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News & Research
November 13, 2018
ASU professor wins grants to elucidate the magic of proteins
For Arizona State University’s Dmitry Matyushov, professor in the School of Molecular Sciences (SMS) and the Department of Physics, years of studying how electrons make their way through some important protein molecules has been recently rewarded with two major grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Energy (DOE).
November 7, 2018
ASU geoscientists discover an overlooked source for Earth's water
Where did Earth's global ocean come from? A team of Arizona State University geoscientists led by Peter Buseck, Regents' Professor in ASU’s School of Molecular Sciences and School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE) has found an answer in a previously neglected source. The team has also discovered that our planet contains considerably more hydrogen, a proxy for water, than scientists previously thought.
November 6, 2018
Tying the knot: New DNA nanostructures
In new research appearing in the journal Nature Communications, Hao Yan, a researcher at Arizona State University, and his colleagues Fei Zhang and Xiaodong Qi and others describe a method for coaxing segments of single-stranded DNA into complex 2D and 3D knotted structures.
November 1, 2018
Alexandra Ros receives Innovation Award
Arizona State University's Alexandra Ros has received the Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies Innovation Award for her paper and presentation, “Electrically Triggered Water-in-Oil Droplets for Serial Femtosecond Crystallography.”
October 30, 2018
Tempe Town Lake sends message in a bottle
With over 1,200 samples of water, SMS Professor Hilairy Hartnett's work with the Central Arizona Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research Program hopes to better understand what it takes to maintain the ecological health of a man-made lake in one of the hottest regions of the United States.
October 22, 2018
ASU team unravels key mysteries of spider silk
Scientists at Arizona State University are celebrating their recent success on the path to understanding what makes the fiber that spiders spin — weight for weight — at least five times as strong as steel. One of the fundamental mysteries of spider silk that has limited scientists’ ability to produce artificial silks of the quality of natural silks has just been explained by researchers in ASU’s School of Molecular Sciences in collaboration with a team from San Diego State University and Northwestern University.
October 2, 2018
Nick Stephanopoulos receives 2018 NIH New Innovator Award
ASU Professors Nicholas Stephanopoulos, assistant professor in the School of Molecular Sciences, and Rizal Hariadi, assistant professor in the Department of Physics, both researchers in the Biodesign Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, were announced as recipients of the 2018 NIH New Innovator Award.
October 2, 2018
First experiments at Europe's new X-ray laser reveal structure of antibiotic-disabling enzyme
An international collaboration led by the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, or DESY, with participation from Arizona State University’s Biodesign Center for Applied Structural Discovery, the Department of Physics and the School of Molecular Sciences, has announced the results of the first scientific experiments at Europe's new X-ray free-electron laser, the European XFEL.
September 27, 2018
ASU scientists explore carbon’s next frontier with Keck Foundation funding
Recently, Jones and her team of Peter Buseck, Scott Sayres, Tim Steimle and Tara Pilarisetty received a $1 million award from the Keck Foundation together with additional ASU matching funds to lead an ASU effort to further explore carbon’s potential.
September 19, 2018
Professor Michael O’Keeffe wins Aminoff Prize in crystallography
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has announced that ASU Emeritus Regents' Professor O’Keeffe and Yaghi, of the University of California, Berkeley, have won the prestigious Gregori Aminoff Prize in Crystallography for 2019, “for their fundamental contributions to the development of reticular chemistry."
September 14, 2018
Innovative in-person lab provides unique opportunity for ASU Online students
The School of Molecular Sciences launched a fully online biochemistry bachelor's degree program in fall 2017, the very first in the U.S.. This summer, the first cohort of online B.S. Biochemistry degree students came to the Arizona State campus to take part in a new, innovative in-person accelerated laboratory course. This laboratory gave the online students the same hands-on experience and benefits that the on-campus students receive.
September 7, 2018
Shock honored with prestigious award from the American Chemical Society
Professor Everett Shock was awarded the 2019 Geochemistry Division Medal from the American Chemical Society (ACS). The unanimous decision was based on his outstanding scientific accompishments and leadership.
August 20, 2018
Singharoy studies how living cells capture, process and store energy
The work of Abhishek Singharoy, assistant professor in Arizona State University's School of Molecular Sciences and member of the Biodesign Institute’s Center for Applied Structural Discovery, is featured in a recent article published by the Department of Energy on renewable biofuels.
July 19, 2018
Nick Stephanopoulos receives NSF CAREER Award
Nick Stephanopoulos, assistant professor in Arizona State University's School of Molecular Sciences and member of the Biodesign Institute’s Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, has been named as a recipient of a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award.
July 17, 2018
Useful in a pinch: Nanoscale tweezers are triggered by light
Using segments of DNA, researchers at ASU have constructed a pair of tweezers, measuring 100,000 times tinier than the width of a human hair. A brief burst of ultraviolet light causes the jaws of the tweezers to switch from their closed to open position in seconds.
July 16, 2018
Single-celled architects inspire new nanotechnology
In a new study, Arizona State University scientists led by Professor Hao Yan and his colleagues have designed a range of diatom-like nanostructures using pieces of DNA.
May 8, 2018
Built for speed: DNA nanomachines take a (rapid) step forward
In new research, Arizona State University Professor Hao Yan and his colleagues describe an innovative DNA walker, capable of rapidly traversing a prepared track. Rather than slow, tentative steps across a surface, the new DNA acrobat cartwheels head over heels, covering ground 10 to 100 times faster than previous devices.
April 27, 2018
ASU team discovers a new take on early evolution of photosynthesis
A team of scientists from Arizona State University’s School of Molecular Sciences has begun rethinking the evolutionary history of photochemical reaction centers (RCs). Their analysis was recently published online in Photosynthesis Research and describes a new pathway that ancient organisms may have taken to evolve the great variety of photosynthetic RCs seen today across bacteria, algae, and plants. The study will go into print later this summer in a special issue dedicated to photochemical RCs.
April 20, 2018
School of Molecular Sciences grad uses PhD in chemical education to help future scientists
This spring, the SMS online degree program team welcomed a new member, chemical education specialist Ara Austin. In her first semester with SMS as clinical assistant professor and coordinator of online programs, Ara is focused on ensuring the success of SMS’ first cohort of fully online biochemistry students.
April 17, 2018
ASU School of Molecular Sciences recognizes outstanding students, instructors, faculty
On Monday, April 16, Arizona State University's School of Molecular Sciences held its annual award and recognition ceremony for outstanding students, research and teaching assistants, faculty members and their families. The ceremony recognized undergraduate and graduate students who excelled in academics and research, distinguished instructors and faculty, and spring 2018 doctoral and master's degree graduates.
April 11, 2018
Two ASU juniors win prestigious Goldwater Scholarship
SMS juniors Humza Zubair and Meilin Zhu have won Goldwater Scholarships, the most prestigious national award for undergraduates in math, science and engineering. Zhu, a biochemistry major, and Zubair, a biochemistry and biological sciences double-major, are both students in the School of Molecular Sciences and Barrett, The Honors College.
April 6, 2018
ASU School of Molecular Sciences shows the power of women
Arizona State University's School of Molecular Sciences has set out on a mission to change the societal underrepresentation of women in science, starting with its own project, Spotlight on Women in Science. Launching a social media campaign including sharing alumnae stories on Facebook and creating a collage video, this project highlights the power and importance of women in science.
April 6, 2018
Solar system born amid flood of ultraviolet light, say ASU astrophysicists
A team led by Arizona State University scientists has found an explanation for the long-standing question of why the material that made the planets has a composition different from the sun's. James Lyons, associate research professor of astrophysics and cosmochemistry in ASU's School of Earth and Space Exploration and lead author on the paper, and co-authors Ehsan Gharib-Nezhad of ASU's School of Molecular Sciences and Thomas Ayres of the University of Colorado have published their findings recently in the journal Nature Communications.
April 2, 2018
ASU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences acknowledges spring 2018 Dean’s Medalists
On Tuesday, May 8, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University will recognize its highest achieving students from the social sciences, natural sciences and humanities at the 2018 convocation ceremony. Each department and school within the college has selected a phenomenal student who has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to academic excellence during their time at ASU.
March 9, 2018
Investigating the shapes of water
Arizona State University chemist C. Austen Angell, a Regents' Professor in ASU’s School of Molecular Sciences, has spent a good portion of his distinguished career tracking down some of water’s more curious physical properties. In a new piece of research published in Science on March 8, Angell and colleagues from the University of Amsterdam have, for the first time, observed one of the more intriguing properties predicted by water theoreticians — that, on sufficient super-cooling and under specific conditions, it will suddenly change from one liquid to a different one.
February 23, 2018
ASU scientists unveil a hidden secret of the immortality enzyme telomerase
Research from the laboratory of Professor Julian Chen in the School of Molecular Sciences at Arizona State University recently uncovered a crucial step in the telomerase enzyme catalytic cycle. This catalytic cycle determines the ability of the human telomerase enzyme to synthesize DNA “repeats” (specific DNA segments of six nucleotides) onto chromosome ends, and so afford immortality in cells. Understanding the underlying mechanism of telomerase action offers new avenues toward effective anti-aging therapeutics.
February 15, 2018
ASU alumnus wants to bridge gap between graduates and employers
Micah Wimmer, a triple Arizona State University alumnus and chemistry instructor at ASU's School of Molecular Sciences, hopes to use his diverse exposure to life on campus by uniting existing communities and inspiring progress across the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the university at large.
February 13, 2018
ASU Assistant Professor Gary Moore recognized nationally as exceptional mentor
Professor Gary Moore, an assistant professor in Arizona State University's School of Molecular Sciences, has recently been recognized by ARCS for his work as a doctoral adviser. Moore has a passion for chemistry that is evident from the very first classes students take with him. He lectures on technical concepts in a logical and effective manner, and also addresses scientific topics in a context which brings students a level of cultural relevance to the subject matter that is rarely found in chemistry classes.
February 12, 2018
Cancer-fighting nanorobots seek and destroy tumors
In a major advancement in nanomedicine, Arizona State University scientists, in collaboration with researchers from the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have successfully programmed nanorobots to shrink tumors by cutting off their blood supply. The successful demonstration of the technology, the first-of-its-kind study in mammals utilizing breast-cancer, melanoma, ovarian and lung-cancer mouse models, was published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
February 8, 2018
Old drug may have new tricks for fighting cancer
In a new study, researchers at Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute used an innovative method to screen a broad range of kinases for a drug’s effectiveness. The compound, known as ibrutinib — an inhibitor of Bruton’s tyrosoine kinase (BTK) in white blood cells, was first approved by the FDA in 2013 for the treatment of leukemia. Using a sophisticated microarray platform invented by Joshua LaBaer, the new research demonstrates that ibrutinib can also target a little-studied member of the RTK family, known as ERBB4, potentially thwarting the sequence of events leading to progression and growth of other solid tumors.
December 14, 2017
'DNA origami' is the shape of things to come for nanotechnology
A team of Arizona State University and Harvard scientists including Hao Yan, director of the ASU Biodesign Institute’s Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, and the Milton Glick Professor in the School of Molecular Sciences professor, has invented a major new advance in DNA nanotechnology. Dubbed “single-stranded origami” (ssOrigami), their new strategy uses one long noodle-like strand of DNA, or its chemical cousin RNA, that can self-fold — without even a single knot — into the largest, most complex structures to date.
December 6, 2017
ASU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences recognizes fall 2017 Dean’s Medalists
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University recognized its highest achieving students from the social sciences, natural sciences and humanities at the 2017 convocation ceremony. Jonathan Vie received the CLAS Dean's Medal for the School of Molecular Sciences.
November 15, 2017
Learning from photosynthesis
Hao Yan and Neal Woodbury from Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute and colleagues from Harvard and MIT are exploring new methods to capitalize on nature’s light-harvesting secrets. Their new study outlines the design of a synthetic system for energy gathering, conversion and transport that may point the way to innovations in solar energy, materials science, nanotechnology and photonics.
November 8, 2017
Fueling the future: ASU scientists promote new, efficient method of algal hydrogen production
Changing the way the nation generates and consumes energy is at the heart of a new NSF grant awarded to Arizona State University and Kevin Redding, professor in the School of Molecular Sciences and director of the Center for Bioenergy and Photosynthesis (CB&P). The goal of Redding and his research group is to obtain industrial scale algal hydrogen production, which will require an improvement over current technology by at least five-fold.
October 27, 2017
ASU scientists show that a protein can be switched on and off to conduct electricity like a metal
ASU biophysicist Stuart Lindsay's research team has found evidence of a protein that can conduct electricity like a metal. Lindsay and his research group have published their new findings in the advanced online edition of the Institute of Physics journal Nano Futures.
October 22, 2017
ASU professor recognized as ‘Teaching Innovator’ by Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education has named Ariel Anbar, a President’s Professor in Arizona State University’s School of Earth and Space Exploration and School of Molecular Sciences, to its first-ever list of “Teaching Innovators.” The Chronicle calls these innovators “faculty members who are using fresh approaches in their classrooms to help their students succeed.”
October 13, 2017
ASU team among first user groups at Europe’s brightest light source
A team of ASU scientists led by Professor Alexandra Ros in the School of Molecular Sciences and the Biodesign Center for Applied Structural Discovery, has been just the second user group to conduct experiments at the brand new European X-ray free electron laser facility (EuXFEL) in Hamburg, Germany. This 1.5-billion-dollar facility is the third, and far the most powerful, X-ray laser in the world.
October 10, 2017
ASU professor wins $2.1M NIH New Innovator Award
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a five-year, $2.1 million grant to Alexander Green, Arizona State University Biodesign Institute professor and School of Molecular Sciences faculty member, to pursue innovative approaches to major contemporary challenges in biomedical research.
October 9, 2017
Nobel laureate Richard R. Schrock to deliver Eyring lecture at ASU
F. G. Keyes Professor of Chemistry at M.I.T. Richard R. Schrock, a Nobel laureate with many internationally contested awards, will be the featured Eyring Lecture Series speaker, Oct. 19 and 20, on Arizona State University's Tempe campus.
