Sarah Braner

New York

Assistant Editor at C&EN

*checking twitter v intermittently!* life sciences @cenmag, prev @thisisinsider @slate @cnn. we don't need to talk about when i was at the messenger 🤪

Articles

Syndeio Biosciences launches with molecules to target the synapse

1 month ago | cen.acs.org | Sarah Braner

With $90 million in funding, Syndeio Biosciences has launched to target synaptopathies. These diseases and disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease and major depressive disorder, are thought to result from damaged neural networks. In addition to cash, the company has several assets in hand, including a lead drug candidate, zelquistinel, that is currently in Phase 2 clinical trials to treat major depressive disorder.
Researchers target brain mechanism to extend ketamine's antidepressant effects

1 month ago | cen.acs.org | Sarah Braner

Researchers at Vanderbilt University have found that boosting a signaling pathway in the brain can prolong ketamine's antidepressant effects, at least in mice. The team found that compared with mice that received only ketamine, mice who got the modified treatment showed less-pronounced depressive behaviors 8 weeks after the treatment ( Science 2025, DOI: 10.1126/science.abb6748).
Plant fibers may help IBD drugs reach the lower gut

1 month ago | cen.acs.org | Sarah Braner

A new drug delivery method could improve treatments for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) like ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Currently available oral drugs for IBD must transit the entire upper digestive tract before they get to the lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract-the area where they're actually needed, says Laura Sly, a professor in the pediatrics department at the University of British Columbia (UBC).
Grove Biopharma launches to develop therapeutic protein-like polymers

2 months ago | cen.acs.org | Sarah Braner

Grove Biopharma has raised a $30 million series A round to develop Bionic Biologics, also known as protein-like polymers (PLP), which were invented by Nathan Gianneschi at Northwestern University. A PLP is a polymer of peptides that mimics a protein but is more stable and more cell permeable. It is composed of a hydrophobic, semiflexible backbone and hydrophilic ends. That structure causes the PLP to fold in on itself in an aqueous solution, mimicking a globular protein.
AI-assisted proteomics investigates rare liver disease

2 months ago | cen.acs.org | Sarah Braner

As the field of proteomics continues to advance, scientists are using new methods to answer longstanding questions about rare diseases. One such disease is α-1-antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), a proteotoxic liver disease, in which misfolded and unfolded proteins cause cell death. In this case, a deletion in the gene for α-1-antitrypsin leads to a misfolded mutant, which accumulates and eventually results in cell death.
Small molecule rescues unstable mitochondrial enzyme

2 months ago | cen.acs.org | Sarah Braner

Cells can't operate without the power supplied by working mitochondria. When the mechanisms that replicate or repair mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) fail, it can cause a wide range of syndromes for which there are few to zero existing treatment options. One of the causes of these syndromes is a misbehaving mtDNA polymerase called POLG. Mutations or deletions in the gene for POLG yield defective polymerases that cannot stay on the mtDNA template, thus leaving the enzyme's tasks incomplete.
A bioluminescent probe to track RNA

Mar 27, 2025 | cen.acs.org | Sarah Braner

While great strides have been made in exploring the world of RNA, mysteries remain-and one approach to solving them is to look at what exactly a strand of RNA is doing in a cell in real time.
Treating a deadly childhood cancer with a sideways approach

Mar 25, 2025 | cen.acs.org | Sarah Braner

Neuroblastomas are the most common cancer in infants, with about 700-800 diagnoses per year in the US, according to the American Cancer Society. Some of the most high-risk cases are driven by elevated expression of the protein N-Myc, a transcription factor that causes increased cell proliferation. N-Myc is difficult to target in part because its structure is more malleable than that of a rigid protein.
Enodia gums up protein pathways for a good cause

Mar 5, 2025 | cen.acs.org | Sarah Braner

In the world of protein degradation, sometimes a spanner in the works isn't an inconvenience but the desired result. Paris-based Enodia Therapeutics has launched out of France's Pasteur Institute and the Argobio Studio to design small molecules that strategically throw a wrench in the processing of undesired proteins. Protein synthesis involves multiple steps that scientists can target to get rid of unwanted proteins. Enodia focuses on one of the earlier steps.
Something smells off about this enzyme

Feb 21, 2025 | cen.acs.org | Sarah Braner

Skatole is an infamously smelly molecule that, in some anaerobic bacteria, is synthesized from ʟ-tryptophan in a four-step process. Now, researchers have found that certain aerobic bacteria only need one enzyme to get a similar job done. Bradley Moore and his team at the University of San Diego have discovered a diiron oxidase enzyme in cyanobacteria called SktA, which converts 5-bromo-ʟ-tryptophan into 5-bromoskatole, cyanide, and carbon dioxide in one step ( J. Am. Chem. Soc.