All Articles Tagged As: proteins

Using a light touch to measure protein bonds (7/3/2008)

Researchers tug at molecules with optical tweezers ...> Full Article

Researchers are first to simulate the binding of molecules to a protein (7/2/2008)

Researchers have identified a key step in the cellular recycling of ATP that allows your body to produce enough of it to survive ...> Full Article

New probe may help untangle cells' signaling pathways (6/28/2008)

Researchers have designed a new type of probe that can image thousands of interactions between proteins inside a living cell, giving them a tool to untangle the web of signaling pathways that control most of a cell's activities. ...> Full Article

Fluorescent-Probe in Worm Creates Real-Time 'View' of Cellular Stress (6/19/2008)

Stretching of molecular "spring" induces color change ...> Full Article

Researchers witness assembly of molecules critical to protein function (6/17/2008)

Research group lead by two biochemistry graduate students has isolated proteins responsible for the iron-sulfur cluster assembly process and witnessed the necessary protein interactions in vivo - within a cell. They have captured pathway intermediates and observed protein interactions between the two major players in iron-sulfur cluster assembly. ...> Full Article

Researchers discover architecture for fundamental processes of life (5/15/2008)

A team of Canadian researchers has completed a massive survey of the network of protein complexes that orchestrate the fundamental processes of life ...> Full Article

Magnet Lab Researchers Make Observing Cell Functions Easier (5/13/2008)

Now that the genome (DNA) of humans and many other organisms have been sequenced, biologists are turning their attention to discovering how the many thousands of structural and control genes -- the "worker bees" of living cells that can turn genes on and off -- function. ...> Full Article

New Clues to How Proteins Dissolve and Crystallize (5/13/2008)

Fresh evidence for the "Law of Matching Water Affinities" ...> Full Article

Researchers Tackling Unsolved Questions About Protein Structures (5/9/2008)

Researchers are exploring the evolutionary origins of protein structures. Their findings will help people better understand how proteins evolved to carry out the instructions encoded in the genes of every living thing. ...> Full Article

Researchers Launch Online Protein Folding Game (5/9/2008)

Researchers are bringing the arcane world of protein folding to the online gaming arena with the launch of "Foldit," a free game in which players around the world compete to design proteins. ...> Full Article

Japanese Mushroom Leads To Breakthrough In Protein Research (5/8/2008)

Using an enzyme of the Japanese mushroom, proteins can be identified without knowing the organism's genetic composition ...> Full Article

Researchers Find New Details Following the Path of Solar Energy During Photosynthesis (4/26/2008)

Researchers report on the energy-transferring functions within the Fenna-Matthews-Olson photosynthetic light-harvesting protein, a pigment-protein complex in green sulfur bacteria that serves as a model system because it consists of only seven well-characterized pigment molecules ...> Full Article

First-class protein crystals thanks to weightlessness on earth (4/25/2008)

Dutch chemist has developed two attractive alternatives for allowing protein crystals to grow under weightless conditions ...> Full Article

Scientists deconstruct process of bacterial division (4/19/2008)

Researchers have made a major advance in understanding how bacteria divide ...> Full Article

Statistics are insufficient for study of proteins' signal system (3/28/2008)

Ten years ago great attention was attracted by the discovery that it was possible to demonstrate signal transfer in proteins using statistical methods. ...> Full Article

Researchers unravel the secrets of spider silk's strength (3/26/2008)

The strength of a biological material like spider silk lies in the specific geometric configuration of structural proteins, which have small clusters of weak hydrogen bonds that work cooperatively to resist force and dissipate energy ...> Full Article

'Designer enzymes' created by chemists (3/22/2008)

Chemists have succeeded in creating "designer enzymes," a major milestone in computational chemistry and protein engineering. ...> Full Article

Human Proteinpedia, a portal to share human protein data among the scientific community (3/18/2008)

Storage and integration of information on human protein sequences ...> Full Article

Structure Reveals How Cells 'Sugar-Coat' Proteins (3/13/2008)

Process essential to many proteins' functions can lead to disease when gone awry ...> Full Article

Researchers crack code of 3-D structure in key metabolic protein (3/12/2008)

Using X-ray crystallography, researchers have become the first to decipher the three-dimensional structure of a membrane-bound enzyme that plays a crucial role in glycerol metabolism - a discovery that could lead to important advances against obesity, diabetes and a potential host of other diseases ...> Full Article

Nanoscale tool allows scientists to study membrane proteins one at a time (3/11/2008)

In biology, as in construction, it's all about having tools that fit the job. Researchers at Rockefeller University have now created a tiny tool, more than 10,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair, capable of encasing single membrane proteins from living cells. The new system, which resembles a nanoscale sushi roll, will allow investigators to individually stimulate these key proteins with specific molecules and signals in order to precisely define the biological reactions that result. ...> Full Article

New crystallization method to ease study of protein structures (3/10/2008)

Researchers have developed a new technique for crystallizing proteins that will ease experimentation into protein structures. ...> Full Article

Newly defined signaling pathway could mean better biofuel sources (3/8/2008)

A newly defined biochemical pathway in plants may provide the scientific tools to design plants that will yield larger quantities of alternative transportation fuels than currently can be produced ...> Full Article

Research Pushes the Right Buttons - Mushrooms are the New Fat (2/26/2008)

Scientists have discovered a new method to replace fat in food products. ...> Full Article

It's All About Geometry: Protein Contact Surfaces Hold Key to Cures (2/1/2008)

Supercomputer Powers Tool to Reveal Hidden Interaction ...> Full Article

Chemists solve biological challenge (1/23/2008)

Professor and PhD student modify protein creation ...> Full Article

Researchers obtain a snapshot clarifying how materials enter cells (1/8/2008)

A group of researchers has captured a key step in the metabolic process that allows materials, such as nutrients and drug treatments, to move in and out of cells. ...> Full Article

How Molecular Muscles Help Cells Divide (12/19/2007)

Time-lapse videos and computer simulations provide the first concrete molecular explanation of how a cell flexes tiny muscle-like structures to pinch itself into two daughter cells at the end of each cell division, according to a report in Science Express. ...> Full Article

Researchers find the 'breaking point' of proteins (12/9/2007)

Scientists from Oxford University have discovered the watery secrets of what makes proteins unstable ...> Full Article

The closest look ever at native human tissue (12/9/2007)

Seeing proteins in their natural environment and interactions inside cells has been a longstanding goal. Using an advanced microscopy technique called cryo-electron tomography, researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory [EMBL] have visualised proteins responsible for cell-cell contacts for the first time. In this week's issue of Nature they publish the first 3D image of human skin at molecular resolution and reveal the molecular Velcro-like organisation that interlinks cells. ...> Full Article

Study unveils unknown protein motifs (12/8/2007)

Undergrad recognized for work in protein function prediction ...> Full Article

Bacteria shed light on an important group of human proteins (11/26/2007)

Researchers have found the solution of the first crystal structure of a member of the Rhesus protein family and thereby shed new light on a group of proteins of great importance in human transfusion medicine. ...> Full Article

Persistence pays off (10/26/2007)

Chemists have come remarkably close to mimicking a type of protein previously thought impossible to imitate. The long-term application of this work could be in the development of new types of glucose sensors for diabetics, or in the production of new biofuels. ...> Full Article

New Approach Builds Better Proteins Inside a Computer (10/22/2007)

With the aid of more than 150,000 home computer users throughout the world researchers have, for the first time, accurately predicted the three-dimensional structure of a small, naturally occurring globular protein using only its amino acid sequence. The accomplishment was achieved with a newly refined computational method for predicting protein structure, which the researchers say can also improve the detail and accuracy of protein structures generated with experimental techniques. ...> Full Article

Newly solved structure reveals how cells resist oxygen damage (10/19/2007)

Singlet oxygen, a byproduct of the photosynthetic process by which certain cells convert sunlight into energy, is a highly toxic and reactive substance that tears cells apart. Now scientists have become the first to solve the structure of a protein complex that protects these cells from singlet oxygen. The findings not only advance knowledge of how cells sense the presence of singlet oxygen, but also how they turn on critical genes to defend themselves from its effects. ...> Full Article

Experimental Technique Sorts DNA, Cells, Molecules in a Split Second (10/18/2007)

A simple device just a few millimeters across can separate microscopic objects such as DNA or cells in a fraction of a second—thousands of times faster than conventional methods. ...> Full Article

Learning What Makes a Simple Circadian Clock Tick (10/6/2007)

Researchers have figured out how a bacterial circadian clock ticks away using only three interacting proteins. They have shown that the cellular equivalent of this clock's pendulum and timing gear is so rugged that it can keep precise time for weeks even after its components have been isolated from bacteria and placed in a test tube. ...> Full Article

Viewing dye-packed vesicles causes them to explode (9/21/2007)

It's a long-standing question: Can just the act of observing an experiment affect the results? If the experiment uses a fluorescent dye called acridine orange, the answer is a resounding "yes." ...> Full Article

Unlocking Secrets of Protein Folding (9/17/2007)

A research team has taken a significant step toward unraveling the mystery of how proteins fold into unique, three-dimensional shapes. ...> Full Article