And it has a physical effect on brain function and transmission by altering chemical pathways, like those involving adenosine.

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The company takes the genes from those organisms to map out the chemical pathways that lead to the antibiotic themselves.

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Valerenic acid, an ingredient of the root, acts on chemical pathways in the brain that control a person's level of anxiety or relaxation, according to scientific literature.

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As is typical with patents, the patent claims appear to overlap in places, with both companies saying they have patents on the technique of boosting chemical pathways in yeast that produce isobutanol.

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The fungus uses a common carbohydrate processing enzyme called acetyl co-A to form the building blocks of hydrocarbons--but its unique chemical pathways are not yet understood nor is the process by which the gases escape the fungal membrane into the air.

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Unlike Codexis, which deals in purified enzymes, Amyris employs a technique called synthetic biology, which turns living organisms into chemical reactors by assembling novel biochemical pathways within them.

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