Amino Acid News and Research

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Amino Acid is one of several molecules that join together to form proteins. There are 20 common amino acids found in proteins.

Scientists Discover Molecular Mechanism Behind Red and Green Color Vision

Human color vision depends on three types of cone cells in the retina. Although all three contain the same light-absorbing molecule, 11-cis-retinal, differences in the surrounding protein determine sensitivity to red, green, or blue light.

28 Jul 2026

Research Decodes How Gut Microbes Process Plant-Based Nutrients

Plant-based diets are good for you. They promote gut, immune, metabolic and cardiovascular health, in part by cultivating a diverse community of intestinal bacteria.

28 Jul 2026

Research Maps Structural Mechanism Linking Amino Acid Availability to Cancer Growth

Cells carry their own growth switches. When enough nutrients-amino acids in particular-are available, cells flip this switch on and begin to grow. Researchers at KAIST and Yonsei University have now uncovered the molecular mechanism by which amino acid signals activate this cellular growth switch.

27 Jul 2026

Why Rare E. coli Genes Rarely Create New Metabolic Functions

A study reveals that rare E. coli genes mainly reshape existing metabolic reactions, highlighting genetic diversity without expanding biochemical pathways.

16 Jul 2026

Gut Bacteria Metabolites Successfully Boost Immune Response to Melanoma Tumors

A new study from a team including University of Nebraska–Lincoln researchers is the first to show metabolites produced by certain bacteria in the gut can positively impact the body's immune response to cancer.

15 Jul 2026

Supramolecular Shampoo Uses Self-Assembly to Replace Polymer Thickeners

Researchers developed a laboratory-scale polymer-free shampoo in which sodium cocoyl glycinate acts as both a cleansing surfactant and a supramolecular gelator. The formulation retained shear-thinning behavior, produced persistent foam, and remained stable during three months of accelerated aging and freeze-thaw testing.

12 Jul 2026

Atomic Level Discovery Reveals Exactly How Inhaled Anesthetics Silence Neurons

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and Birkbeck, University of London, have identified a site where a commonly used anesthetic binds to sodium ion channels, revealing a molecular mechanism that may explain how these drugs dampen communication between neurons.

10 Jul 2026

Study Reveals How Brick Kiln Arsenic Shifts Soil Metabolic Potential

Brick kilns have long supported construction and economic development, but their legacy can remain in the soil long after production stops.

7 Jul 2026

Newly Discovered Bacterial Survival Strategy Challenges Longstanding Assumptions

Escherichia coli (E. coli) are mostly harmless bacteria that live in the intestines of animals and humans.

3 Jul 2026

Cancer Cells Hijack Macrophage Metabolism to Create an Immunosuppressive Tumor Microenvironment

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are among the most abundant immune cells in the tumor microenvironment. However, instead of attacking cancer cells, they are typically co-opted to support tumor growth, metastasis, and therapeutic resistance.

2 Jul 2026

New SRV2 Viral Vector Boosts CAR-T Cell Production Efficiency

A Korean research team has developed a new viral vector technology that significantly improves the production efficiency of next-generation cell and gene therapies known as CAR immune cell therapies, which are designed to recognize and destroy cancer cells.

1 Jul 2026

Modified Mediterranean Diet Improves Lifespan and Metabolic Health

A plant- and fish-based, low-protein diet paired with small amounts of an amino acid commonly found in eggs, meat and dairy increased healthy lifespan and decreased frailty and fat mass in mice, according to a new USC study published today in the journal Cell Metabolism.

24 Jun 2026

Study Reveals How Arsenic Pollution Alters Bacterial Metabolism and Detoxification

As arsenic levels increased, bacterial richness and diversity declined, while arsenic-tolerant groups such as Proteobacteria became more abundant. The study also found that bacteria strengthened stress-response pathways, including signal transduction and cell motility, and upregulated arsenic-resistance genes such as arsC2 and arsB.

23 Jun 2026

Penn Study Uses AI to Discover Prion-Based Antibiotics

New antibiotic candidates for drug-resistant bacteria may reside inside prions, mis-folded protein in the brain best known for rare and fatal degenerative brain diseases.

22 Jun 2026

Innovative Method Decodes Short Peptides With Zero Errors

Our food and our bodies are full of tiny protein fragments called peptides.

17 Jun 2026

Mapping Tiny Genetic Variations to Better Predict Future Global Pandemics

Most pandemics start when a pathogen spreads from animals to humans. It's a leading explanation for the COVID-19 pandemic: the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, is a cousin to coronaviruses that live in bats.

16 Jun 2026

New Internal Cellular Process Creates Cysteine When Primary Systems Fail

A molecular geneticist at Montana State University has discovered a cellular process once believed impossible by scientists – the creation of the amino acid cysteine within a living cell when the cell's primary systems to do so fail.

13 Jun 2026

How a Tiny Bacterial Enzyme Could Clean Up Chemical Manufacturing

Industrial oxidation chemistry is a cornerstone of modern manufacturing, accounting for nearly one-third of all chemical industrial processes.

3 Jun 2026

Intact Gut Microbes Accelerate Selenium Excretion to Protect Against Toxic Overload

Selenium is an essential micronutrient that supports antioxidant and immune functions, yet how its metabolism is regulated by interactions between host and gut microbiota remains unclear. In a recent study, researchers from Japan used rats to investigate how gut microbiota and the host jointly manage selenium metabolism.

2 Jun 2026

Cell Phase Separation Creates Droplets That Optimize and Activate Kinase Signaling

Within the past decade, biologists have discovered that one strategy cells use to keep their contents organized is a phenomenon known as phase separation.

2 Jun 2026