New peptide champion against drug-resistant cells have entered the battle According to the Australian Cancer Council Federation, at least 2 in 3 Australians will be diagnosed with a type of skin cancer in their lifetime, with a higher risk for men to develop non-melanoma and melanoma skin cancers...
Understanding how novel protein tools can make unique cyclic peptides Enzymes are proteins that exist in all living things to accelerate (catalyse) chemical reactions, thus speeding up complex biological processes. Enzymes are involved in a wide variety of biological functions, including digesting...
Harnessing the flexibility of native chemical ligation to overcome the barriers of traditional therapies Native chemical ligation (NCL) is a remarkable technique widely utilized by peptide chemists to construct large, and increasingly complex peptides and miniature proteins, such as insulin, by...
Unveiling the evolutionary mystery behind the bioprocessing of cyclotides in plants The butterfly pea legume (Clitoria ternatea) is native to South America and tropical regions of Asia and was introduced to Queensland, Australia in 1991. The legume is best known for its decorative flower with...
By attaching coumarin-based sensors to amyloids it is possible to determine the type and neurodegenerative disease, and in the case of AD, its progression...
Extracting DNA from Ninu scat to save an iconic marsupial from extinction Australia is home to about two-thirds of the world’s known extant species of marsupials, including Tasmanian devils and quolls (dasyurids or carnivorous marsupials), kangaroos, koalas, and wombats (diprotodonts or herbivores)...
A peptide library is a little like a regular book library. The peptide library has a number of amino acids or books all lined up in a specifically ordered system. We know and understand each book, and we can then make changes and easily see what effect those changes have. These libraries are useful...
Australia is home to some unique and wacky wildlife. From our one-of-a-kind platypus to the famous cuddly koala, special features and adaptations to our vast land result in species not found anywhere else in the world. Sadly, a number of our national treasures are already extinct in the wild, and...
Gluten is the general name for the structural proteins naturally found in wheat, barley and rye. These proteins are sometimes difficult to digest and for those with Coeliac disease (CD), incomplete digestion of gluten triggers an immune-based response in the gut where the body begins attacking...
If you’ve had the unfortunate experience of being bitten by a Green Ant (Rhytidoponera metallica) in Australia, you’ll understand the long-lasting pain and irritation inflicted by such a tiny creature. The majority of ant species produce venom and some have characteristic and exceptionally painful...
On the back of the Nature family publication, Extant and extinct bilby genomes combined with Indigenous knowledge improve conservation of a unique Australian marsupial | Nature Ecology & Evolution, CIPPS CI’s Carolyn Hogg and Katherine Belov, have received a large amount of media...
The global pandemic COVID-19, caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2, has caused millions of deaths worldwide. In the last few years, scientists have been working hard to develop treatments. While there was a strong focus on vaccines to prevent infection, the development of antiviral drugs to treat the...
There is a growing interest in using peptides as drugs as they can often bind very strongly to targets, have low toxicity, and can influence certain biological processes in the body that traditional small molecule medicines cannot. A major challenge with designing peptide drugs is that they...
Amyloid fibrils are formed when normally healthy and soluble proteins misfold and stick together to form species that cannot be broken down. It is well known that these structures cause toxicity that can lead to a range of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. These...
Proteins fold into a particular 3D shape which gives them a specific function in biological processes. Proteins misbehaving in these processes can lead to disease. By decoding the 3D shape of a protein, scientists can study how proteins function as well as design new molecules to control them...
Oats are known to have excellent health benefits. They have a high protein content and can reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease. Oats also have a low carbon footprint and are typically easy to cultivate, requiring fewer insecticides, fungicides or fertilizers compared to...
Parasitoid wasps are large group of wasps which rarely sting humans but can be ruthless towards other insects. As parasitoids, they lay their eggs on or in insect hosts. Their larvae feed on the host, growing until they reach full development and eventually kill the host. To support...
Australian koalas have recently been declared an endangered species following decimation of the population due to a long period of habitat destruction from devastating bushfires, land clearing, and drought. Koalas are also facing a chlamydia epidemic, which is causing serious disease and death and...
Heart attack and stroke are the leading causes of death worldwide, yet, remarkably, there are no therapeutics available to prevent the tissue injury caused by these life-threatening events. Both diseases occur when a blockage in a blood vessel prevents oxygenated blood from reaching the relevant...
Protein is an essential component of the human diet, and sustainable sources are a key requirement for Australian food security. Recently, consumer interest in socially responsible products as well as health and climate concerns have led to an increased interest in plant-based protein sources...
Many diseases are characterised by protein-protein interactions (PPIs) that occur within our cells. PPIs are often difficult to treat, as the large surface area of interaction between the proteins is difficult to disrupt with conventional small molecule drugs. Peptides, on the other hand, can...
Nature not only affords insights into which peptides or proteins might be valuable to produce, but also give insightful clues about how to synthesise them. In nature, there are two main ways that peptides are produced: either utilising the ribosomes or employing a non-ribosomal mechanism. Ribosomal...
Studying the structure of proteins at a molecular level is challenging at the best of times and studying one specific portion of a protein is even harder. Many chemists use a technique called Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) to study the structure of molecules. In this technique, magnetic fields...