Latest Tetrapyrroles Stories

Scientists at Washington University have isolated a channel that shuttles the vital but vulnerable heme molecule across biological membranesIn some ways a cell in your body or an organelle in that cell is like an ancient walled town. Life inside either depends critically on the intelligence of the gatekeepers.If too many barbarians sneak into town, the town may be put to the torch. And if the cellular gatekeepers can't control the flow of ions and molecules into and out of the cell, the cell...

Best known as the oxygen-carrying component of hemoglobin, the protein that makes blood red, heme also plays a role in chemical detoxification and energy metabolism within the cell. Heme levels are tightly maintained, and with good reason: Too little heme prevents cell growth and division; excessive amounts of heme are toxic.Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered a molecular circuit involving heme that helps maintain proper metabolism in the body,...

Holds promise for studying how organisms cleanse themselves of dying cellsNicholas Turro of Columbia University, Bernhard Krautler of the University of Innsbruck, Austria and their colleagues have found that, as chlorophyll ages and begins to disintegrate in banana peels it does not change color in the spectrum of visible light we see. Instead, it glows blue when observed under ultraviolet light.While the light show adds a level of exoticism to the fruit in our eyes, and serves to attract a...

Oregon State University scientists say they've discovered some food compounds studied for an ability to prevent cancer might also be able to treat it. Researchers at the university's Linus Pauling Institute suggest some natural food compounds might be effective in working side-by-side with conventional drugs that are now used in chemotherapy. The scientists said they examined the activity of chlorophyllin and found, on a dose-by-dose basis, it was 10 times more potent at causing the death of...

Bifera provides the energy and nutritional benefits from iron with virtually no gastrointestinal side effects and is now available without a prescription ATLANTA, Jan. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Bifera (www.bifera.com), an over-the-counter iron supplement that offers both heme (protein-based iron) and non-heme iron (plant-based iron) is now available in stores in the United States. Unlike other iron supplements, Bifera provides two types of iron in one small pill for maximum absorption with...

HOUSTON "“ (Oct. 7, 2005) -- A research team led by scientists at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston has determined the structure of an enzyme that when defective causes an inherited disease that afflicts sufferers with severe abdominal pain, psychiatric symptoms, skin fragility, and light sensitivity. "Unless prompt and appropriate treatment is given, hereditary coproporphyria can very quickly turn into a life-threatening medical emergency," said C. S. Raman,...