Chemistry

“We can, through engineering, convert this organism’s parasitic lifestyle into a more symbiotic relationship,” Jacquin Niles says about the malaria parasite.

Engineering foe into friend

Bose Grant awardee Jacquin Niles aims to repurpose the malaria parasite for drug delivery.

January 22, 2016

The regulation of the enzyme ribonucleotide reductase allows for just the right levels of deoxynucleotides, the building blocks of DNA, to be produced in the cell.

Supply chain

Chemists discover how a single enzyme maintains a cell’s pool of DNA building blocks.

January 12, 2016

School of Science honors research staff with 2016 Infinite Kilometer Awards

January 4, 2016

Researchers have discovered how some organisms can safely process oxalate, which is found in many fruits and vegetables. This discovery could lead to new ways to lessen the harmful effects that can occur when oxalate builds up in humans, who cannot metabolize this molecule.

A healthy breakdown

Researchers discover how some organisms process oxalate, a molecule that can harm humans.

December 28, 2015

Clockwise from top left: B. Gloria Choi, Christopher Cummins, James DiCarlo, Mehrdad Jazayeri, Jonathan Kelner, and Jared Speck

The School of Science appoints six faculty to named professorships

December 28, 2015

MIT chemists calculated the energy required for a molecule of acetylene in the U-shaped conformation to reach the transition state. Once that state is reached, the reaction proceeds to completion and acetylene takes on a zig-zag conformation.

MIT chemists characterize a chemical state thought to be unobservable

Researchers determine the energy and map the structure of a chemical reaction’s transition state.

December 10, 2015

“There’s no way we can solve anything if we’re not actually speaking to each other,” says senior Alyssa Napier, a chemistry major and linguistics minor.

Senior Alyssa Napier dedicates herself to improving MIT

Chemistry major works to address social justice issues.

December 1, 2015

Alan Davison, professor emeritus of chemistry, dies at 79

Longtime MIT professor was a "serial innovator" whose inventions included Cardiolite, an important tool in clinical nuclear cardiology.

November 17, 2015

MIT chemists have created a new type of gel by linking metal organic cages with long polymer strands (blue). The red polymer strands, which loop back to the cages, can be used to further customize the gels by adding other molecules.

Chemists create adaptable metallic-cage gels

New materials could be tuned for applications including drug delivery and water filtration.

November 17, 2015

The enzyme benzylsuccinate synthase captures and attaches to the hydrocarbon toluene, a major component in gasoline, to break it down into benzylsuccinate. Shown here are the enzymatic reaction and chemical structures of toluene (right), fumarate (center), and benzylsuccinate (left) against the backdrop of an oil spill.

Using microbes to clean up oil spills

Professor Catherine Drennan and graduate student Michael Funk want energy production and environmental protection to go hand in hand.

October 19, 2015

Matthew Shoulders receives NIH director's New Innovator Award

Seventy-eight grants awarded to scientists proposing highly innovative approaches to major contemporary challenges in biomedical research.

October 16, 2015

Antiparallel beta-sheet structure of the enzyme catalase: The antiparallel hydrogen bonds (dotted) are between peptide NH and CO groups on adjacent strands. Arrows indicate the chain direction, and electron density contours outline the non-H atoms.

Analyzing protein structures in their native environment

Enhanced-sensitivity NMR could reveal new clues to how proteins fold.

October 8, 2015

A top-down view of a photo-excited disordered molecular film.

Solar excitement

Modeling electron excitation in organic photovoltaic material could change the future of solar energy.

October 1, 2015

Color-corrected photograph of bacteria "spelling" B12, when the vitamin-B12-dependent photoreceptor protein, CarH, senses light.

A natural light switch

MIT scientists identify and map the protein behind a light-sensing mechanism.

September 28, 2015

MIT ranked No. 1 in the world for 2015 by QS World University Rankings

QS ranks MIT the world's top university for 2015-16

Ranked No. 1 for the fourth straight year, the Institute also places first in 11 of 36 disciplines.

September 17, 2015

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology - On Campus and Around the world

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