Chemical Compound Breakthrough

For the first time, researchers in the College of Science and Engineering (CSE) created a highly reactive chemical compound that had eluded scientists for more than 120 years. The hope is that this discovery will lead to new drug treatments, safer agricultural products, and better electronics.

For decades, researchers investigated molecules called N-heteroarenes, which are ring-shaped chemical compounds containing one or more nitrogen atoms. Molecules with a N-heteroarene core are widely used for medical applications, lifesaving pharmaceuticals, pesti- cides, herbicides, and electronics. Unfortunately, they are extremely challenging for chemists to make.

The team’s experiments were accomplished using organometallic catalysis, the interaction between metals and organic molecules. The research also required collaboration between organic and inorganic chemists, a common practice at the U of M.

The next step is to make the chemical compound widely available to chemists across multiple fields to streamline the creation process. This could help solve important problems, including food scarcity and treating illnesses.

This research was originally published in the April 25 edition of Science.

Life on Mars; The Search Continues

Because water is essential to life, NASA describes their strategy of searching for life on Mars as “follow the water.”

In fact, NASA missions have found evidence of abundant perchlorate salts on the Martian surface, which can collect and combine with water in the atmosphere to form concentrated solutions called brines.

Investigators at the College of Biological Sciences studied how the unique geochemical environment on Mars could shape life, past or present. The team looked at two types of ribonucleic acids (RNAs: molecules essential to known living organisms) and protein enzymes from Earth to see if they functioned in perchlorate brines. They found that not only did all the RNAs work surprisingly well in perchlorate brines, but also that protein enzymes didn’t function as well as RNAs in perchlorate brines. Only the proteins that evolved in extreme environments on Earth—in organisms that live at high temperatures or in high salt—could function. In perchlorate brines, RNA enzymes can do things they don’t normally do on Earth, such as generate new molecules that incorporate chlorine atoms, a reaction that had not previously been observed by scientists.

“Taken together, these results show that RNA is uniquely well suited to the very salty environments that are found on Mars, and could be found on other bodies in space,” says Assistant Professor Aaron Engelhart. “This extreme salt tolerance could influence how life may have formed on Mars in the past, or how it is forming in the conditions on Mars today.”

This research was first published in the May 20 edition of Nature Communications.

Rural Mental Health

Americans living in rural areas experience higher rates of depression and suicide than their urban counterparts. One reason for this is a longstanding shortage of mental health care professionals in less populated parts of the country.

A study by researchers at the School of Public Health (SPH) examined the factors that influence where mental health care workers decide to practice.

Using survey data collected by the Minnesota Department of Health from February 2022-2023, the study included responses from mental health clinicians who prescribe medications, such as psychiatrists; licensed mental health professionals, including professional clinical counselors; licensed psychologists; and licensed alcohol and drug counselors.

They found that professionals who grew up in rural areas were significantly more likely to practice in rural settings, especially licensed alcohol and drug counselors. Also, psychologists and other prescribers sought autonomy in their practices, which suggests the ability to work independently and make professional decisions can be a significant motivator for these groups.

Financial incentives such as loan forgiveness programs were also a critical factor influencing the decision to practice in rural locations, particularly for licensed mental health professionals and licensed psychologists.

“While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, there is a clear need for a targeted and multifaceted recruitment strategy to encourage more people to practice mental health care in rural areas,” says Carrie Henning-Smith, SPH associate professor and the study’s lead author.

This study first appeared in the July 17 edition of JAMA Network Open.

Thanks to the team at University Public Relations for compiling these briefs.

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