#Beriberi

A historic breakthrough confirms a 67-year-old hypothesis about vitamin B1, or thiamine, revealing new details about how this essential nutrient operates in the body. The finding not only resolves a long-standing scientific debate but also opens possibilities for eco-friendly chemical production with potential benefits for health, industry, and the environment.

The discovery traces back to 1958, when a Columbia University chemist proposed that thiamine’s metabolic actions might involve a reactive structure called a carbene. Carbenes are usually unstable in water-based environments, making such a mechanism seem unlikely for biological processes. The idea faced skepticism for decades until a UC Riverside-led team demonstrated otherwise by stabilizing a carbene in water. This achievement paved the way for observing the molecule’s composition with high-resolution imaging, marking the first verified instance of a stable carbene in aqueous conditions.

In a historic breakthrough, scientists have finally confirmed a 67-year-old hypothesis about vitamin B1, also known as thiamine, radically advancing our understanding of how this crucial vitamin works in the human body. This finding not only settles a decades-old scientific debate but also unlocks new possibilities for eco-friendly chemical production, with potential impact reaching far beyond the laboratory.

The story of this discovery begins in 1958, when a chemist from Columbia University theorized that vitamin B1 might perform its vital metabolic functions through the formation of an elusive molecular structure called a carbene. Carbenes are notoriously unstable and tend to decompose instantly in aqueous (water-based) environments like the human body, making the hypothesis seem improbable for more than half a century. For years, the idea was dismissed as “crazy,” as quoted by Vincent Lavallo, a chemist at the University of California, Riverside, who led the recent research that validated this bold proposal.