Chemistry
Ribonucleic acid (RNA) – the biomolecule which can do it all
Sidney Altman and Thomas Cech have independently studied how the genetic code is transferred from DNA to RNA. They knew, however, that part of the genetic information is not required and must be removed from RNA before the RNA molecule can be utilized by the cell. While searching for the catalysts of RNA maturation, Altman…
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Organic synthesis
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2005 Carbon compounds of different shapes and sizes build up all life on earth, but they can also be produced artificially. This is called organic synthesis and is central in chemistry. Here molecules are tailored and built in the service of mankind. The…
moreHow does a chiral molecule function?
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2001 The substances used as the starting point for these syntheses are in general not chiral. The trick is to make the product chiral. This is done using a chiral catalyst molecule. Suppose we compare this molecule with a left hand. A…
moreThe RNA world
Article
The RNA world by Sidney Altman1989 Nobel Prize laureate in chemistry The phrase “The RNA World” was coined by in 1986 in a commentary on the then recent observations of the catalytic properties of various RNAs. The RNA World referred to an hypothetical stage in the origin of life on Earth. During this stage, proteins…
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Press release
Press release
17 October 1978 has decided to award the 1978 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Dr Peter Mitchell, Glynn Research Laboratories, Bodmin, Cornwall, UK, for his contribution to the understanding of biological energy transfer through the formulation of the chemiosmotic theory. NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY FOR BIOLOGICAL ENERGY TRANSFER Mitchell’s research has been carried out within…
moreSpeed read: A Helping Hand
Speed read
Most chemicals that have an important role in biology exist as a pair of almost identical twins. These twins, called chiral enantiomers, contain exactly the same atoms, but they appear as mirror images that do not fit on top of each other, like placing your left hand on top of your right hand. Such a…
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