Chemists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have uncovered the molecular activity of an enzyme responsible for naturally turning a small protein into a potent antibiotic known as a lantibiotic.
The finding is described in the Jan. 30 issue of the journal Science. The research details how the enzyme performs two biosynthetic reactions that lead to the formation of fused cyclic structures required for antimicrobial activity. The discovery unlocks a door that could lead to a ne
Chemical engineers at Purdue University have shown how to make yeast cells double the activity and boost productivity of a type of enzyme plants need to create important chemicals such as anticancer compounds.
The work is related to efforts aimed at developing techniques to use plants and microorganisms as natural factories for producing pharmaceuticals. Such techniques would be safer and more environmentally friendly than conventional methods for making drugs, which often require hazardous
Method has potential of changing the metal’s properties; many new applications possible
Researchers from the Department of Energy’s Sandia National Laboratories and the University of New Mexico have developed a new way of mimicking photosynthetic proteins to manipulate platinum at the nanoscale. The method has the potential of changing the metal’s properties and benefiting emerging technologies.
“While we are in the early stages of research, we see the possibi
Even well-studied proteins can reveal surprises. University of Iowa scientists have discovered a new enzyme activity for the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). CFTR is the protein that is defective in cystic fibrosis, a common life-threatening genetic disease that affects primarily the lungs and pancreas of young people. The discovery, which appeared in the Dec. 26, 2003 issue of Cell, helps solve a long-standing puzzle about how this important protein works.
CFTR f
Oxygen played a key role in the evolution of complex organisms, according to new research published in BMC Evolutionary Biology. The study shows that the complexity of life forms increased earlier than was thought, and in parallel with the availability of oxygen as an energy source.
In the largest study to date that does not focus on vertebrates, researchers from Pennsylvania State University used molecular dating methods to create a new timeline of eukaryotic evolution. By adding informatio
Scientists, led by NYU paleoanthropologist Katerina Harvati, use computer imaging techniques to settle the issue of the Neanderthal role in human evolution
In the most recent and mathematically rigorous study to date determining whether Neanderthals contributed to the evolution of modern humans, a team of anthropologists examining the skulls of modern humans and Neanderthals as well as 11 existing species of non-human primates found strong evidence that Neanderthals differ so greatly
The Commission of the European Union has awarded 12,000,000 Euro to 24 bioinformatics groups based in 14 countries throughout Europe to create a pan-European BioSapiens Network of Excellence in Bioinformatics. The network aims to address the current fragmentation of European bioinformatics by creating a virtual research institute and by organizing a European school for training in bioinformatics.
Data overload is reaching epidemic proportions among molecular biologists. As genome-sequencing
Scientists at Northwestern University have designed synthetic molecules that promote neuron growth, a promising development that could lead to the reversal of paralysis due to spinal cord injury.
“We have created new materials that because of their chemical structure interact with cells of the central nervous system in ways that may help prevent the formation of the scar that is often linked to paralysis after spinal cord injury,” said Samuel I. Stupp, Board of Trustees Professor of Materia
Lack of regulatory plan could slow scientific advancement and deter public confidence
Researchers are using biotechnology to develop genetically modified (GM) insects for a wide variety of purposes, including fighting insect-borne diseases like malaria and controlling destructive insect agricultural pests, but the federal government lacks a clear regulatory framework for reviewing environmental safety and other issues associated with GM insects, according to Bugs in the System? Issues
Geneticists found sex-related genes escape from X chromosome
Researchers at the University of Chicago have discovered there is extensive gene “traffic” on the mammalian X chromosome and overturn a conventional theory about how the genes evolved on the sex chromosome.
The study, published in the Jan. 23, 2004, issue of Science, shows that an excess of genes on the X chromosome “jump” to a non-sex chromosome, or autosome, during germline cell division. This finding contradicts
Rats housed in unpredictable conditions appear to have a more negative outlook than those housed in stable, settled conditions, according to new research by scientists at Bristol University Veterinary School, published in this week’s issue of Nature.
The researchers found that whether an animal anticipates that something good or bad is going to happen can provide a clue as to the emotion it may be experiencing. Emma Harding, Liz Paul and Mike Mendl from the Centre for Behavioural Biology at
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a new probe that allows them to watch protein activity in living cells. In their initial study, which focused on a protein tentatively linked to the spread of cancerous cells, the team both proved their new technique works and revealed surprising new details about the protein’s activity.
The protein in this study, neuronal Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome protein (N-WASP), is naturally found in every cell in the bod
An interaction between two brain proteins that leads to abnormal brain development has been identified by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine in a study published in the January 22, 2004 issue of the journal Neuron.
The studies in mice, conducted in the lab of Joseph G. Gleeson, M.D., UCSD assistant professor of neurosciences, combines work in both humans and mice to identify a protein kinase called Cdk5 as the “off” switch for a crucial neuronal
Simple sugars apparently are the biological signals needed to maintain the steel-like strength of plant cell walls, according to Purdue University scientists.
“This is a really fundamental discovery in the mechanics of plant growth that eventually could have several practical applications,” said Nick Carpita, a botany and plant pathology professor. “These could include controlling crop plant size and shape, improving desirable textural properties of fruits and vegetables, and enhancin
MBL researchers provide strong evidence that an ancient microbe thrives and evolves without sex
Biologists at the Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) have confirmed that a group of microscopic animals has evolved for tens of millions of years without sexual reproduction. Their results demonstrate a radical exception to the biological rule that abandonment of sexual reproduction is an evolutionary dead end.
Our cells are resourceful when it comes to copying DNA, even when the DNA is damaged
Billions of cells divide every day in our bodies to replace those that wear out. To be able to do so, their DNA must be copied. A new Weizmann Institute study shows that the molecules in charge of the task of copying DNA — called DNA polymerases — are able to improvise in order to achieve this crucially important goal. This new insight into DNA replication and repair could assist in the diagnosis an
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