Tag Archives: proteins

Stau in der Zelle

By Guest PostSeptember 30, 2015Sciencebaban mohamed, bicultural acquisition, bilingualism, caroline ellison, child code switching, code switching, kurdish immigrant, kurdish immigrant children, proteins, rinde des mammutbaums, stau, young biologist

Ein deutsch-polnisches Team hat entschlüsselt, wie Zellen überleben, wenn mitochondriale Proteine fehlgeleitet werden

Ein Team um Prof. Dr. Bettina Warscheid von der Universität Freiburg und Prof. Dr. Agnieszka Chacinska vom Internationalen Institut für Molekular- und Zellbiologie in Warschau/Polen hat den Mechanismus „Unfolded Protein Response activated by mistargeting of proteins“, kurz UPRam, entdeckt: Dieser schützt Zellen davor, dass sich in ihrem Inneren zu viele mitochondriale Vorläuferproteine anstauen, die ihr Ziel – das Mitochondrium – wegen eines Defekts im Proteinimportsystem verfehlt haben. Die Studie zeigt, wie die Zelle auf Stress reagiert, der durch Proteinanstau ausgelöst wird, um sich ihr Überleben zu sichern. Die Daten können helfen, die Mechanismen alterungsbedingter und neurodegenerativer Erkrankungen zukünftig besser zu verstehen. Diese gehen häufig mit einer mitochondrialen Dysfunktion und Störungen bei der Erhaltung des Gleichgewichtszustandes der Zelle einher. Die Forschungsergebnisse sind nun in der Fachzeitschrift „Nature“ erschienen.

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3-D ‘Map’ of Enzyme Completed by MU Scientists Could Lead to More Effective Drugs

By Guest PostJune 29, 2014Science13th century, 3d map, dangerous bacteria, enzyme, enzymes, fruehzeit des menschen, function, gerhard jaeger, hugo reyes centeno, human body, john tanner, kathryn stevenson, modern record, protein crystallography, proteins, schaedelfunde aus afrika, university of missouri, warmest year, wortschatz

Enzyme map created by using a high-powered X-ray device

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The human body is full of proteins called enzymes that help nearly every function in the body. Scientists have been studying enzymes for decades in order to learn how they work and how to create better drugs and medical treatments for many ailments. Now, University of Missouri researchers have completed a 3-D map of an enzyme called Proline utilization A (PutA). PutA facilitates metabolism by adding oxygen to molecules. John Tanner, a professor in the MU Department of Biochemistry, says mapping this enzyme will give researchers a better understanding of its function, which could help drug manufacturers create more effective drugs. (more…)

Berkeley Lab Develops Nanoscope to Probe Chemistry on the Molecular Scale

By Guest PostJune 22, 2014Scienceatomic force microscopy, berkeley lab, bezahnten schildkroete, fourier transform, ftir, ganeshwaran mochida, gpt2, green party, hans bechtel, jill stein, lida xing, meteorites, michael martin, molecular scale, mouse neuron, new technique, oberen jura, ozan baytas neurological disease, proteins, qing ouyang, schildkroeten, sichuanchelys palatodentata, stardust, synchrotron infrared, university of colorado, walter joyce, wucaiwan, wuestenregion chinas

For years, scientists have had an itch they couldn’t scratch. Even with the best microscopes and spectrometers, it’s been difficult to study and identify molecules at the so-called mesoscale, a region of matter that ranges from 10 to 1000 nanometers in size. Now, with the help of broadband infrared light from the Advanced Light Source (ALS) synchrotron at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), researchers have developed a broadband imaging technique that looks inside this realm with unprecedented sensitivity and range.

By combining atomic force microscopy with infrared synchrotron light, researchers from Berkeley Lab and the University of Colorado have improved the spatial resolution of infrared spectroscopy by orders of magnitude, while simultaneously covering its full spectroscopic range, enabling the investigation of variety of nanoscale, mesoscale, and surface phenomena that were previously difficult to study. (more…)

Discovery spotlights key role of mystery RNA modification in cells

By Guest PostJanuary 16, 2014Sciencecell differentiation, cells, chuan he, demethylation, deoxyribonucleic acid, diabetes, discovery, DNA, exact function, healthy cells, infertility, key role, m6a, messenger ribonucleic acid, methyl, methylation, mrna, mrna in question, mystery, n6 methyladenosine, neurobiology, obesity, organic compounds, parameter, peking university, proteins, regulating mrna lifetime, rna modification, san diego, sequence, university of california, university of chicago, xiao wang, ythdf2

Researchers had known for several decades that a certain chemical modification exists on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), which is essential to the flow of genetic information. But only recently did experiments at the University of Chicago show that one major function of this modification governs the longevity and decay of RNA, a process critical to the development of healthy cells.

The chemical modification on mRNA in question is called N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A). A recent study by UChicago scientists reveals how the m⁶A modification on mRNA could affect the half-life of mRNA that in turn regulates cellular protein quantities. That discovery could provide fundamental insights into healthy functioning and disorders such as obesity, diabetes and infertility. (more…)

Researchers Find New Way to Create ‘Gradients’ for Understanding Molecular Interactions

By Guest PostAugust 16, 2013Sciencealbena ivanisevic, amino acid, biological systems, biomolecular gradients, cell receptors, gradients, human body, indium gallium nitride, indium rich end, ingan, l arginine, lauren bain, ligands, molecular behavior, molecules, new technique, north Carolina, oxide accumulation, peptides, ph level, proteins, salah bedair, semiconductor material, state university, substrate, tania paskova

Scientists use tools called gradients to understand how molecules interact in biological systems. Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new technique for creating biomolecular gradients that is both simpler than existing techniques and that creates additional surface characteristics that allow scientists to monitor other aspects of molecular behavior.

A gradient is a material that has a specific molecule on its surface, with the concentration of the molecule sloping from a high concentration on one end to a low concentration at the other end. The gradient is used not only to determine whether other molecules interact with the molecules on the gradient, but to determine the threshold level at which any interactions take place. (more…)

Computer modeling shows crucial function of water molecules in proteins

By Guest PostAugust 3, 2013Scienceatom for atom, benoit roux, cell membrane, cellular environment, computer modeling, crucial function, diameter, human health, impact, molecular simulations, phenomenon, potassium channel, proteins, signal, single carbon atom, uchicago scientists, water molecules

Using molecular simulations that modeled a potassium channel and its immediate cellular environment, atom for atom, UChicago scientists have discovered that just 12 molecules of water cause the long post-activation recovery period required by such ion channels before they can function again. The research has revealed a new mechanism in the function of a nearly universal biological structure that will have broad implications, ranging from fundamental biology to the design of pharmaceuticals.

“Our research clarifies the nature of this previously mysterious inactivation state. This gives us better understanding of fundamental biology and should improve the rational design of drugs, which often target the inactivated state of channels,” said Benoît Roux, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, whose team’s findings were published online July 28 in Nature. (more…)

The Compound in the Mediterranean Diet that Makes Cancer Cells ‘Mortal’

By Guest PostJune 1, 2013Healthalper yilmaz, andrea doseff, apigenin, benefits of nutrients, cancer cell behavior, cancer cells, caps, chemotherapeutic drugs, compound, daniel arango, erich grotewold, flavonoids, hnrnpa2, kengo morohashi, mediterranean diet, mortal, mrna, nutraceuticals, ohio state university, plant-based foods, proteins, rna, single molecule, superpower, technique to fishing

Scientists Design ‘Fishing’ Technique to Show How Foods Improve Health

COLUMBUS, Ohio – New research suggests that a compound abundant in the Mediterranean diet takes away cancer cells’ “superpower” to escape death.

By altering a very specific step in gene regulation, this compound essentially re-educates cancer cells into normal cells that die as scheduled.

One way that cancer cells thrive is by inhibiting a process that would cause them to die on a regular cycle that is subject to strict programming. This study in cells, led by researchers at The Ohio State University’s Comprehensive Cancer Center, found that a compound in certain plant-based foods, called apigenin, could stop breast cancer cells from inhibiting their own death. (more…)

Cannibal Tadpoles Key to Understanding Digestive Evolution

By Guest PostMay 25, 2013Scienceafrican clawed frog, anne everly, budgetts frog, cannibal tadpoles, carlos infante, carnivorous, cris ledon rettig, digestive evolution, function, human birth defects, intestinal birth defects, james hanken, lepidobatrachus laevis, molecules, nanette nascone yoder, north Carolina, proteins, state university, tadpole, xenopus, xenopus embryos, xenopus laevis

A carnivorous, cannibalistic tadpole may play a role in understanding the evolution and development of digestive organs, according to research from North Carolina State University. These findings may also shed light on universal rules of organ development that could lead to better diagnosis and prevention of intestinal birth defects.

NC State developmental biologist Nanette Nascone-Yoder, graduate student Stephanie Bloom and postdoc Cris Ledon-Rettig looked at Xenopus laevis (African clawed frog) and Lepidobatrachus laevis (Budgett’s frog) tadpoles. These frog species differ in diet and last shared a common ancestor about 110 million years ago. Like most tadpoles, Xenopus exist primarily on a diet of algae, and their long, simple digestive tracts are not able to process insects or proteins until they become adult frogs. Budgett’s is an aggressive species of frog which is carnivorous – and cannibalistic – in the tadpole stage. (more…)