In a previous blog, we mentioned proteins are essentially micromachines that perform specialized functions necessary for life. Enzymes are one of these specialized machines, tasked with accelerating chemical reactions in order to keep up with the metabolism of an organism. In this sense, enzymes are biological catalysts, they act on…

In a previous blog post, we talked about Molecular Dynamics Simulations (MDS) and their role in the biotechnology industry, such as structure-based drug design. MDS are the closest thing we have to replicate the flexibility and conformational changes proteins (as well as other molecules) undergo when performing their function, such…

Intelligence All the Way Down We typically think of the brain as the seat of intelligence, and, well, we typically think this thought with the brain as well. The human brain has been described by some as “the most complex thing in the universe,” although that should be taken with a grain of salt as…

Predicting a protein’s structure and function from only its sequence is one of one of the most significant problems in modern computational biology. This “protein folding problem”, as it is known, has been in the news recently with DeepMind’s groundbreaking AlphaFold2 results at CASP14. This progress comes after decades of…

Visiting the grocery store to pick up fresh fruit and vegetables is an uneventful — even bothersome — part of our day. This is especially true for those of us in the United States where these items have long been plentiful. There are even times we treat ourselves to the…

Once thought to be science fiction, DNA cloning has become a routine practice in protein research labs. Since the production of proteins for scientific study is a fairly difficult and pricey process, DNA cloning using a unique strain of E. coli allows for targeted protein production using the bacteria’s already…

This month, last year, COVID-19 was declared a national emergency in the United States. At that time, it seemed improbable that a vaccine would be developed and approved for use by the end of the year. When the improbable happened, there was no doubting it as our favorite scientific breakthrough…

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the U.S. has approved two vaccines for the SARS-CoV-2 virus (responsible for COVID-19) and countries around the world have begun vaccinating their populations. This means the pandemic finally has an end in sight! Once you’ve been vaccinated, however, it doesn’t mean you can…

If you haven’t yet, check out our countdown of the Macromoltek team’s top 9 favorite scientific breakthroughs of 2020 here. Our top pick is: 01. The Development and Approval of The SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccine Without a doubt, everyone in the world was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Scientists in academia and industry changed gears on the spot to tackle this…