Bringing ancient proteins to life: Was everything once better than today? Based on the amino acid sequences of protein families, those of their ancestors, of hundreds of millions of years ago, can be reconstructed and analysed. In this project laboratory evolution will be performed on these ancestral proteins to determine what happens to their extraordinary properties when they evolve to be more similar to their modern counterparts. Do they become less stable and does their activity change? These insights will contribute to the design of new enzymes for human applications.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for new antiviral treatments. One promising novel approach is targeting complex RNA structures, which play key roles in viruses like SARS-CoV-2. However, finding molecules that bind to RNA is very challenging because RNA is flexible and lacks stable binding sites. Current methods to find these molecules are slow or require a lot of effort. This research introduces a faster, easier way to screen for molecules that target specific SARS-CoV-2 RNA structures. The goal is to discover new molecules that could lead to innovative antiviral therapies.

Efficient conversion and storage of the sun’s energy is key to a sustainable future. A promising technology that is receiving increased attention is based on simultaneously converting and storing solar energy in the bonds between atoms in molecular photoswitches. These photoswitches undergo structural changes while transitioning between a low and high energy state upon light irradiation. However, this process is often hampered in solid and dense materials, required for efficient solar energy harvesting. With this project, we will overcome this limitation by incorporating molecular photoswitches in the cavity of nanotubes, which will aid in advancing this technology toward practical applications.