54 results found for

The selective degradation of many short-lived proteins in eukaryotic cells is carried out by the ubiquitin-mediated proteolytic system. In this pathway, proteins are targeted for degradation by covalent ligation to ubiquitin, a highly conserved small....

This lecture starts out with a very brief review of the history of protein crystallography and continue with our studies since 1970 on proteolytic enzymes and their control. Proteolytic enzymes catalyse a very simple chemical reaction, the hydrolytic....

Aquaporin channels allow water to rapidly cross cell membranes in all living organisms. AQP1 confers red cells and proximal renal tubules with high water permeability. Present in renal collecting duct, AQP2 is regulated by vasopressin, and human muta....

Research, at least my research, has never been linear. I have found that my lab and I often double back on problems after years of inactivity or go off in entirely new directions as dictated by the work and peoples interests. This lack of direction....

The role of nitric oxide in cellular signaling in the past three decades has become one of the most rapidly growing areas in biology. Nitric oxide is a gas and a free radical with an unshared electron that can regulate an ever-growing list of biolog....

Cholesterol has two essential functions in our bodies: It is an important component of cell membranes and it serves as the starting material for the synthesis of bile acids, steroid hormones, and other compounds. The human body obtains necessary cho....

Biological membranes define and compartmentalize the cells of higher organisms. Consisting of membrane proteins and lipids, they are basically impermeable for ions and polar substances, so that electric voltages (_membrane potentialsî) and substanc....

Our brain is a network of about 10^11 neurons, which are connected via synapses. A neuron typically receives input from about 10000 other neurons, which can be either excitatory or inhibitory. The neuron integrates these inputs and generates an actio....

Supramolecular chemistry lies beyond molecular chemistry. It aims at implementing highly complex chemical systems from molecular components held together by non-covalent intermolecular forces and effecting molecular recognition, catalysis and transp....

For cancer diagnosis and therapy, we are developing activatable cell-penetrating peptides (ACPPs), synthetic molecules with a novel amplifying mechanism for homing to diseased tissues. ACPPs are polycationic cell-penetrating peptides whose cellular ....

Aquaporin (AQP) water channel proteins enable high water permeability in certain biological membranes. Discovered in human red cells but expressed in multiple tissues, AQP1 has been thoroughly characterized and its atomic structure is known. Expres....

Biological research and medicine were transformed by the invention and improvement of the optical microscope. Since the early 1990s, there has been another revolution in optical imaging, and manipulation of individual biological molecules and bio-mo....

Structural studies of the ribosome exemplify the evolution of structural studies in cell biology from the early negatively stained images of macromolecular assemblies in whole cells, to a detailed atomic understanding of the mechanisms of action of a....

Slightly more than 20% of the global cancer incidence is presently being linked to viral, bacterial, or parasitic infections. The mechanisms by which these agents mediate malignant transformation differ substantially. Some contribute directly, freq....

Analysis of the immune system is fascinating and progressing rapidly. As a field of medical enquiry, it has however, drifted and turned purely academic. This is because interest and appreciation of protective immunity in infectious disease medicine....

Since the first cases of AIDS in 1981 and the identification of its etiological agent in 1983, much progress has been made in both the development of tools to prevent and treat HIV infection and the access to these tools. In particular, the wide arr....

The techniques and concepts that have resulted in the identification and isolation of embryonic stem cells have come from studies with mouse teratocarcinomas. Embryonic stem cells isolated from normal mouse embryos may be grown in tissue culture and....

It is now axiomatic that, no matter what its causes, cancer ultimately arises from the malfunction of genes. A number of clues prefigured this paradigm: the persistence of the malignant phenotype through countless cell divisions; the mutagenicity of....

The epidemiology of Helicobacter pylori continues to be an area of discovery and controversy in the 21st century. The transmission of this bacterium from mother to child allows Helicobacter DNA to mimic the evolution of maternal mitochondria DNA. B....

Infectious microbes collectively represent the strongest selective pressure operating on our species, and over hundreds of millions of years, drove the evolution of the sophisticated immune system we have today. While the general outlines of immune ....

Flies challenged with bacteria or fungi rapidly transcribe a battery of genes encoding potent antimicrobial peptides which oppose the invading microorganisms. Genetic analysis has identified two signaling cascades which control their expression: (1)....

The broad outlines of the secretory pathway were established by pioneering EM and cell fractionation experiments conducted by George Palade in the 1960s. Beginning in the mid 1970s and early 80s, my laboratory isolated a series of conditionally leth....

The selective degradation of many short-lived proteins in eukaryotic cells is carried out by the ubiquitin-mediated proteolytic system.  In this pathway, proteins are targeted for degradation by covalent ligation to ubiquitin, a highly conserved sma....

The design and development of inhibiting (or occasionally activating) ligands of target proteins in medicine and crop protection guided by molecular structures and functions has become an established technology in academia and industry recently._ Dr....

Ribosomes are the universal cellular machines that act as polymerases that translate the genetic code into proteins. They posses spectacular architecture accompanied by inherent mobility that facilitate their smooth performance in decoding, peptide ....

Molecules to observe and manipulate biological systems can be devised by a variety of strategies, ranging from pure chemical design and total synthesis to genome mining and high-throughput directed evolution. Examples of both successes and failures ....

There are numerous kinds of luminous organism on earth. Mysterious emission of light from them inspired the curiosity of mankind ever since the ancient times. In history, Raphael Dubois discovered luciferin and luciferase from one of them, a click ....

In today's post-genomic era, with the availability of the complete DNA sequences of a wide range of organisms, structural biologists are faced with new opportunities and challenges in _structural genomics”. In contrast to classical structural biol....

Between the sixties and eighties, most life scientists focused their attention on studies of nucleic acids and the translation of the coded information. Protein degradation was a neglected area, considered to be a non-specific, dead-end process. Whil....

Within cells or subcellular compartments misfolded and/or short-lived regulatory proteins are degraded by protease machines, cage-forming multi-subunit assemblages. Their proteolytic active sites are sequestered within the particles and located on t....

Within cells or subcellular compartments, mis-folded and/or short-lived regulatory proteins are degraded by protease machines, cage-forming multi-subunit assemblages, the proteasome and HtrA/DegP.  They are essential components in very complex regul....

Between the 50s and 80s, most studies in biomedicine focused on the central dogma - the translation of the information coded by DNA to RNA and proteins.  Protein degradation was a neglected area, considered to be a non-specific, dead-end process.  ....

The selective degradation of many short-lived proteins in eukaryotic cells is carried out by the ubiquitin-mediated proteolytic system.  In this pathway, proteins are targeted for degradation by covalent ligation to ubiquitin, a highly conserved sma....

Molecules to observe and manipulate biological systems and disease processes can be devised by a variety of strategies, ranging from pure chemical design and total synthesis to genome mining and high-throughput directed evolution.  Examples of both ....

The lecture will be devoted to the topic of how the biological world supplies itself with energy to make biology work, and what medical consequences ensue when the energy supply chain in our bodies is damaged or defective.  We derive our energy from....

Ribosomes, the universal cellular machines that translate the genetic code into proteins, are targeted by many antibiotics that paralyze them by binding to their functional sites.  Antibiotics binding modes, inhibitory actions and synergism pathways....

The oxygen, you breathe in, is converted to water by cytochrome c oxidase, using electrons provided by cytochrome c and protons from the aqueous milieu of the body.  This fundamental enzyme has been discovered already in 1886, and studied extensivel....

As an introduction, some principles of nuclear spin physics applying to studies of integral membrane proteins (IMP) will be reviewed.  Applications of resulting nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques will then be illustrated with studies of G-p....

Research, at least my research, has never been linear.  I have found that my lab and I often double back on problems after years of inactivity or go off in entirely new directions as dictated by the work and people's interests.  This lack of direct....

Aquaporin (AQP) water channel proteins enable high water permeability of certain biological membranes.  Discovered in human red cells but expressed in multiple tissues, AQP1 has been thoroughly characterized and its atomic structure is known.  Expr....

Proteolytic enzymes catalyse a very simple chemical reaction, the hydrolytic cleavage of a peptide bond.  Nevertheless, they constitute a most diverse and numerous lineage of proteins.  The reason lies in their role as components of many regulatory....

The selective degradation of many short-lived proteins in eukaryotic cells is carried out by the ubiquitin-mediated proteolytic system.  In this pathway, proteins are targeted for degradation by covalent ligation to ubiquitin, a highly conserved sma....

Peter Agre shared the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Roderick MacKinnon “for discoveries concerning channels in cell membranes.” Here he gives a lecture in Russia as part of the Nobel Prize Inspiration Initiative

A panel of experts discussed the powerful effects that fragrances have on enhancing lives, rehabilitation and triggering reactions and memories.

The use of computer simulation continues to advance bringing scientists and engineers the insight of graphical simulations at the molecular level

Philip Shlenoff, recent high school graduate, gives a presentation of his work and opportunity at the Florida State University Dept. of Chemistry. Under the supervision of Zaki Estephan, Philip has actively participated in research that targets canc....

The chemical reactions that cause 'red tide', as well as the effect of the chemical processes.

Chemiluminescence and bioluminescence. General chemistry explained and examples such as fireflies, Wintergreen mints, etc. are introduced