Scientists have replicated the natural synthesis of organic molecules and discovered new touch receptors.
This year, Benjamin List and David MacMillan became Nobel laureates in chemistry for a new approach to solving the problem of optical isomerism of organic molecules and for the development of asymmetric “organocatalysis,” reports ria.ru.
Scientists have been able to synthesize catalysts that trigger chemical processes to form the necessary stereoisomers of organic molecules. This discovery is necessary for the creation of a new generation of drugs that will not be overloaded with excess stereoisomers, and, therefore, will not overload the human body. Based on asymmetric organocatalysis, it is also possible, for example, a new synthesis of ammonia and an increase in the efficiency of solar batteries.
The Medicine Prize was shared by David Julius and Ardem Pataputyan for the discovery of special receptors for temperature and touch. “Data on the identification of additional coupled ion channels obtained by Nobel laureates allowed scientists to understand how different temperatures cause electrical signals in the nervous system. These data can have practical applications in the field of rehabilitation medicine, rehabilitation therapy for post-stroke conditions, and in the prevention and treatment of age-related diseases “, commented Darima Maksarova, associate professor at the Engineering Physics Institute of Biomedicine of the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI.
The results of the study can have important applications in the development of measures in the field of adaptive medicine (maintaining the body’s homeostasis in extreme and subextreme conditions, for example, when working in the Arctic, Antarctic or in space), as well as in the development of new drugs – anesthetics and antispasmodics.