
Biochemists face the climate challenge
Everyone knows coral bleaching occurs when seawater gets hot. Biochemists ask: How?
Corals die when their photosynthetic algal symbionts experience heat stress and exude hydrogen peroxide, causing coral tissue to expel the algae. Thus, coral bleaching is a biochemical process that we can understand and engage with, imagining new solutions to climate changes that degrade our planet.
Submit an abstract
Abstract submission begins Sept. 14. If you submit by Oct. 12, you'll get a decision by Nov. 1. The regular submission deadline is Nov. 30. See the categories.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have long embraced “One Health,” the concept that a healthy planet is required for human health. Recently, the National Institutes of Health launched their Climate Change and Health Initiative. Biochemistry is central to preserving the natural world and developing fully renewable building materials, novel foods and health care solutions.
This session will explore how the living world experiences changes in temperature, pH, salt, nutrients, desiccation and other conditions. The speakers will illuminate the cell and molecular mechanisms underlying coral symbiosis, thermal adaptations of marine organisms, temperature-dependent mutagenesis and transposition in the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans, and the endocrine underpinnings of environmental influences on human health. This session is for the next generation of biochemists who will meet the climate challenge.
Keywords: One Health, thermal adaptation, symbiosis.
Who should attend: The next generation of biochemists who will save the planet.
Theme song: “Imagine” by John Lennon
This session is powered by the courage to face humanity’s greatest challenge.

Biochemistry and climate change
Asiya Gusa, Duke University
James A. DeMayo, University of Colorado–Denver
Yixian Zheng, Carnegie Institution for Science
Teresa Horton, Northwestern University
Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?
Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition monthly.
Learn moreGet the latest from ASBMB Today
Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.
Latest in Science
Science highlights or most popular articles

Mapping the placenta’s hormone network
Study uncovers how the placenta actively metabolizes not only glucocorticoids but also novel androgens and progesterones, reshaping our understanding of pregnancy and its complications.

Biochemists and molecular biologists sweep major 2025 honors
Recent Nobel, MacArthur and Kimberly Prize honorees highlight the power of biochemistry and molecular biology to drive discovery, including immune tolerance, vaccine design and metabolic disease, and to advance medicine and improve human health.

Spider-like proteins spin defenses to control immunity
Researchers from Utrecht University discovered two distinct binding modes of a spider-shaped immune inhibitor found in serum.

A biological camera: How AI is transforming retinal imaging
AI is helping clinicians see a more detailed view into the eye, allowing them to detect diabetic retinopathy earlier and expand access through tele-ophthalmology. These advances could help millions see a clearer future.

AI in the lab: The power of smarter questions
An assistant professor discusses AI's evolution from a buzzword to a trusted research partner. It helps streamline reviews, troubleshoot code, save time and spark ideas, but its success relies on combining AI with expertise and critical thinking.

Training AI to uncover novel antimicrobials
Antibiotic resistance kills millions, but César de la Fuente’s lab is fighting back. By pairing AI with human insight, researchers are uncovering hidden antimicrobial peptides across the tree of life with a 93% success rate against deadly pathogens.