Blue-Green Algae Has Dual Cholesterol Lowering Abilities
...ntains significant amounts of polyunsaturatedfatty acids (PUFAs), according to Christian Drapeau of Cell Tech in KlamathFalls, Oregon. He says that the algae's PUFAs seem to be exceptionally wellabsorbed by animals. Over the past decade, other research has suggested thatPUFAs reduce blood cholesterol and...Viral Harpoon Structure Suggests Measles, HIV And Ebola Viruses Related
..."structure – the order, or sequence, of amino acids that make up a protein– of many different paramyxovirus fusion protein molecules revealed thattheir basic structures are all similar. But when the scientists analyzed the three-dimensional structure of thesimian virus fusion protein, they were...New Cell Isolation Method Will Aid In Studying Tumor Development
...xpensive and/or the qualityof the isolated nucleic acids (DNA, RNA) or protein is not as high as thatobtained by the EASI method. "We hope that this method will facilitate molecular studies on tumors and theirprecursor lesions, and even on normal cells," Gazdar said. "Such studies willadvance our knowledge...Study Furthers Understanding Of Critical Alzheimer's Disease Gene
...ormation. When they altered the sequence of amino acids of the presenilinprotein from the normal sequence in two critical locations, buried within thecell membrane, amyloid formation was reduced. According to Dr. D. Stephen Snyder, who directs studies of the Etiology ofAlzheimer's Disease at NIA's Neuros...Genes Found That Label Cell Proteins For Disposal
...adation, the cell then recycles theprotein's amino acids to build other proteins. "Once a protein is attached to ubiquitin, another cellular mechanism recognizesthat it's ubiquitinated and takes it to a specific place called the proteasome,"Xiong points out. "It's like garbage collection. Unless you put yo...Sandia Discovery About Protein May Help Clean Up Pollutants, Find Cures For Diseases
...eins in recent years. Proteins -- strings of amino acids -- are found in all living cells and are wherethe work of a cell occurs. The heme, which consists of a ring of carbons andnitrogens, is the portion of a "hemoprotein" that clasps the protein's iron atomin place. A single protein may contain as few as......ns correctly maneuverfrom a simple string of amino acids to their pre-destined three-dimensionalstructure. This transformation -- called protein folding - is one of the mostactive areas of molecular biological research, and has taken on even moreimportance with the growing knowledge that misfolding can lea......form ofcarbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids - the building blocks of life.Photosystem II prote...a plant cell aretranslated from amino acids. Amino acids have a 20 letter alphabet for each ofthe 20 naturally occurring amino acids (shown below as AAs). Th......ecision with which it folds from a string of amino acids to its finalthree-dimensional structure. Now, rese...lex computer programs, find a new sequence ofamino acids that folds into the same shape as the natural protein. The Pennteam's approach is one step removed f...The Sagan criteria for life revisited
...most certainly lifeless -- places, including amino acids in meteorites, organic molecules in interstellar clouds, and organic compounds called porphyrins in lunar soil. Left: Unloading of Apollo 12 lunar soil and rocks in November 1969 The example of porphyrins on the Moon is particulary intriguing i...Discovery Of A Molecule That Controls Bile Acids May Lead To New Cholesterol Drugs
... a nuclear receptor controls theproduction of bile acids and works within a pathway that speeds up destruct...to maintaining the balance of cholesterol and bile acids -- hasimportant implications for developing drugs to control dietary cholesterol inhumans, said corr...New Age Of Nutrition To Provide Food For Thought
...en tea, sulforaphanein broccoli, and omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil. The safety and efficacy ofherbal supplements will be examined, too, weighing their historical use and rolein Chinese medicine against U.S. scientific standards. In addition, culturaland regulatory differences among countries regarding ...Protein Misfolding, Not Mutant Gene, Key To Lethal Sleep Disorder
...d not by theabnormal gene or the sequence of amino acids in the protein, but purely by theabnormal shape taken on by the protein. This supports the controversial notion, says Mastrianni, that "even in thefamilial form, it's the prion strain, the precise conformation of the misfoldedprotein, and not the var...'Cousin' Of Snake Venom Toxin Found In Mice
...e day and tried to match lynx1's sequence of amino acids withthose of known proteins. We did an exhaustive search of the database utilizingseveral different algorithms, then suddenly we got a hit," Miwa said. Relativelysmall but critically important sections within lynx1 matched the amino acidsequence of a...Nonexponential rates support idea of protein folding 'funnel'
...s from anultraviolet laser cause some of the amino acids to fluoresce, revealing to theresearchers a time-sequence of early folding events. "Our observations show that protein folding is not characterized by just oneenergy barrier with a single time scale," Gruebele said. "Rather, there aremultiple states ...Genetic testing of pregnant women with liver illness could save infant lives
...ve hours following a meal, thenthe body uses fatty acids as an energy source. For babies with the mutation,this is not possible. The E474Q mutation is recessive, which means that a baby with thedisorder needs to inherit one copy of the defective gene from each parent inorder to develop the disease...Genetic testing and modified diets may save babies born with genetic defect
...es suggestiveof defects in the body's use of fatty acids -- which ordinarily are used tosupply energy and f...e fetus causesan accumulation of products of fatty acids produced by the fetus or the placentathat are particularly toxic to the liver of the mother. Further...Target for cystic fibrosis drugs found
...time bysynthesizing a small section, just 26 amino acids long. They also made a25-amino acid version that was missing the same amino acid CF patientslack. That way, they could bypass the unwieldy 1,500-amino acid structureand focus on the smaller fragments. It was like turning a 1,500-piecepuzzle into a 25......teins when strung together. The order of the amino acids determines which type of protein is formed. Thus, ...e 1980s. The researchers matched a series of amino acids from the amyloid to a sequence in a public databank on the World Wide Web. They were then able to us......, Richelson and hiscolleagues used peptide nucleic acids (PNAs), a new type of molecule, to createantisense compounds targeting neurotensin. When they injected the PNA antisensemolecules into the brains of rats, the molecules worked. They blockedneurotensin's ability to lower body temperature and reduced i...