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The body uses protein-based molecular motors to perform functions essential to life. Now, researchers have created ‘The Lawnmower,’ the first synthetic motor modeled on those found in nature that propels itself by harnessing the energy it creates as it cuts through fields of proteins. It could transform our treatment of a range of diseases.Continue ReadingCategory: ScienceTags: Molecules, Molecular machines, Protein, Simon Fraser University, molecular...

Whether it was in your shoelaces or earbud cables, we’ve all accidentally tied knots that we can’t untangle – but we don’t expect to win any world records with them. Now scientists have done exactly that, accidentally tying the world’s smallest and tightest knot in a tiny structure made of just 54 atoms.Continue ReadingCategory: ScienceTags: World's Smallest, Mathematics, Chemistry, molecular biology, Atoms, Chinese Academy...

For the first time, scientists have uncovered the precise molecular mechanism that gives the tardigrade, one of the toughest organisms on the planet, its rare ability to switch on a near-invincibility cloak when faced with extreme stress.Continue ReadingCategory: Biology, ScienceTags: University of North Carolina, Stress, molecular biology

Scientists have discovered that a genetic mutation that triggers a molecular domino effect causing hearing loss mirrors the mechanism involved in noise- and age-related hearing loss. They believe that inhibiting the key player in this mechanism could instead protect all ears from damage and even prevent deafness.Continue ReadingCategory: Medical, ScienceTags: University of California San Francisco, Hearing Impaired, Hearing Protection, Age-Related, Deaf, Cochlear, molecular biology