Latest Amino acid Stories
Using synthetic biology to precisely label proteinsScientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have developed a new method which enables researchers to label any protein of their choice with any of a wide variety of previously available compounds, in living cells, by introducing a single reactive artificial amino acid. Published today in Angewandte Chemie, the new technique enables researchers to label even rare proteins very precisely for optical...
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new study shows measuring levels of small molecules in the blood may be a way to identify people at risk for developing type 2 diabetes up to a decade before symptoms appear.Researchers led by a team from Massachusetts General Hospital discovered that levels of five amino acids could not only indicate an increased risk of diabetes in the general population but could also differentiate among those with traditional risk factors (like obesity) and those most likely to...
A portion of the "code" of life has been unraveled by a UC Santa Barbara graduate student from the town of Jojutla, Mexico.Annia Rodriguez worked with John Perona, professor in UCSB's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, to decipher intramolecular communication within a large RNA-protein enzyme responsible for expressing the genetic code for the amino acid glutamine.To their surprise, the experiments by Rodriguez captured a partial glimpse of how the genetic coding of life may...
'Lost' samples from famous origin of life researcher could send the search for Earth's first life in a new directionStanley Miller gained fame with his 1953 experiment showing the synthesis of organic compounds thought to be important in setting the origin of life in motion. Five years later, he produced samples from a similar experiment, shelved them and, as far as friends and colleagues know, never returned to them in his lifetime.More 50 years later, Jeffrey Bada, Miller's former student...
During the evolution of plants of the mustard family a leucine producing enzyme mutated into an enzyme that protects plants against herbivoresPlants are continually exposed to herbivore attack. To defend themselves, they have developed sophisticated chemical defense mechanisms. Plants of the mustard family, such as thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana), produce glucosinolates (mustard oil glucosides) to protect themselves against herbivory. Scientists know many different kinds of these...
Proteins are the most important functional biomolecules in nature with numerous applications in life science research, biotechnology and medicine. So how can they be modified in the most effective way to attain certain desired properties? In the past, the modifications were usually carried out either chemically or via genetic engineering. The team of Professor Arne Skerra from the TUM Chair of Biological Chemistry has now developed a more elegant combined solution: By extending the otherwise...
Researchers have come closer to understanding how a common fungus "makes its living in the soil," which could lead to its possible "career change" as a therapeutic agent for plant and human health.That's according to Dr. Charles Kenerley, Texas AgriLife Research plant pathologist, and a team of scientists from the U.S., India and France, whose study on Trichoderma virens is in February's Journal of Biological Chemistry.T. virens already enjoy a good reputation in the plant...
Researchers have developed a simple method of making short protein chains with spiral structures that can also dissolve in water, two desirable traits not often found together. Such structures could have applications as building blocks for self-assembling nanostructures and as agents for drug and gene delivery.Led by Jianjun Cheng, a professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois, the research team will publish its findings in the Feb. 22 edition of the journal...
Human Health Specialists in Tempe, Arizona, is offering an introductory discount on their newly launched D-Aspartic Acid nutritional supplement. The alternative medicine and nutritionist practice in Arizona is also offering competitive prices on many other supplements and vitamins. Tempe, AZ (Vocus/PRWEB) February 14, 2011 As part of their dedication to health and nutrition, Human Health Specialists in Arizona is offering a low price on their new D-Aspartic Acid supplement. D-aspartic...
NEW YORK and SAN DIEGO, Feb. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Polaris Group (Polaris) and The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) today announced the enrollment of the first patient in a Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating ADI-PEG 20 in the treatment of small cell lung cancer (SCLC). The trial, sponsored by LICR, is enrolling patients at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Duke University Medical Center and will soon commence at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London. This study will...
