The vast majority of the things we see, touch and use in our everyday lives are derived from petroleum, which provides the chemical building blocks for countless consumer staples. We have, however, ...

The basic molecules that make up all living things have a predetermined chirality or "handedness," similar to the way people are right or left handed. This chirality has a profound influence on the ...

WOULD YOU like the vanilla in your custard to come from a field of lovely orchids or a barrel of wood pulp? The second option may not seem as appetising, but synthetic vanillin, as vanilla’s ...

The creation of such an assembly line at molecular level has been a long-held dream of many nanoscientists. “It would enable us to assemble new complex substances or materials for specific ...

Our biological clock regulates various daily rhythms, such as sleep/wake rhythm, body temperature, and metabolism. Disruption of the circadian rhythm may lead to sleep disorders, cancer and other ...

Researchers have developed a method for identifying small molecules that bind metal ions. Metal ions are essential in biology. But identifying which molecules—and especially which small ...

Certain biological molecules are able to move in a “quasi-mechanical” way, and these can be considered to be molecular machines. These are seen in many natural processes, and from this, ...

Love them or hate them, leftovers are a near-inevitability of the holiday season. That’s especially true if you’re gathering with a lot of loved ones who are all bringing their own dishes to the table ...

The Department of Biological Sciences treats the life sciences in all their breadth and diversity, including the study of molecules, cells, whole organisms, ecosystems, plants, animals and ...