ...