Amino acids are the fundamental building blocks of proteins and play central roles as intermediates in myriad metabolic pathways. In medical biochemistry, they are not only recognised for their ...

Biochemists shed light on the evolution of our 20- amino acid toolbox. The genetic code of life depends mainly on 20 amino acids, which can be arranged in various combinations to form proteins. For ...

It is a truth universally acknowledged in chemical synthesis that a molecule in posession of multiple stereocenters must be difficult to make. But the combined abilities of biochemistry and radical ...

Researchers are building out the repertoire of chemical reactions, using light. They report a method using photobiocatalysis to produce non-canonical (not naturally occurring) amino acids that are ...

The question of how life could have emerged is one of the most long-standing mysteries in science. In a new study, the laboratory of LMU Professor Dieter Braun has uncovered an unexpected form of ...

Everything on Earth is made of atoms, most of which are closely packed together in the form of minerals. Life has its uses for minerals—ask a coral reef—but its essence lies in atoms arranged as ...

The molecular machines that cells use to build proteins are backed by a billion years of evolution. In that time, these machines—ribosomes—have become exceptionally good at forging amide bonds between ...