Hemoglobin-like protein absorbs carbon monoxide from the blood Promising antidote: Carbon monoxide poisoning can be fatal – and so far, it can only be treated in hyperbaric chambers. But a newly developed protein could help treat CO poisoning more easily, quickly, and effectively. The new designer protein is based on a bacterial model, resembles our blood hemoglobin, and, unlike previous approaches, has no side effects. The natural protein RcoM served as a template for the de

Folding helpers organize themselves into specialized units in our cells Piecework: Biologists have discovered that small factories exist in our cells where amino acid chains are folded into functional proteins like an assembly line. According to the researchers, the already known helper proteins, which transform the newly produced proteins into their 3D form, are organized into previously unknown specialized units: droplet-like condensates. If these "factories" are missing, t

How "normal" medications pave the way for pathogens Unexpectedly common side effect: Not only antibiotics, but also a surprisingly large number of other classes of active ingredients weaken our intestinal flora and thus the natural protective function of the intestine. As a result, pathogenic bacteria such as salmonella can more easily colonize there, as researchers report in "Nature." These side effects of common medications have so far been overlooked, but should be taken i

Antibody drug against Alzheimer's now also available in Europe How Lecanemab works against dementia and who is eligible for it Hope for Alzheimer's patients: Earlier this week, the European Commission approved the first antibody drug for the treatment of Alzheimer's in Europe. The active ingredient, lecanemab, can slow the progression of the disease in some early-stage Alzheimer's patients, but cannot cure or stop it. Early diagnosis of the first symptoms of dementia remains

Demis Hassabis and John Jumper, the 2024 Nobel Prize laureates in chemistry, have developed an AI model to solve a 50-year-old problem: predicting proteins’ complex structures.In 2020, Hassabis and Jumper presented an AI model called AlphaFold2. With its help, they have been able to predict the structure of virtually all the 200 million proteins that researchers have identified. Since their breakthrough, AlphaFold2 has been used by more than two million people from 190 count