Plants contain an incredible wealth of chemicals, Tomáš Pluskal says

Multiscale materials could find practical applications in electrical engineering, medicine, and environmental technologies. Their research and development is being carried out by researchers as part of the AMULET project led by the <a href="https://www.jh-inst.cas.cz/press-release/material-genetics-will-be-pursued-amulet-project-which-succeeded-excellent-research">J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry of the CAS</a>. The consortium of eight partners from academia and research has received funding in the amount of nearly half a billion crowns in the ‘Excellence in Research’ call from the Johannes Amos Comenius Programme of the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.
The aim of the AMULET (Advanced MUltiscaLe materials for key Enabling Technologies) project is clearly defined – to develop advanced materials with a wide range of applications. By combining zero-dimensional (quantum dots), one-dimensional (e.g., nanotubes), and two-dimensional (e.g., graphene) materials, experts are developing multiscale materials to give them new and unusual properties. Smart materials with unique functionalities and surprising applications in many different fields can thus be obtained by combining these nanomaterials.
Which unusual properties are these in particular? According to the project’s coordinator, Martin Kalbáč from the <a href="https://www.jh-inst.cas.cz/">J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry of the CAS</a>, there is an entire range of them and it is not exactly an easy feat to define them in general terms.
<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/labrulez-bucket-strapi-h3hsga3/Akademie_ved_Ceske_republiky_Jana_Plavec_AMULET_project_to_focus_on_multiscale_materials_development_50f068e15d.jpg" alt="CAS/Jana Plavec: AMULET project to focus on multiscale materials development."/>
“I’ll give the example of graphene, which is probably the most well-known two-dimensional material. It exhibits both optical transparency and electrically conductive properties, which can be utilised for things like touchscreens. It is also interesting that charge carriers in graphene, such as electrons, can move over a large distance without scattering occurring. In practice, this can be utilised for the design of electronic components,” Kalbáč explains.
However, graphene is a semimetal and, in this form, cannot be used for applications in conventional transistors, which require a semiconductor material. “However, if we correctly combine two graphene layers, the resulting material, under certain conditions, can exhibit semiconducting properties. In the context of macroscopic objects, such changes in fundamental physical properties are hard to imagine,” the researcher adds.
<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/labrulez-bucket-strapi-h3hsga3/Akademie_ved_Ceske_republiky_Jana_Plavec_AMULET_project_to_focus_on_multiscale_materials_development_Martin_Kalbac_J_Heyrovsky_Institute_of_Physical_Chemistry_the_AMULET_project_coordinator_51c2303a3d.jpg" alt="CAS/Jana Plavec: Martin Kalbáč (J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry), the AMULET project coordinator."/>
<h4>Modern materials science</h4>
Current trends in materials science draw inspiration from nature. Beyond naturally occurring elements and compounds, nature enables so-called material genetics, i.e., the targeted folding and “cross-breeding” of material components in 3D space. “Research of one- and two-dimensional materials has become very popular recently. One of the main ideas of the project is to combine these materials in a targeted way,” says Kalbáč, adding that the project will integrate a number of trends in the field of nanomaterials research, which may lead to unexpected discoveries of unique functionalities.
Experts will be investigating how multiscale materials interact with biological environments and whether they can be used for electrochemical or optical sensors and in electro-photochemical catalysis to remove harmful substances from air and water. They will also test new nano/micro-devices that can be used for energy conversion, production, and storage.
A large part of Kalbač’s home institute is involved in the AMULET project. “To name several significant points of interest we’re focusing on, I would mention the preparation and use of atomic clusters, the development of super-resolution optical microscopy, and the use of multiscale materials for special sensors and detectors, on which we will be working closely with the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at Charles University,” the researcher adds.
As part of the international scientific board of the AMULET project, the progress and direction of the research will be overseen by Konstantin Novoselov, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of graphene. “As the discoverer of graphene, Professor Novoselov is an icon in the field of 2D materials research. I am delighted that he has been able to join the project’s scientific board. I would like to thank my colleague Matěj Velický, who has been instrumental in helping make this happen,” Kalbáč adds.
<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/labrulez-bucket-strapi-h3hsga3/Akademie_ved_Ceske_republiky_Jana_Plavec_AMULET_project_to_focus_on_multiscale_materials_development_1_3c36e236aa.jpg" alt="CAS/Jana Plavec: AMULET project to focus on multiscale materials development."/>
<h4>Half a billion crowns in funding</h4>
AMULET succeeded in competition with 66 projects submitted to the Excellence in Research Call in the Johannes Amos Comenius Programme administered by the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. The call is aimed at supporting research with the potential for excellent results applicable in practice. The money is earmarked for excellent research teams that will help Czech scientific institutions deepen their relations with international partners and also strengthen the competitiveness of the Czech Republic in the long run.
The project, coordinated by the J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry of the CAS, will receive almost half a billion crowns from the programme. “Approximately one third of this amount will go to my home institute. I am very happy that our project succeeded, as it will help us retain experts that we would otherwise probably lose due to lack of funding,” Kalbáč adds.
The consortium consists of eight partners – five institutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences and three Czech universities. “Coordinating such a large project is quite the challenge. On the other hand, I will be assisted by an administrative team from our institute. The partner institutions are represented by my colleagues with whom I have always had a good experience working together, so I believe that we will successfully be able to build on this cooperation,” Kalbáč concludes.
The following CAS institutes are involved in the project:
<ul>
<li>J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry of the CAS (Martin Kalbáč, the main coordinator of the project)</li>
<li>Institute of Photonics and Electronics of the CAS (Jiří Homola)</li>
<li>Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS (Petr Cígler)</li>
<li>Institute of Physics of the CAS (Jiří Červenka)</li>
<li>Nuclear Physics Institute of the CAS (Anna Macková)</li>
<li>Charles University, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics (Jana Kalbáčová Vejpravová)</li>
<li>University of Chemical Technology, Prague (Zdeněk Sofer)</li>
<li>Jan Evangelista Purkyně University, Faculty of Science (Zdeňka Kolská)</li>
</ul>
<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/labrulez-bucket-strapi-h3hsga3/Akademie_ved_Ceske_republiky_AMULET_project_to_focus_on_multiscale_materials_development_collaborators_c3879abe9d.jpg" alt="CAS: AMULET project to focus on multiscale materials development - the project partners."/>

AMULET project to focus on multiscale materials development

New research from the group of MIT Professor <a href="https://chemistry.mit.edu/profile/brett-mcguire/">Brett McGuire</a> has revealed the presence of a previously unknown molecule in space. The team’s open-access paper, “<a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ad37ff">Rotational Spectrum and First Interstellar Detection of 2-Methoxyethanol Using ALMA Observations of NGC 6334I</a>,” appears in April 12 issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
<a href="https://chemistry.mit.edu/chemistry-news/zachary-fried-wins-lewis-e-snyder-astrochemistry-award/">Zachary T.P. Fried</a>, a <a href="https://chemistry.mit.edu/chemistry-news/graduate-student-spotlight-zachary-fried/">graduate student in the McGuire group</a> and the lead author of the publication, worked to assemble a puzzle comprised of pieces collected from across the globe, extending beyond MIT to France, Florida, Virginia, and Copenhagen, to achieve this exciting discovery.
“Our group tries to understand what molecules are present in regions of space where stars and solar systems will eventually take shape,” explains Fried. “This allows us to piece together how chemistry evolves alongside the process of star and planet formation. We do this by looking at the rotational spectra of molecules, the unique patterns of light they give off as they tumble end-over-end in space. These patterns are fingerprints (barcodes) for molecules. To detect new molecules in space, we first must have an idea of what molecule we want to look for, then we can record its spectrum in the lab here on Earth, and then finally we look for that spectrum in space using telescopes.”
<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/labrulez-bucket-strapi-h3hsga3/MIT_MIT_News_courtesy_of_the_researchers_Researchers_detect_a_new_molecule_in_space_Scientists_detected_2_Methoxyethanol_in_space_for_the_first_time_using_radiotelescope_observations_3e67581c6d.jpg" alt="MIT News/courtesy of the researchers: Scientists detected 2-Methoxyethanol in space for the first time using radiotelescope observations of the star-forming region NGC 6334I."/>
<h4>Searching for molecules in space</h4>
The McGuire Group has recently <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/abe764/meta">begun to utilize machine learning</a> to suggest good target molecules to search for. In 2023, one of these machine learning models suggested the researchers target a molecule known as 2-methoxyethanol.
“There are a number of ‘methoxy’ molecules in space, like dimethyl ether, methoxymethanol, ethyl methyl ether, and methyl formate, but 2-methoxyethanol would be the largest and most complex ever seen,” says Fried. To detect this molecule using radiotelescope observations, the group first needed to measure and analyze its rotational spectrum on Earth. The researchers combined experiments from the University of Lille (Lille, France), the New College of Florida (Sarasota, Florida), and the McGuire lab at MIT to measure this spectrum over a broadband region of frequencies ranging from the microwave to sub-millimeter wave regimes (approximately 8 to 500 gigahertz).
The data gleaned from these measurements permitted a search for the molecule using Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations toward two separate star-forming regions: NGC 6334I and IRAS 16293-2422B. Members of the McGuire group analyzed these telescope observations alongside researchers at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (Charlottesville, Virginia) and the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
“Ultimately, we observed 25 rotational lines of 2-methoxyethanol that lined up with the molecular signal observed toward NGC 6334I (the barcode matched!), thus resulting in a secure detection of 2-methoxyethanol in this source,” says Fried. “This allowed us to then derive physical parameters of the molecule toward NGC 6334I, such as its abundance and excitation temperature. It also enabled an investigation of the possible chemical formation pathways from known interstellar precursors.”
<h4>Looking forward</h4>
Molecular discoveries like this one help the researchers to better understand the development of molecular complexity in space during the star formation process. 2-methoxyethanol, which contains 13 atoms, is quite large for interstellar standards — as of 2021, <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4365/ac2a48/meta">only six species larger than 13 atoms were detected outside the solar system</a>, many by McGuire’s group, and all of them existing as ringed structures.
“Continued observations of large molecules and subsequent derivations of their abundances allows us to advance our knowledge of how efficiently large molecules can form and by which specific reactions they may be produced,” says Fried. “Additionally, since we detected this molecule in NGC 6334I but not in IRAS 16293-2422B, we were presented with a unique opportunity to look into how the differing physical conditions of these two sources may be affecting the chemistry that can occur.”

Researchers detect a new molecule in space

Feldspar is a ubiquitous mineral and makes up about half of the Earth&#39;s crust. In the Earth&#39;s atmosphere, feldspars play a surprisingly important role. Fine powder carried by air influences cloud formation. Water molecules adhere better to feldspar dust than to other particles. Tiny feldspar grains, floating in the atmosphere, thus become excellent nucleation seeds, where water molecules stick and freeze, eventually forming a cloud.
It is unclear why feldspar has this remarkable ability to bind water efficiently and enable cloud formation. Using a highly sensitive atomic force microscope, researchers at TU Wien have shown that the unique geometry of the feldspar surface provides the perfect anchoring point for OH groups of hydrogen and oxygen—and subsequently for water.
<h4>Images with atomic resolution</h4>
&quot;Researchers were considering several ideas why feldspar is such an effective nucleation seed,&quot; says Prof. Ulrike Diebold from the Institute of Applied Physics at TU Wien, who led the project. &quot;It could be due to potassium atoms contained in feldspar, or perhaps certain defects in its crystal structure.&quot;
To find out, TU researchers used a very sensitive atomic force microscope. In this microscope, the surface of the crystal is scanned with a fine tip point-by-point. The force between the tip and the surface produces an image with high resolution, where the position of each atom can be precisely determined.
&quot;We placed a piece of feldspar in the microscope&#39;s vacuum chamber and split it in half to obtain a pristine and clean surface,&quot; says Giada Franceschi, the study&#39;s first author. &quot;We were puzzled by the results: The images of the surface looked different from what common theories had predicted.&quot;
<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/labrulez-bucket-strapi-h3hsga3/TU_Wien_The_rock_that_creates_clouds_Florian_Mittendorfer_Giada_Franceschi_Michael_Schmid_und_Andrea_Conti_left_to_right_68b9e03abc.jpg" alt="TU Wien: Florian Mittendorfer, Giada Franceschi, Michael Schmid und Andrea Conti (left to right)."/>
<h4>An optimal connection: the hydroxyl layer</h4>
The cause was quickly found: Tiny water inclusions in the rock were the culprits. When the stone is broken apart, a little water vapor is released. This vapor attaches to the freshly split surface, and the water molecules break apart, forming hydroxyl (OH) groups. &quot;Under the microscope, you don&#39;t see the feldspar surface itself but a surface covered with hydroxyl groups,&quot; explains Giada Franceschi. &quot;In nature, the feldspar surface is also covered with such a hydroxyl layer.&quot;
Due to the geometry of the feldspar crystal, these hydroxyl groups are positioned in a way that makes them ideal anchoring points for water molecules. Water molecules can dock to the hydroxyl groups like building blocks that fit together precisely. Thus, the hydroxyl layer forms the perfect connection between feldspar and the water that attaches as ice. &quot;The bond is established very easily and quickly, and it is also very stable,&quot; says Ulrike Diebold. &quot;To remove the hydroxyl layer from feldspar, one would have to heat it to high temperature.&quot; Computer simulations also support this finding.
The results provide insight into why specific crystals in our atmosphere are particularly well-suited as cloud-forming nucleation seeds. Especially in the face of climate change, it is important to understand the physics of cloud formation better. And sometimes, as the research project at TU Wien shows, one has to delve deep into the world of atoms.

The rock that creates clouds

CAST scientist Rick van de Hurk published a manuscript on the use of parallel gradients in 2DLC-HRMS analysis of complex protein digests. Peptide features of about 1-second FHWM are obtained throughout the 60 min of separation, giving high peak capacity. The work is also done at “reduced” flow rates (with respect to analytical 2DLC flows) and has a sensitivity in the same order as 1DRPLC-HRMS.
Investigating the proteins in biological samples can help us understand and identify diseases and improve the effectiveness of medication. To study proteins in these samples, they are typically digested into peptides and subsequently analyzed by liquid chromatography (LC) hyphenated with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS).
Comprehensive two-dimensional LC (LC×LC) offers increased separation power over traditional LC methods. However, most common gradient designs require re-equilibration of every second-dimension run, resulting in high flow rate operations to limit the empty separation space. This also limits MS sensitivity as flow splitting is required to handle such flow rates.
In this work, we developed an LC×LC method using a so-called parallel-gradient design, which omits the need for column re-equilibration and enables the use of the entire separation space. Moreover, this allows for lower flow rates and maintains the sensitivity for low-abundant analytes. The parallel-gradient design achieved higher surface coverages and sensitivity at lower effective peak capacities. Most importantly, both methods were applied to analyze a Human IMR90 lung fibroblast cell line digest to assess its applicability to real complex samples. The parallel-gradient method was able to identify significantly more proteins than the current state-of-the-art methods while using the same analysis time and at a lower solvent consumption. The applicability of the parallel-gradient design could be improved even further by shortening the modulation times, as it was not limited by column re-equilibration.

Parallel Gradients 2DLC-HRMS of complex protein digest

In the week from July 8, the following webinars await you in the field of atomic and molecular spectroscopy and spectrometry
<blockquote>
<h4><a href="https://icpms.labrulez.com/webinars">👉 DETAILS AND REGISTRATION IN THE WEBINARS SECTION</a></h4>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
👉 Search and filter in the largest global database with over 3 500 GC, LC, MS and spectroscopy webinars.
</blockquote>
<h5>1. Agilent Technologies: Elemental Analysis in Yeast Cells and Microplastics by ICP-MS with Automated Micro-Flow Sample Introduction</h5>
<ul>
<li>Tu, 9.7.2024, 21:30 CEST</li>
<li><a href="https://icpms.labrulez.com/webinar/3897">Registration</a></li>
</ul>
An automated, micro-flow autosampler in combination with a triple quadrupole Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-QQQ) is used in the elemental analysis of yeast cells and microplastics.
<h5>2. Bruker: Hypoxia in the Tumor Immune Microenvironment (TIME)</h5>
<ul>
<li>Th, 11.7.2024, 16:00 CEST</li>
<li><a href="https://icpms.labrulez.com/webinar/4053">Registration</a></li>
</ul>
We will review in vivo (e.g. PET/MR) and cellular and molecular (e.g. MRI/NMR spectroscopy) preclinical studies that provide new insights of varied tumor profiles/types.
<h5>3. Bruker: Studying the Mechanics of DNA Rearrangements with Optical Tweezers</h5>
<ul>
<li>Th, 11.7.2024, 17:00 CEST</li>
<li><a href="https://icpms.labrulez.com/webinar/4105">Registration</a></li>
</ul>
Optical Tweezers (OT) enables the non-invasive, nanometer-precise manipulation of cells, molecules and nanoparticles, and the simultaneous application and quantification of the piconewton forces acting on them.
<h5>4. Agilent Technologies: Direct Elemental Analysis of Edible Oils Using an Agilent 5800 ICP-OES</h5>
<ul>
<li>Th, 11.7.2024, 20:00 CEST</li>
<li><a href="https://icpms.labrulez.com/webinar/3898">Registration</a></li>
</ul>
Direct Elemental Analysis of Edible Oils Using an Agilent 5800 ICP-OES

Webinars LabRulezICPMS Week 28/2024

In the week from July 8, the following webinars await you in the field of gas / solid phase and especially Raman, FTIR, GC and GC/MS.
<blockquote>
<h4><a href="https://gcms.labrulez.com/webinars">👉 DETAILS AND REGISTRATION IN THE WEBINARS SECTION</a></h4>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
👉 Search and filter in the largest global database with over 3 500 GC, LC, MS and spectroscopy webinars.
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<h5>1. Separation Science/SepSolve Analytical: Nature’s Influence: Understanding Environmental Impacts on Crop Flavor and Nutrition</h5>
<ul>
<li>We, 10.7.2024, 11:30 CEST</li>
<li><a href="https://gcms.labrulez.com/webinar/4035">Registration</a></li>
</ul>
Discover how GC×GC-TOF MS is used, alongside advanced extraction techniques, to unravel the complexities of plant and food volatiles.
<h5>2. The Analytical Scientist/Thermo Fisher Scientific: Unlock the power of connectivity: Enhancing collaboration and data sharing in chromatography and mass spectrometry analysis</h5>
<ul>
<li>We, 10.7.2024, 17:00 CEST</li>
<li><a href="https://gcms.labrulez.com/webinar/4034">Registration</a></li>
</ul>
Join us for an overview of a powerful software solution specifically designed for scientists, offering a wide range of features and functionalities to meet the diverse needs of modern laboratories.

Webinars LabRulezGCMS Week 28/2024

In the week of July 8, the following webinars await you in the field of liquid phase and especially HPLC and LC/MS.
<blockquote>
<h4><a href="https://lcms.labrulez.com/webinars">👉 DETAILS AND REGISTRATION IN THE WEBINARS SECTION</a></h4>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
👉 Search and filter in the largest global database with over 3 500 GC, LC, MS and spectroscopy webinars.
</blockquote>
<h5>1. Waters Corporation: Transform Your Daily Lab Operations with Automation - Episode 2: Pharma workflows</h5>
<ul>
<li>Tu, 9.7.2024, 11:00 CEST</li>
<li><a href="https://lcms.labrulez.com/webinar/4103">Registration</a></li>
</ul>
In this episode, we’re excited to show off Andrew+, an advanced pipetting robot, and OneLab, a workflow design execution software, two game changers in pharmaceutical workflows.
<h5>2. Phenomenex: HPLC Method Development: Practical Approaches for Identifying Equivalent and Orthogonal Columns</h5>
<ul>
<li>Tu, 9.7.2024, 11:00 CEST</li>
<li><a href="https://lcms.labrulez.com/webinar/3588">Registration</a></li>
</ul>
Recognize columns exhibiting comparable selectivity to your current column selection.
<h5>3. Technology Networks/Cayman Chemical: Ask Me Anything: The Chemistry of Psilocybin</h5>
<ul>
<li>Tu, 9.7.2024, 18:30 CEST</li>
<li><a href="https://lcms.labrulez.com/webinar/4086">Registration</a></li>
</ul>
Discover the sophisticated methods used to analyse and characterize psilocybin, ensuring its purity and potency. Gain insights into the molecular composition of psilocybin.
<h5>4. Technology Networks/Thermo Fisher Scientific: What the CLIA 2024 Final Rule Means for Your Laboratory</h5>
<ul>
<li>We, 10.7.2024, 16:00 CEST</li>
<li><a href="https://lcms.labrulez.com/webinar/3972">Registration</a></li>
</ul>
This in-depth webinar will elucidate the details of the CLIA 2024 final rule, helping laboratories stay informed and prepared for future inspections.
<h5>5. The Analytical Scientist/Thermo Fisher Scientific: Unlock the power of connectivity: Enhancing collaboration and data sharing in chromatography and mass spectrometry analysis</h5>
<ul>
<li>We, 10.7.2024, 17:00 CEST</li>
<li><a href="https://lcms.labrulez.com/webinar/4034">Registration</a></li>
</ul>
Join us for an overview of a powerful software solution specifically designed for scientists, offering a wide range of features and functionalities to meet the diverse needs of modern laboratories.
<h5>6. Technology Networks/Agilent Technologies: Immunometabolic Features of Cancer Immunity</h5>
<ul>
<li>We, 10.7.2024, 18:00 CEST</li>
<li><a href="https://lcms.labrulez.com/webinar/4033">Registration</a></li>
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In this webinar, Dr. Delgoffe will discuss metabolic insufficiencies within the T cell compartment of solid tumors and reveal how these metabolic nodes may be modulated to improve the immune response to cancer.
<h5>7. Bruker: timsTOF Ultra: Immunopeptidomics and single cell proteomics explorations</h5>
<ul>
<li>Th, 11.7.2024, 10:00 CEST</li>
<li><a href="https://lcms.labrulez.com/webinar/4088">Registration</a></li>
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We will show how fine application-specific optimizations of every step of the proteomics workflow are strongly beneficial to the output results.
<h5>8. Phenomenex: mRNA Characterization - From 5’ Cap to Poly (A): What IPRP–MS Can Tell You</h5>
<ul>
<li>Th, 11.7.2024, 10:00 CEST</li>
<li><a href="https://lcms.labrulez.com/webinar/4054">Registration</a></li>
</ul>
In this webinar, we present an mRNA characterization workflow that includes sample preparation, LC-MS methodology and bioinformatics processing.

 Webinars LabRulezLCMS Week 28/2024

WASHINGTON – Today, May 8, 2024, in response to President Biden’s Executive Order 14081, “Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy,” the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have <a href="https://usbiotechnologyregulation.mrp.usda.gov/eo14081-section8c-plan-reg-reform.pdf">developed</a> a plan to update, streamline and clarify their regulations and oversight mechanisms for products of biotechnology.
The plan helps meet the President’s goals of ensuring public confidence in the biotechnology regulatory system and improving its transparency, predictability, coordination and efficiency. Through engagement with developers and stakeholders, as well as horizon scanning for novel biotechnology products, the agencies worked collaboratively to develop a cohesive plan. The plan incorporates processes and timelines to implement regulatory reform, such as identifying guidance and regulations to update, streamline, or clarify, and identifying the potential need for new guidance or regulations. The plan supports a whole-of-government approach to the regulation of biotechnology products.
The agencies have identified five major areas of biotechnology product regulation where these actions will focus:
<ol>
<li>Modified plants</li>
<li>Modified animals</li>
<li>Modified microorganisms</li>
<li>Human drugs, biologics and medical devices</li>
<li>Cross-cutting issues</li>
</ol>
EPA, the FDA and USDA intend to implement the following joint efforts:
<ul>
<li>Clarify and streamline regulatory oversight for genetically engineered plants, animals and microorganisms;</li>
<li>Update and expand their information sharing through an MOU to improve and broaden communication and coordination of oversight of modified microbes; and</li>
<li>Undertake a pilot project focused on modified microbes to explore and consider the feasibility and costs of developing a web-based tool that informs developers about which agency may regulate a given product category.</li>
</ul>
The federal government established the Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology in 1986 and most recently updated it in 2017. It describes the comprehensive federal regulatory policy for ensuring the safety of biotechnology products, including how EPA, the FDA and USDA share responsibility for regulating many of the products of biotechnology in the United States. The Executive Order directs the three agencies to improve how they implement the Coordinated Framework. 
In response to the Executive Order, the three regulatory agencies, in consultation with the Office of Science and Technology Policy, issued a Request for Information to the public to solicit information on regulatory ambiguities, gaps, uncertainties or inefficiencies in the Coordinated Framework. The agencies received 88 distinct public comments, including a sign-on letter from over 6,000 members from biotechnology developers, producers, manufacturers, non-governmental organizations and academia. The agencies will continue to engage with all interested stakeholders as they implement the plan.
Visit the <a href="https://usbiotechnologyregulation.mrp.usda.gov/biotechnologygov/home">Unified Website for Biotechnology Regulation</a> for additional information on modernizing the regulatory system for biotechnology products and Executive Order 14081.

EPA, FDA and USDA Issues Updates to the Joint Regulatory Plan for Biotechnology

For over a century, cancer cell metabolism has been viewed as something of a paradox. New work from researchers at Washington University in St. Louis shows that it might not be such an anomaly after all. The study is published Aug. 15 in <a href="https://www.cell.com/molecular-cell/fulltext/S1097-2765(22)00703-1">Molecular Cell</a>.
<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/labrulez-bucket-strapi-h3hsga3/Washington_University_in_St_Louis_Shutterstock_Sugar_metabolism_is_surprisingly_conventional_in_cancer_Mitochondria_the_cell_s_powerhouses_play_an_active_role_in_most_cancers_726527b95c.jpg" alt="Washington University in St. Louis /Shutterstock: Washington University in St. Louis/Shutterstock: Mitochondria — the cell’s powerhouses — play an active role in most cancers. Research from Washington University in St. Louis shows that cancer cells only waste glucose (sugar) because transport into mitochondria is too slow. The study has implications for targeting sugar metabolism in cancer treatment."/>
Glucose, a common sugar in food, is one of the most important nutrients in the body. Cancer cells tend to consume it at an astounding pace. At first glance, that seems to make good sense because cancer cells have a lot of synthesis to do. After all, as tumors grow rapidly, each cell has to replicate its entire contents.
But here’s the catch. Cancer cells don’t use the glucose very efficiently. Instead of sucking all of the energy they can out of glucose, they release most of it as a waste material.
“To extract the maximum amount of energy from glucose, cells must transport its transformation products into mitochondria,” said Gary Patti, the Michael and Tana Powell Professor of Chemistry in Arts &amp; Sciences and of genetics and of medicine at the School of Medicine. Patti, a member of Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and the School of Medicine, is senior author of the new study.
“There are certain biochemical rules that metabolism is supposed to follow. It’s been interesting to think about why tumors might be allowed to break them,” Patti said. “However, the findings we report here demonstrate that cancer cells do follow conventional principles.”
<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/labrulez-bucket-strapi-h3hsga3/Washington_University_in_St_Louis_Wash_U_leads_new_multi_omics_production_center_for_NIH_research_consortium_Patti_fa8e4a9e2a/Washington-University-in-St.-Louis-WashU-leads-new-multi-omics-production-center-for-NIH-research-consortium-Patti.jpg" alt="Washington University in St. Louis: Patti."/>
<h4>Overflowing</h4>
Mitochondria are tiny compartments inside cells, often referred to as the cell’s power plants or powerhouses. What goes in and out of them is tightly controlled.
As a bit of backstory, a famous biochemist named Otto Warburg first discovered the wasteful nature of tumors in the 1920s. To explain why more energy isn’t harvested from glucose, he postulated that mitochondria are damaged in cancer cells.
“We now know that this is not true. Mitochondria are functional and, in fact, active in most cancers,” Patti said. But that leaves a persistent and vexing question unanswered: Why do cancer cells metabolize so little of the glucose they consume in mitochondria?
“I think what has been confounding is that there has been this notion that cancer cells prefer not to oxidize glucose in their mitochondria,” Patti said. “Perhaps as a legacy of Warburg’s original thinking or maybe because it happens so extensively, the assumption has often been that cancer cells want to use glucose wastefully.”
<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/labrulez-bucket-strapi-h3hsga3/Washington_University_in_St_Louis_Shutterstock_Sugar_metabolism_is_surprisingly_conventional_in_cancer_c350558047.jpg" alt="Washington University in St. Louis/Shutterstock"/>
“When we restrict the amount of glucose taken up by cancer cells, almost all of it makes its way into mitochondria,” Patti said. “But as glucose consumption is increased, the speed of moving glucose-derived molecules into mitochondria can’t keep up.”
In other words, cancer cells only waste glucose away because transport into mitochondria is too slow.
Imagine a bathtub faucet that is spitting out water faster than the drain can remove it. Eventually, the water overflows onto the floor.
“This is not a radically new metabolic paradigm. Most cells do prefer to oxidize glucose in mitochondria rather than excrete it as waste,” Patti said. “Our data suggest that cancer cells are not an exception. They appear to follow the same biochemical patterns as other cells.”
All sorts of explanations have been offered as to why cancer cells might want to be wasteful with their glucose. However, Patti and his team contend that these rationalizations may be unnecessary. In the end, cancer metabolism may not be as unusual as scientists thought.
Cancer cells really do want to metabolize glucose in their mitochondria, and they do so. Until they can’t.
<h4>Saturated</h4>
The Patti team’s discovery was made possible by a powerful technology called metabolomics.
“During the past decade, advances in the field of metabolomics and mass spectrometry have been extraordinary,” Patti noted. “We have now reached a point where measuring molecules in single cells is even possible.”
In this study, the researchers combined metabolomics with stable isotope tracers. This allowed them to tag different parts of glucose so that they could track it inside of cells, watching the speed at which things entered mitochondria or were excreted from cells. That is how the scientists discovered that the normal pathways for transporting fuel were getting outpaced, or saturated, in cancer cells.
The rate at which tumors consume glucose has been exploited by doctors in the clinic for decades as a way to diagnose cancer and identify its stage. It also has led some to believe that limiting glucose uptake with drugs or by eating a sugar-free diet might “starve” the cancer cells to death.
This study’s findings raise questions about such a strategy.
“We may need to rethink how best to target glucose metabolism in cancer,” Patti said. “If cancer cells take up more glucose than they need, and using it wastefully is not a driver of disease, then glucose metabolism may not be as attractive of a therapeutic target as we had hoped.”
<h6>Funding: Financial support was received for this work from NIH awards R35ES028365 and R24OD024624, as well as the Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts.</h6>

Sugar metabolism is surprisingly conventional in cancer

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