Molecular Awards

  In a groundbreaking advancement at the intersection of molecular biology and information science, researchers have unveiled a recursive enzymatic competition network capable of multitask molecular information processing. This novel system challenges conventional boundaries in biochemistry by demonstrating how enzyme networks can be orchestrated to perform complex computational tasks typically reserved for electronic devices and synthetic circuits. The study published in Nature Chemistry presents a transformative perspective on biological computation, revealing an elegant synthesis of enzymatic activity and information processing that could revolutionize future biotechnologies. The heart of this study lies in the meticulous design and assembly of a molecular network wherein enzymes engage in competitive interactions that recursively control chemical outputs. These enzymatic circuits are not static; rather, they dynamically adapt and process multiple molecular inputs simultaneously...

  Infrared vibrational spectroscopy has long been a powerful tool in biological imaging, promising detailed molecular insights without inflicting any damage on the sample. Now, an exciting leap forward has emerged from a collaboration between Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and Humboldt University Berlin, employing this technology to explore living animal cells in their native liquid environments with unprecedented nanoscale resolution. This advancement leverages the infrared scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscope, or s-SNOM, integrated with the brilliance of the IRIS beamline at the BESSY II synchrotron source, inaugurating a new era of molecular imaging that combines spatial precision and biological relevance. Understanding molecular compositions inside living cells has always been a complex task. Traditional infrared spectroscopy, while sensitive to molecular vibrations, suffers from limited spatial resolution and difficulty in analyzing samples in their native, o...