Tag Archives: adenosine triphosphate

Newly Discovered Receptors in Plants Help Them Recover from Environmental Changes, Pests, and Plant Wounds, MU Study Shows

Discovery could lead to herbicides, fertilizers and pesticides that naturally work with plants to make them stronger

COLUMBIA, Mo. – ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is the main energy source inside a cell and is considered to be the high energy molecule that drives all life processes in animals and humans. Outside the cell, membrane receptors that attract ATP drive muscle control, neurotransmission, inflammation and development.  Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found the same receptor in plants and believe it to be a vital component in the way plants respond to dangers, including pests, environmental changes and plant wounds. This discovery could lead to herbicides, fertilizers and insect repellants that naturally work with plants to make them stronger. (more…)

Read More

Revealing the Secrets of Motility in Archaea

Scientists from Berkeley Lab and the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology analyze a unique microbial motor

The protein structure of the motor that propels archaea has been characterized for the first time by a team of scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and Germany’s Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Terrestrial Microbiology.

The motility structure of this third domain of life has long been called a flagellum, a whip-like filament that, like the well-studied bacterial flagellum, rotates like a propeller. But although the archaeal structure has a similar function, it is so profoundly different in structure, genetics, and evolution that the researchers argue it deserves its own name: archaellum. (more…)

Read More

Where the Germs Are: Office Kitchens, Break Rooms

A study aided by UA microbiologist Charles Gerba finds that office kitchens and break rooms are frequent hot spots for bacteria.

If you thought the restroom was the epicenter of workplace germs, you don’t want to know about office break rooms and kitchens.

The place where U.S. workers eat and prepare their lunches topped the list of office germ hot spots, with the sink and microwave door handles found to be the dirtiest surfaces touched by office workers on a daily basis. (more…)

Read More