Tag Archives: proteins
Short hydrogen bonds in proteins and their quantum mechanical nature
The assembly of linear polypeptide chains into functional three-dimensional protein architectures involves a unique force called hydrogen bonding. A typical hydrogen bond forms when the donor and acceptor groups approach each other with a nearly linear geometry
Keeping an “eye” on the structure and role of visual cycle proteins
Opsins are ocular proteins in photoreceptors that transform light energy to initiate signals for vision. Each opsin contains an 11-cis-retinal chromophore which is converted into all-trans-retinal when activated by a photon. The all-trans-retinal must be recycled back
Mimicking enzymes using artificial proteins
Critical to life on earth is the ability of proteins called enzymes to catalyze a wide range of chemical reactions, such as producing essential molecules by breaking down food in humans, and producing oxygen from water in
Creating artificial enzymes from small building blocks
Artificial enzymes were first described several decades ago and have become an ambition for bionanomaterial sciences. Artificial enzymes are small fabricated molecules that possess an active centre, which binds to a substrate and catalyses a chemical reaction.
Quantum dots in proteins embraces
You may already heard about quantum dots (QDs) when buying energy saving light source or choosing your new TV set. Quite the same structures are used in life sciences as tools to visualize and track other molecules.
Staphylococcal biofilms: building up “bacterial cities” through a proteinaceous matrix scaffold
Do you know that bacteria, microscopic organisms not visible by the human naked eye, can live in complex communities just like we humans do? They are perfectly able to stick together, grow and multiply in what is
Monitoring biosafety of pharmaceutical drugs, insecticides, and other bioactive molecules to mitochondria
Why study the biosafety of pharmaceutical drugs, insecticides, and other bioactive molecules to mitochondria? Mitochondria are large cell organelles in plant and animal cells. They convert chemical energy from food in the cell to usable energy using
NMR can now scrutinize the membrane of a living cell
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is a technique devised by physicists, that has developed into many applications. The most famous one is Magnetic Resonance Imaging that is commonly used in hospitals. In the research lab, NMR is generally
Novel approaches to cancer treatment encoded within non-coding RNA
A hallmark of all living organisms is the presence of genetic material within each cell; this material is invariantly composed of a specific class of biological molecules known as the nucleic acids. While the more familiar variety
Plants versus pathogens: detection and deception
Novel research has unveiled more about the deception tactics used by plants in their continuous battle against attacks from disease-causing pathogens. These findings could help in breeding better crops to reduce losses and produce more food. In
Obesity enhances the risk of arrhythmia
The heart consists of 4 chambers in mammals. The upper two chambers are atria, and the lower ones are ventricles. Ventricles work as pump to eject blood to whole body. Atria have 2 important roles: 1) to
Peptides (small proteins) sharing an active nerve cell protecting site
Activity-dependent neuroprotective protein (ADNP), essential for brain formation, is frequently mutated in children on the autism spectrum. This protein, together with Activity-dependent neurotrophic factor (ADNF) are two proteins that were discovered in the laboratory of Prof. Illana
Allelic variations within genes coding for cytokines among Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia: New candidate genes for future disease studies
Cytokines are a set of low molecular weight proteins/glycoproteins secreted by almost all types of cells. They regulate cell growth, immune response and blood cell development in the bone marrow. Genetic variations in cytokine genes include single
Progress in macromolecular crystallography
The importance of crystallography was recently highlighted by the declaration by UNESCO of the Year of Crystallography 2014. This presented a good occasion to recall the advances of macromolecular crystallography achieved since its birth, more than half
Understanding the rare disease alkaptonuria: the role of oxidative stress, inflammation and amyloidosis
Alkaptonuria (AKU) is an ultra-rare disease that was recognized among the first inborn errors of metabolism. In AKU, an altered activity of the enzyme homogentisate 1,2-dioxygenase (HGD) occurring upon gene mutation lead to a defective metabolism of
A new water-filled channel that transports metabolites of peroxisomes
Peroxisomes are the detoxifier of almost all nucleated cells. Their name was given in respect to their capability of eliminating reactive oxygen species like hydrogen peroxide. As round-shaped membrane enclosed vesicles, they can have variable sizes from
A new target in the fight against breast cancer
Cancer cells differ from normal cells in many ways, including their abnormal growth and their ability to change shape and migrate to other tissues. These differences are partly caused by changes in the production of proteins and
Binding study of fibrinogen and albumin to metal oxide nanoparticles and its relevance in nanomedicine
The binding of proteins to different inorganic surfaces plays an important role in natural processes such as the growth of bone tissue (protein-mineral interactions) and in biotechnological and biomedical applications. Recently, the binding of proteins to metal
How selenium is incorporated into proteins: structural view of selenocysteine ‘recoding’
Selenium is an essential micronutrient for human health. It is present in proteins as a special amino acid, selenocysteine, which is the so-called 21st amino acid. Selenocysteine resembles serine and cysteine, where the selenium atom (Se) replaces
Genes are read backwards to restructure our DNA
In English, we read in one direction – from left to right across the page. We need to read words in a certain order, so that the information makes sense to us. In the cells of our
