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2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry Awards Groundbreaking Cell Research

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Danzig

Two U.S. scientists have won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for discovering a primary way the billions of cells in the body sense their environment, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced today (Oct. 10).

In groundbreaking research, Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka figured out the inner workings of so-called G-proteincoupled receptors (GPCRs). These receptors, or tiny sensors on cells, interact with the fight-or-flight hormone adrenalin (also called epinephrine), dopamine, serotonin, light, flavor and odor.

In fact, in times of stress, a type of GPCR mediates the many effects of adrenaline, including dilation of pupils, constriction of blood vessels and heart-rate increase.

"The work of Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka has helped us to understand more fullyhow our cells react to external influences such as the hormone adrenalin," Martyn Poliakoff, foreign secretary and vice president of the Royal Society, said in a statement.

"Understanding how our bodies prepare for fight or flight is just one of the applications of their work, which has also opened the door for a wide range of new, more effective drug treatments with fewer side effects," Poliakoff added.

These receptors mediate the effects of about half of all medicines, including beta-blockers, antihistamines and several psychiatric medications. GCPRs are also quite complex, and so trying to image one of them seemed an elusive goal.

In 2011, Kobilka his research team did just that, capturing an image of one GCPR called -adrenergic receptor (it binds with the hormone adrenaline) just as it was activated by the hormone and sending a signal into the cell. "This image is a molecular masterpiece the result of decades of research," according to a statement on the Nobel Prize website. [In Photos: Nobel Prize Winners 2012]

When the Royal Society called to let Kobilka know of his award it was the middle of the night for him in California he missed it. Luckily, they called again, but even then Kobilka thought it was a prank. "I thought it was some friends initially. But I don't have friends with a really good Swedish accent so then I started believing it," he said during an interview with the Nobel Prize website.

Kobilka, of Stanford University School of Medicine, and Lefkowitz, of Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Duke University Medical Center, will receive their Nobel Prizes on Dec. 10.

The Nobel Prizes in physiology or medicine and in physics were announced Monday (Oct. 8) and Tuesday (Oct. 9), respectively; the Nobels in Literature and in Peace will be announced Thursday and Friday, respectively, with the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences to be announced Monday, Oct. 15.

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2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry Awards Groundbreaking Cell Research

US pair share chemistry Nobel for cell receptors

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Danzig

Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka of the United States won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry on Wednesday for identifying a class of cell receptor, yielding vital insights into how the body works at the molecular level.

The big beneficiary of this fundamental work is medicine, the Nobel committee declared.

The pair were honoured for discovering a key component of cells called G-protein-coupled receptors and mapping how they work.

The receptors stud the surface of cells, sensitising them to light, flavour, smells and body chemicals such as adrenaline and enabling cells to communicate with each other.

About a thousand of these kinds of receptor are known to exist throughout the body. They are essential not just for physiological processes but also for response to drugs.

"About half of all medications achieve their effect through G-protein-coupled receptors," the Nobel jury said.

Understanding the receptors provides the tools for "better drugs with fewer side effects," Nobel committee member Sven Lidin said.

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are known to influence everything from sight, smell and taste to blood pressure, pain tolerance and metabolism.

They tell the inside of cells about conditions on the outside of their protective plasma membranes, to which the cells can form a response -- communicating with each other and with the surrounding environment.

This explains how cardiac cells know to raise the heart rate when we are startled, for example.

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US pair share chemistry Nobel for cell receptors

Finley says chemistry still an issue

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Danzig

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The relationship between Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and tight end Jermichael Finley frequently boils down to one word: chemistry.

In Finley's mind, chemistry between the two is often directly related to his personal statistics and those of the offense as a whole. With Green Bay's 2-3 record and an offense ranked 21st in the NFL in total yards and 18th in scoring, Finley believes his chemistry with Rodgers has a ways to go.

"It's OK," Finley said Wednesday. "Not good enough at all. Something to be worked on, and try to work on it as much as I can, try to talk to him as much as I can, but like I said, it takes two people."

Finley dislocated the AC joint in his right shoulder in Sunday's loss to the Colts, but he is still hoping to play this weekend when the Packers are in his home state to face the undefeated Houston Texans.

Considering that he'll be playing injured if he's cleared for the game, Finley was asked whether he can take his game to the level he wants with his shoulder the way it is.

"I can, (but) it takes two people to do that," Finley said. "And I need the quarterback on my side, and I need to catch the ball when he throws it to me. So it takes two things to get that going, the chemistry. I feel we need to get that going."

This is far from the first time Finley has raised the issue of chemistry between he and the reigning NFL MVP.

"I'm not blaming it on my offseason, but me and the QB didn't have chemistry," Finley said on June 1 following Green Bay's first OTA practice. "The routes were off sometimes, and that'll mess with your head when the ball comes."

Later in that same interview, Finley added: "I couldn't get the chemistry with the QB."

Finley, who signed a two-year, $15 million extension this offseason, is on pace for 134 fewer receiving yards than a year ago. Through five games, Finley has 22 catches for 198 yards with one touchdown and one fumble. According to ProFootballFocus.com, Finley also has five drops this season.

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Finley says chemistry still an issue

The 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Danzig

The 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded jointly to Robert J. Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka for studies of G-protein-coupled receptors, which are the portals by which information about the environment reaches the interior of cells and leads to their responses. About half of all drugs work by interacting with G-protein-coupled receptors

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The official Nobel Prize press release:

10 October 2012

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2012 to

Robert J. Lefkowitz Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

and

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The 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Two Americans get chemistry Nobel for elucidating cellular receptors

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Danzig

Two Americans are sharing this years Nobel Prize in chemistry for helping reveal the way that many hormones and neurotransmitters and hundreds of drugs communicate with the interior of cells.

The winners, Robert J. Lefkowitz, 69, of Duke University and Brian K. Kobilka, 57, of Stanford University, were teacher and student. Both are physicians and neither has a doctorate in chemistry.

Their research, conducted over four decades, has elucidated the workings of G-protein-coupled receptors, a family with about 1,000 varieties that are involved in everything from sight and smell to the regulation of pain and heart rate.

More than one-third of all drugs on the market including beta blockers, antihistamines and opioid painkillers operate through G-protein-coupled receptors. Work in the past few years that reveals receptor structure in atomic detail may eventually lead to drugs with more precise action and fewer side effects.

In making the announcement, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the pair had made groundbreaking discoveries and called Kobilkas success last year in crystallizing a receptor at the moment it is being activated a molecular masterpiece. The two will share about $1.2 million.

With its insights both crucial to understanding cell biology and highly useful to clinical medicine, a Nobel for this field had long been predicted.

This could have been a prize in physiology or medicine, but its the chemical nature of the changes [driven by the receptors] that is being recognized here, said Bassam Shakhashiri, president of the American Chemical Society and a professor at the University of Wisconsin.

At a news conference, Lefkowitz said he and Kobilka couldnt be more different. Lefkowitz is a voluble, Bronx-accented New Yorker; Kobilka is a taciturn, small-town Minnesotan. Lefkowitz said the two had talked by Skype earlier in the day, and Lefkowitz had said Kobilkas recent work is maybe what pushed this over the line into prize-winning territory. Kobilka demurred and said Lefkowitzs work is what made his achievement possible.

What little was said was really very moving, he told the news conference, his voice catching.

Lefkowitzs research has been supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, based in Chevy Chase, since 1976 longer than any other of the institutes fellows, he said.

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Two Americans get chemistry Nobel for elucidating cellular receptors

Americans win Nobel prize for chemistry

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Danzig

STOCKHOLM Americans Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka won the 2012 Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday for studies of protein receptors that let body cells sense and respond to outside signals. Such studies are key for developing better drugs.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the two researchers had made groundbreaking discoveries on an important family of receptors, known as G-protein-coupled receptors.

About half of all medications act on these receptors, so learning about them will help scientists to come up with better drugs.

The human body has about 1,000 kinds of such receptors, which let it respond to a wide variety of chemical signals, like adrenaline. Some receptors are in the nose, tongue and eyes, and let us sense smells, tastes and vision.

Lefkowitz, 69, is an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and professor at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. Kobilka, 57, is a professor at Stanford University School of Medicine in California.

'My wife gave me an elbow' "I'm feeling very, very excited," Lefkowitz told a news conference in Stockholm by phone.

He said he was fast asleep when the Nobel committee called.

"I did not hear it ... I wear earplugs, so my wife gave me an elbow," he said. "And there it was. ... It was a total shock and surprise."

Lefktowitz said he had no clue that he was being considered for the Nobel Prize, though he added it has always been "a bit of a fantasy" to receive the award.

Kobilka said he found out around 2:30 a.m., after the Nobel committee called his home twice. He said he didn't get to the phone the first time, but that when he picked up the second time, he spoke to five members of the committee.

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Americans win Nobel prize for chemistry

Chemistry Nobel Goes To Scientists Who Studied Body's Receptors

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Danzig

Americans Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka have been awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their "groundbreaking discoveries" about the "fine-tuned system of interactions between billions of cells" in the human body, the Nobel Prize committee announced this morning.

This year's winners of the Chemistry Nobel: Robert Lefkowitz (left) and Brian Kobilka.

On Morning Edition, NPR's Nell Greenfieldboyce said the scientists' work has been "hugely important" because as they have unraveled the structure of the body's "G-protein-coupled receptors," that has helped researchers see the receptors in action. And because "about half of all pharmaceuticals act on receptors," understanding how they work is important when treating diseases.

According to the Nobel committee:

"For a long time, it remained a mystery how cells could sense their environment. Scientists knew that hormones such as adrenalin had powerful effects: increasing blood pressure and making the heart beat faster. They suspected that cell surfaces contained some kind of recipient for hormones. But what these receptors actually consisted of and how they worked remained obscured for most of the 20th Century.

"Lefkowitz started to use radioactivity in 1968 in order to trace cells' receptors. He attached an iodine isotope to various hormones, and thanks to the radiation, he managed to unveil several receptors, among those a receptor for adrenalin: -adrenergic receptor. His team of researchers extracted the receptor from its hiding place in the cell wall and gained an initial understanding of how it works.

"The team achieved its next big step during the 1980s. The newly recruited Kobilka accepted the challenge to isolate the gene that codes for the -adrenergic receptor from the gigantic human genome. His creative approach allowed him to attain his goal. When the researchers analyzed the gene, they discovered that the receptor was similar to one in the eye that captures light. They realized that there is a whole family of receptors that look alike and function in the same manner.

"Today this family is referred to as G-proteincoupled receptors. About a thousand genes code for such receptors, for example, for light, flavour, odour, adrenalin, histamine, dopamine and serotonin. About half of all medications achieve their effect through G-proteincoupled receptors.

"The studies by Lefkowitz and Kobilka are crucial for understanding how G-proteincoupled receptors function. Furthermore, in 2011, Kobilka achieved another break-through; he and his research team captured an image of the -adrenergic receptor at the exact moment that it is activated by a hormone and sends a signal into the cell. This image is a molecular masterpiece the result of decades of research."

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Chemistry Nobel Goes To Scientists Who Studied Body's Receptors

Chemistry Nobel could lead to drugs with fewer side effects

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Danzig

The US scientists who received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry were able to map how cells detect and respond to chemicals they encounter.

Two US researchers have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for uncovering and mapping a key mechanism used by cells to detect and respond to the presence of hormones and other chemicals they encounter, a mechanism seen as vital to the pharmaceutical industrys development of new drugs.

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The prize, which carries an 8 million krona ($1.2 million US) purse, was given to Robert Lefkowitz of Duke University in Durham, N.C., and the Maryland-based Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and to Brian Kobilka of Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.

The two were awarded for work on a family of proteins embedded in cell walls that detect the presence of a hormone such as adrenaline outside a cell, then conduct that information through the cell wall to a protein switch inside that touches off a cell's response.

The cellular sensors, dubbed G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), help coordinate "an orchestrated response from billions of individual cells that make up our bodies" as the cells respond to an outside stimulus, said Sven Lindin, chairman of the committee awarding the chemistry prize. One such stimulus: the startling, raucous appearance of a ghoul at a Halloween haunted house.

The receptors have become prime targets for new drugs to treat a range of diseases, he added at a press conference on Wednesday announcing the award. By some estimates, roughly half of all the drugs used today rely on GCPRs as pathways for affecting the cells of interest. Armed with a knowledge of the receptor molecule's unique pattern of folds when it's triggered, he adds, pharmaceutical companies are working to develop new drugs that have fewer side effects.

The notion that cells must have some mechanism for sensing their environment emerged toward the end of the 1800s, researchers say, but no one succeeded in identifying the sensors cells use.

Indeed, "when I started doing my work 40 years ago, there was still huge skepticism as to whether things like receptors really existed even from some people who were central in pharmacology," said Dr. Lefkowitz in an interview for Nobel.org.

Factbox: A look at the Nobel Chemistry Prize

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Danzig

(Reuters) - Here is a look at the 2012 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, which was awarded on Wednesday to Americans Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka for "for studies of G-protein-coupled receptors".

The 2012 prize was awarded for having mapped how a family of receptors called G-protein- coupled receptors (GPCRs) work. In this family, there are receptors for adrenalin, dopamine, serotonin, light, flavor and odor. Most physiological processes depend on GPCRs. Around half of all medications act through these receptors, among them beta blockers, antihistamines and various kinds of psychiatric medications.

103 Nobel Prizes in Chemistry have been awarded to 160 laureates from 1901-2011. Frederick Sanger won the prize twice.

Only four are women. Two of the four, Marie Curie and Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, won unshared Chemistry Prizes.

Some Famous Winners: The Curies were the most successful "Nobel Prize family". The husband-and-wife partnership of Marie Curie and Pierre Curie were awarded the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics. Marie Curie herself won the 1911 chemistry prize. Their daughter Irne Joliot-Curie was awarded the 1935 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, together with her husband, Frdric Joliot.

Adolf Hitler forbade two German winners from receiving the prize, Richard Kuhn in 1938 and Adolf Butenandt in 1939.

Sources: Reuters, http://nobelprize.org. Chambers Biographical Dictionary.

(Reporting by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit)

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Factbox: A look at the Nobel Chemistry Prize

2 US scientists win Nobel chemistry prize

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Danzig

STOCKHOLM (AP) Americans Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka won the 2012 Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for studies of protein receptors that let body cells sense and respond to outside signals. Such studies are key for developing better drugs.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the two researchers had made groundbreaking discoveries, mainly in the 1980s, on an important family of receptors, known as G-protein-coupled receptors.

About half of all medications act on these receptors, so learning about them will help scientists to come up with better drugs.

The human body has about 1,000 kinds of such receptors, structures on the surface of cells, which let the body respond to a wide variety of chemical signals, like adrenaline. Some receptors are in the nose, tongue and eyes, and let us sense smells, tastes and light.

Lefkowitz, 69, is an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and professor at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina.

Kobilka, 57, is a professor at Stanford University School of Medicine in California.

Lefkowitz said he was fast asleep when the Nobel committee called, but he didn't hear it because he was wearing ear plugs. So his wife picked up the phone.

"She said, 'There's a call here for you from Stockholm,'" Lefkowitz told The Associated Press. "I knew they ain't calling to find out what the weather is like in Durham today."

He said he didn't have an "inkling" that he was being considered for the Nobel Prize.

"Initially, I expected I'd have this huge burst of excitement. But I didn't. I was comfortably numb," Lefkowitz said.

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2 US scientists win Nobel chemistry prize

Cell receptor research wins Americans chemistry Nobel

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Danzig

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Two American scientists won the 2012 Nobel Prize for chemistry on Wednesday for research into how cells respond to external stimuli that is helping to develop better drugs to fight diseases such as diabetes, cancer and depression.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the 8 million crown ($1.2 million) prize went to Robert Lefkowitz, 69, and Brian Kobilka, 57, for discovering the inner workings of G-protein-coupled receptors, which allow cells to respond to chemical messages such as adrenaline rushes.

"Around half of all medications act through these receptors, among them beta blockers, antihistamines and various kinds of psychiatric medications," the committee said.

Working out better ways to target the receptors, known as GPCRs, is an area of keen focus for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Lefkowitz told a news conference by telephone he was asleep when the phone call came from Sweden.

"I did not hear it - I must share with you that I wear earplugs to sleep. So my wife gave me an elbow. So there it was, a total shock and surprise," he said.

Sven Lidin, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at Lund University and chairman of the committee, told a news conference the discovery had been key in medical research.

"Knowing what they (the receptors) look like and how they function will provide us with the tools to make better drugs with fewer side effects," he added.

GPCRs are linked to a wide range of diseases, since they play a central role in many biological functions in the body, but developing new drugs to target them accurately has been difficult because of a lack of fundamental understanding as to how they function. Experts say the work of the Nobel Prize winners has opened the door to making better medicines.

Drugs targeting GPCRs have potential in treating illnesses involving the central nervous system, heart conditions, inflammation and metabolic disorders.

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Cell receptor research wins Americans chemistry Nobel

Americans Robert J. Lefkowitz, Brian K. Kobilka win Nobel Prize in chemistry

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Danzig

Research by Robert J. Lefkowitz, left, and Brian K. Kobilka has increased understanding of how cells sense chemicals.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- Two American scientists won the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for their work revealing protein receptors that tell cells what is going on in and around the human body. Their achievements have allowed drug makers to develop medication with fewer side effects.

Research spanning four decades by Robert J. Lefkowitz and Brian K. Kobilka on "G-protein-coupled receptors" has increased understanding of how cells sense chemicals in the bloodstream and external stimuli like light, according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awarded the prize.

Lefkowitz began the research by tracking adrenalin receptors. The Nobel Prize announcement apparently set off some of the excitement hormone in his own body.

"I'm feeling very, very excited," he said in a predawn phone call from the United States to the committee in Stockholm, Sweden, which announced the winners at 5:45 a.m. ET.

"Did I even have any inkling that it was coming?" Lefkowitz said. "I'd have to say no."

He contacted Kobilka via a Skype video call to celebrate the news after receiving the call from the Nobel committee.

Lefkowitz, with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, began tracking cell receptors with radioactive substances in 1968.

In the 1980s, Kobilka, from Stanford University School of Medicine in California, joined the research to isolate the human gene that produces the adrenalin receptor, the academy said.

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Americans Robert J. Lefkowitz, Brian K. Kobilka win Nobel Prize in chemistry

U.S. Scientists Share Chemistry Nobel for Cell Receptors

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Danzig

Two U.S. scientists won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering how cell receptors involved in about half of all medicines work.

Robert J. Lefkowitz, 69, of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, and Brian K. Kobilka, 57, of Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, California, will share the 8 million-krona ($1.2 million) award, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said at a news conference today.

They received the prize for their work on cells and sensibility, the academy said. The men exposed the inner workings of the largest and most pervasive family of cell receptors, known as G-protein-coupled.

Lodged in the fatty membranes that surround cells, they are the bodys mechanism to read its environment and play a role in sight, smell, taste, as well as pain tolerance and blood pressure. The receptors are the targets of about half of all medicines, the academy said.

Thanks to the work of Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka, we know what the receptor looks like in the finest molecular detail and we also know its just one of a huge family of receptors, Sven Lidin, a member of the Nobel committee for chemistry, said at the Stockholm news conference. Knowing how they work helps us to make better drugs with fewer side effects.

Lefkowitz, a professor of medicine at Duke and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, said he didnt have a clue he would be in the running for the prize.

I did not go to sleep last night waiting for this call, he said by telephone at the news conference. Im feeling very, very excited. I was fast asleep and the phone rang and I didnt hear it. I wear earplugs when I sleep and my wife gave me an elbow.

He was planning on going to the office and getting haircut today though the haircut will have to wait because he said it will be a crazy day at the office.

Last years Nobel in chemistry was awarded to Dan Shechtman for his discovery of quasicrystals, which changed the prevailing views about the atomic structure of matter.

Annual prizes for achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, peace and literature were established in the will of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor of dynamite, who died in 1896. The Nobel Foundation was established in 1900 and the prizes were first handed out the following year. The Swedish science academy chooses the chemistry and physics winners.

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U.S. Scientists Share Chemistry Nobel for Cell Receptors

Research and Markets: Comprehensive Heterocyclic Chemistry III, 15-Volume Set

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Danzig

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/cfk3w8/comprehensive) has announced the addition of Elsevier Science and Technology's new book "Comprehensive Heterocyclic Chemistry III, 15-Volume Set" to their offering.

Comprehensive Heterocyclic Chemistry III (CHEC-III) is a new 15-volume reference work which provides the first point of entry to the literature for all scientists interested in heterocyclic ring systems. Since publishing in 1984, Comprehensive Heterocyclic Chemistry (CHEC) has become the standard work on the subject, indispensable to all serious readers in the interdisciplinary areas where heterocycles are employed. CHEC-III builds on and complements the material in CHEC and CHEC-II and is designed to be used both alone and in conjunction with these two works. Written by leading scientists who have evaluated and summarized the most important data published over the last decade, Comprehensive Heterocyclic Chemistry III will be an invaluable addition to the reference library of those working with heterocyclic ring systems.

Reviews advances in the properties, structure, synthesis, reactivity and applications of the most important heterocyclic ring systems

Contains over 250 specialist reviews, logically organized by size and heteroatom content of the heterocyclic ring

Saves researchers valuable time and effort through carefully structured critical reviews of the literature by experts.

Key Topics Covered:

CHEC III is organized in 15 Volumes and closely follows the organization used in the previous edition:

Volumes 1 and 2: Cover respectively three- and four-membered heterocycles, together with all fused systems containing a three- or four-membered heterocyclic ring.

Volume 3: Five-membered rings with one heteroatom together with their benzo- and other carbocyclic-fused derivatives.

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Research and Markets: Comprehensive Heterocyclic Chemistry III, 15-Volume Set

Americans win Nobel Prize in chemistry

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Danzig

Research by Robert J. Lefkowitz, left, and Brian K. Kobilka has increased understanding of how cells sense chemicals.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Lefkowitz began the research by tracking adrenalin receptors. The Nobel Prize announcement apparently set off some of the excitement hormone in his own body.

"I'm feeling very, very excited," he said in a predawn phone call from the United States to the committee in Stockholm, Sweden, which announced the winners at 5:45 a.m. ET.

"Did I even have any inkling that it was coming?" Lefkowitz said. "I'd have to say no."

He contacted Kobilka via a Skype video call to celebrate the news after receiving the call from the Nobel committee.

Lefkowitz, with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, began tracking cell receptors with radioactive substances in 1968.

In the 1980s, Kobilka, from Stanford University School of Medicine in California, joined the research to isolate the human gene that produces the adrenalin receptor, the academy said.

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Americans win Nobel Prize in chemistry

Biorefining: The new green wave

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Danzig

Biorefineries and "green chemistry" seem to have a credible future built on a wide range of applications such as cosmetics, plastics and detergents.

The rise of the price of oil and increasingly restrictive health legislation covering dangerous products are giving a boost to green refining.

Some "green chemistry" factories, a few of which exist in France, break down organic molecules found in wood, grain, and oil seeds, instead of using molecules derived from refined oil.

"The regulatory constraints are such that, together with the current cost of oil, it is already interesting for lubricants, resins and paints," said professor Daniel Thomas, vice president of the IAR competitivity centre in Picardie and Champagne in northwestern France. He was referring to the use of vegetable material in the refining process.

The European Commission directive known as Reach, which is due to result in a ban or drastic regulation of some chemical products such as phthalates, also opens the way to economically viable options for the use of other molecules derived from vegetable matter, leaders in the field meeting in Paris underlined.

In Europe 34 production facilities are considered to be biorefineries. There are five big centres in France, and the tally does not include laboratories or test laboratories.

Thomas said that "green chemistry is not a theoretical concept but is already a reality." He continued: "But it is true that this reality covers also the fact that the market is dependent on the price of oil, and that this border line is going to shift and so more and more molecules are going to become worthwhile."

For example, in the 1950s the price of a tonne of oil was one sixth of the price of a tonne of wheat. In 2011, oil was three times the price of wheat.

A study by consultants McKinsey has suggested that half of the inputs used by the chemicals industry could be in the form of vegetable matter by 2030, with the development of biocarburants such as lubricants, solvents and a concrete-like material made from wood for the construction industry, or plastic for bottles.

But this switch towards a chemical industry based on products from agriculture or forestry raises other problems: the use of land for purposes other than producing food could be a factor behind a rise of the prices of grains and vegetable oils and therefore of a large slice of what people eat.

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Biorefining: The new green wave

Climate chemistry and the tropics

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Danzig

Oil palm plantation. Credit: Michael Thirnbeck

(Phys.org)New models are being developed to predict how changing land use in the tropics could affect future climate, air quality and crop production.

Ozone has a dual personality best described as "good up high, bad nearby": the atmospheric gas is both vital and potentially fatal for our health. High in the stratosphere, the gas filters sunlight and protects us from the damaging effects of ultraviolet light. At ground level, however, it causes respiratory problems and damages crops.

'Bad' ozone is formed by the reaction of sunlight on gases emitted from fossil fuel combustion, and its concentration is predicted to continue to rise unless global emissions can be reduced. But ozone levels are not only affected by emissions from cars, power stations and industrial processes; they are also affected by emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as isoprene, by plants.

"It's a complicated mechanism," explained Professor John Pyle from Cambridge's Department of Chemistry. "In pristine conditions, such as in the tropical rainforests, VOCs can reduce ozone levels. However, in the presence of oxides of nitrogen (NOx), which are pollutants produced during combustion of fossil fuels, VOCs can increase ozone levels."

In recent years, atmospheric chemists such as Pyle have been concerned that widespread changes in land-use in the tropics could have a dramatic impact on the formation of ozone, tipping the balance towards ozone production rather than destruction. Tropical rainforests currently account for over half of the world's forests and are biodiversity hotspots, but clearing for biofuels, crops and livestock is having a dramatic effect on their extent, with estimates suggesting that as much as 1.5 acres of rainforest are destroyed every second.

"Among the most widespread of tropical crops being planted in the cleared rainforests is the oil palm. In Malaysia, for instance, in just four decades the percentage of land covered by oil palm plantations has risen from 1% to 13% to meet an increasing demand for bioenergy and palm-oil-based consumer goods," added Pyle. "Is this change in land use resulting in unwelcome side-effects on ground-level ozone?"

Understanding this uncertainty has been a major focus of his team's research. By knitting together expertise in atmospheric chemistry with state-of-the-art climate models, the researchers aim to predict future concentrations of surface ozone with changing industrial emissions and land-use, from now until the end of this century.

"Our models rely on solving a set of differential equations that describe how reactants in the ozone pathway turn into products," explained researcher Dr Alex Archibald. "The complexity is potentially enormous. If we were to take into account all of the reactions of gases in the atmosphere, we would need to consider something like tens of millions of reactions. In reality, models can't cope with this level of complexity and so part of our work has been to determine the sensitivity of our models depending on the number of reactions we include."

PhD student Oliver Squire has been testing this sensitivity by comparing a range of commonly used chemistry mechanisms within the climate model. "The sign and magnitude of the ozone change due to a change in isoprene emissions in tropical regions show a strong dependence on the number of isoprene reactions included," he said. "This highlights the importance of correctly simplifying the full complexity of the atmosphere's chemistry".

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Climate chemistry and the tropics

ThalesNano Cements Place as Flow Chemistry Market Leader With 700th Reactor

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Danzig

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY--(Marketwire - Oct 9, 2012) - ThalesNano is proud to announce that sales of its novel flow reactors reached 700 complete systems. The number of publications based on these flow reactors has also surpassed 150. First launched in 2005, ThalesNano offers a range of microscale flow based reactors used in chemistry research. The 700th unit, an H-Cube Pro, will be installed in Shanghai at a perfume and flavor manufacturer.

"We have always been focused on enabling chemists to achieve results with their chemistry that they cannot do with standard equipment," said Richard Jones, CEO of ThalesNano Inc. "Whether it's bringing back hazardous chemistry, such as hydrogenation, to the lab or enabling chemists to access a wider parameter space to synthesize novel molecules, ThalesNano has developed reactors to do this safer, faster, and simpler. On behalf of all employees at ThalesNano, let me express our gratitude to our customers who have contributed to our success and presence on 6 continents and in more than 30 countries."

ThalesNano has recently launched the latest version of its best-selling R&D 100 award winner product, the H-Cube Pro. Several upcoming low cost reactor modules will expand the chemistry capabilities still further. Chemists can look forward to utilizing other gases such as carbon monoxide, oxygen, or Syngas on the same instrument they already use for their hydrogenations. The upcoming Phoenix Flow Reactor allows homogeneous reactions to be performed at higher than microwave temperatures and pressures. With the broadest range of flow reactors, ThalesNano is the "go to" company for flow chemistry.

More information about ThalesNano on our website: http://www.thalesnano.com or contact us directly at the following e-mail: info@thalesnano.com

About ThalesNano

ThalesNano is the world leader in bench-top flow chemistry reactors. The company has the widest portfolio of bench-top continuous process instruments for the pharmaceutical, biotech, fine chemical, petroleum/biofuel, and education markets. Its R&D 100 award winning H-Cube and scale-up system H-Cube Midi are used in hundreds of laboratories globally and have become the new industry standard for hydrogenation. Within three years from the original introduction of its flagship H-Cube product, 20 out of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies have introduced and adopted the technology.

Original post:
ThalesNano Cements Place as Flow Chemistry Market Leader With 700th Reactor

Chemistry in its element – Galantamine

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Danzig

From Homer the poet to Homer Simpson, we all forget things from time to time, but not to the tragic extent of people with Alzheimer’s. This week’s Chemistry in its element podcast looks at galantamine, isolated from Caucasian snowdrops, which is used to treat the disease.

Source:
http://prospect.rsc.org/blogs/cw/2012/10/03/chemistry-in-its-element-galantamine/

Arsenic life as dead as a doornail

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Danzig

— Distortion of the protein

Another nail in the coffin of the arsenic life story has been published suggesting that GFAJ-1 does not in fact metabolise arsenate, but instead is very good at distinguishing the poison from phosphate. Earlier this year, two papers found that despite earlier claims, the bacterium did not in fact take up arsenate, the new paper explains in more detail why.

Publishing in Nature, Dan Tawfick and colleagues decided to investigate how exactly GFAJ-1, and other bacteria that live in arsenic rich environments, survive. Can they distinguish between the two anions, and if so, how?

The trick, suggests Tawfick, is in the peristaltic phosphate binding proteins which are highly tuned in GFAJ-1. Although arsenate ions are only a little larger than phosphate, that size difference is enough to distort a low energy hydrogen bond and stop arsenate uptake (see left).

I can’t help but wonder, have we finally laid this to rest, or will more papers refuting GFAJ-1′s ability to metabolise arsenate keep coming out for a while yet? If they keep getting their authors in high impact journals, you can see why anyone working on applicable research might want to join in.

Laura Howes

Source:
http://prospect.rsc.org/blogs/cw/2012/10/04/arsenic-life-as-dead-as-a-doornail/

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