At first glance, one person’s blood looks no different from another’s, but appearances can be dangerously deceptive. Early attempts at carrying out blood transfusions in humans were highly unpredictable, often triggering a hazardous and potentially fatal reaction. Examining the underlying cause of such bad blood between people led Karl Landsteiner to discover the existence of…

For natural biological molecules to interact effectively they need to identify that they are at the correct location, and the most effective means for achieving this lies in recognising their partner’s shape and the chemistry of their interaction. The best-known instance of this molecular recognition is the way in which enzymes are shaped exactly to…

The Nobel Prize in Medicine for 2003 rewards the idea that a method used to identify the contents of a test tube could also be used to visualize the contents of our bodies. Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, has emerged as a powerful medical accompaniment to X-rays and CT scans, providing strikingly clear pictures of…

The elevation of the humble mouse to become many scientists’ experimental animal of choice has been one of the scientific phenomena of the last two decades. Today, genetically-altered mice are an essential component of the experimental toolkit, with thousands of varieties contributing to research in laboratories around the world. Their existence stems from discoveries made…

Looking back over the two discoveries rewarded with the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine reveals two different timelines for discovery research. One, Harald zur Hausen’s realization that subtypes of a virus that produces harmless warts can also lead to cervical cancer, took a decade of work to prove, initially against a backdrop of…

Every cell in our bodies contains our entire genome, the blueprint for life, wrapped up within its chromosomes. Each time one of our cells divides to form two new cells, its chromosomes need to be perfectly replicated so that each new cell receives an exact copy of the blueprint. As early as the 1930s, long…

Nowadays, there perhaps doesn’t seem to be anything too remarkable about IVF (in vitro fertilization). With around 4 million babies so far born as a result of the technique, it has become a familiar and, for many, easily-accessible option to turn to when problems are encountered in conceiving a child. The idea of giving new…

Like a successful dinner party, productive chemical reactions depend upon getting the right components to mingle in the right surroundings, and often the best environment for chemistry turns out to be a solid surface. From the cleaning of exhaust fumes in factory chimneys to the reduction of ozone on the outside of ice crystals in…

In biological terms the processes that aid digestion, create vitamins and manufacture plant poisons affecting the heart might seem like being worlds apart, but in terms of their chemistry they show a remarkable degree of similarity. Establishing the chemical connections that lie at the heart of these biological processes can be said to be the…

To artificially create carbon-based compounds relies on outside help to facilitate the many ways in which carbon atoms can join onto each other and other atoms. The tools of the trade are a host of chemicals, or reagents, which take part in reactions that piece together the correct molecules in the correct manner in a…