28 July 2021
Metallic water prepared for the first time under terrestrial conditions
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Pure water is not a good conductor of electricity. It is, in fact, an electrical insulator. In order to conduct electricity, water must contain dissolved salts, for example, yet the conductivity of such an electrolyte is relatively low,…
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26 July 2021
Lipophilic activators of STING immune pathway
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The cGAS-STING pathway recognizes cytoplasmic DNA that can be a sign of viral infection or cellular damage. The activation of the pathway triggers immune mechanisms which fight the viruses and also have anticancer potential. Therefore,…
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19 July 2021
Nanomolar inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 methyltransferase
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The group of Radim Nencka from IOCB Prague in collaboration with Evžen Bouřa and colleagues from the University of Toronto designed and synthesized novel small molecule-based inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 nonstructural protein nsp14.
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14 July 2021
Parkinson's disease treatment strategy based on protein inhibitors
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Parkinson's disease is caused by misfolding of the neuronal protein α-synuclein into amyloid fibrils. Unfortunately, the disease is yet incurable, and all treatments are only symptomatic. One of the possible strategies to stop Parkinson's…
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7 July 2021
Arginine-specific nucleotide for cross-linking the proteins and DNA
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Protein-DNA interactions are involved in many crucial biological processes (transcription, replication repair etc.). Covalent cross-linking of the binding proteins with reactive DNA probes is a promising method to identify and study these…
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1 July 2021
Novel inhibitors of adenylate cyclases
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Adenylate cyclases (ACs) are enzymes catalyzing the formation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), which is a second messenger involved in many important intracellular processes in all cells. Several pathogenic bacteria, such as Borde…
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29 June 2021
Eliška Procházková and Tomáš Slanina receive Otto Wichterle Award
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Two of the 2021 Otto Wichterle Awards, an honor given by the Czech Academy of Sciences in recognition of outstanding and promising young scientists under the age of 35, have gone to Dr. Eliška Procházková and Dr. Tomáš Slanina of IOCB…
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22 June 2021
The first total synthesis of phytoglandins, prostaglandin-like natural products in plants
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Ullrich Jahn’s research group from IOCB Prague has developed the first asymmetric total synthesis of phytoglandins (PhytoG), which are diastereomeric to the known phytoprostanes. The method is based on radical anion oxidative cyclization,…
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17 June 2021
Single-round deoxyribozyme discovery
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Methods of artificial evolution such as in vitro selection make it possible to isolate DNA and RNA sequences with useful functions from random sequence libraries. Conventional selection experiments use libraries of 1015 sequences and…
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14 June 2021
Prague Meeting on Historical Perspectives of Mass Spectrometry
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On 13–14 October 2021, the Prague Meeting on Historical Perspectives of Mass Spectrometry will take place in the National Library of Technology in Prague. The two-day conference, organized by IOCB Prague, Czech Society for Mass…
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3 June 2021
Telomerase in long-lived termites
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Kings and queens of termites are record holders in longevity among insects; they can live for up to two decades or more. The ribonucleoprotein telomerase is well established for its pro-longevity function in vertebrates thanks to its…
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1 June 2021
Apply for the Summer Student Program
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Each year, IOCB Prague organizes the Summer Student Program for master’s students of organic chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, computational or theoretical chemistry, or a closely related field.
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26 May 2021
Drugs combining antifungal and antiretroviral activities
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Cryptococcosis, caused by Cryptococcus neoformans, is a systemic mycosis, which can be life-threatening especially in immunosuppressed patients suffering from HIV infection. Poor availability of antifungal drugs and drug resistance…
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18 May 2021
Novel method of labeling DNA bases for sequencing
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An international research team headed by Michal Hocek of the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IOCB Prague) and Charles University and Ciara K. O’Sullivan of Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV…
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6 May 2021
Partnership with Alzheon to develop first Alzheimer’s diagnostic assay for measuring neurotoxic…
IOCB Prague entered into a collaboration and license agreement with Alzheon, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing new medicines for patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other…
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5 May 2021
Factors involved in the binding of cyclic dinucleotides to STING protein
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STING, or stimulator of interferon genes, is a key regulator of innate immunity. It acts as a receptor of cyclic dinucleotides (CDNs) that are second messengers of the innate immune system. The interaction of STING protein with CDNs…
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30 April 2021
Junior Group Leader position in organic synthesis – Call for applications extended
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IOCB Prague invites applications for a Junior Group Leader position in synthetic organic chemistry with a strong emphasis on synthetic approaches to complex target molecules at the interface of chemistry and biology.
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30 April 2021
The role of α-synuclein interactions with lipid membrane in Parkinson’s disease
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Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disorder of the central nervous system affecting movements. α-Synuclein is a neuronal protein consisting of 140 amino acids, which is closely connected with Parkinson’s disease. During Parkinson’s…
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27 April 2021
New fund supports collaboration between researchers from the Czech Republic and MIT
The establishment of collaboration between researchers from the Czech Republic and world-renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is being made easier thanks to a new program called the MIT-Czech Republic Seed Fund, a joint…
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13 April 2021
Substituted 7-deazapurine ribonucleosides as antiparasitic agents
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Trypanosoma brucei species cause Human African Trypanosomiasis – also known as sleeping sickness, which is one of the most neglected tropical diseases. Trypanosoma can become resistant to currently used drugs, therefore new antiparasitic…
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