An overview of the latest trend report published annually in Nachrichten aus der Chemie, the GDCh magazine

2010 Trends in Biochemistry

Selenocyanate Contamination by Algae
Discovery that algae can produce the industrial contaminant selenocyanate could have implications for water monitoring

Quick Test for Stem Cells
New diagnostic test enables accurate and rapid assessment of the quality of pluripotent stem cell lines

Proteins: Food or Fuel?
Using proteins as a carbon source for energy production and biorefining could be possible with engineered microbial cells

Sweet Tasting Cells
Understanding how taste cells respond to sugar could eventually lead to ways to treat overconsumption and perhaps obesity

Tuned Enzymes for Feedstock Production
Extra guest molecule in an enzyme’s binding pocket enables methanol production from methane

Regulating Growth Without Toxicity
New growth inhibitors shown to be more effective in plants and less toxic to humans and the environment

Angewandte Chemie 11/2011: Functional and Suitable
An overview of the latest issue of Angewandte Chemie

From Heterotaxia to Cancer Treatment
Chemical that causes intestinal birth defects could lead to a way to prevent cancer metastasis

Viruses: Trapped and Deactivated
Artificial cells that lure and trap henipaviruses shown to prevent infection and offer a new way to study infections