Cell's gatekeeper for ammonia revealed in unprecedented detail
...e the relative three dimensional position of every atom in the protein's structure. The research reveals t...nia reaches the other side, it regains a hydrogen atom again to become NH4+. "This mechanism provides the precise filter that prevents any other molecules ...Bacteria use 'molecular lasso' to cop copper
...d-shaped compound with a cleft that holds a single atom of copper in place. The bacteria churn out methanobactin molecules in large numbers and send them into the environment to fetch copper. When the compound returns with its booty, it is thought that the copper is incorporated into molecules of a key en...Story tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, September 2004
...tif with four oxygen atoms surrounding a germanium atom to a high-density six oxygen atom motif that had never been fully characterized. The researchers used intense beams of X-rays and neut...Meteorites supplied Earth life with phosphorus
...ies that show there's approximately one phosphorus atom for every 2.8 million hydrogen atoms in the cosmos...n bacteria. Similarly, there's a single phosphorus atom for every 1,400 oxygen atoms in the cosmos, every 25 million oxygen atoms in the oceans, and 72 oxyg...Trojan Horses, xenon imaging and remote controlled genes
...n as an imaging agent. By encapsulating a single atom of xenon within a cage made of cryptophane, it can become a sensitive reporter of changes outside the cage. When the cage is "rattled" by a specific cancer protein, for example, the xenon molecule will emit a telltale signal that can be tracked by M...New view of leukemia cells identifies best treatment options, Stanford researchers say
...lways handing the note - in this case, a phosphate atom - to the next molecule in line. In cancerous cells, those highly regulated note-passing brigades grow independent. Molecules hand notes to the wrong counterpart, and sometimes write a note of their own and pass it along. A signal at the cell's sur...Drug prevents chemotherapy-induced hearing loss, study finds
...ical scavenger, hunting down these highly reactive atom clusters believed to cause similar hearing loss caused by noise trauma, and it boosts levels of an intracellular antioxidant called glutathione. "We know that NAC can get into the cells by entering some metabolic pathways, and it may actually increas...Nanoparticles illuminate brain tumors for days under MRI
...h smaller than a bacterium but much larger than an atom or standard gadolinium contrast molecule, Neuwelt ...umors. Gadolinium is basically the size of a large atom and does not enter cells, while this contrast agent is the size of a small virus and does enter cell...... sodium atoms into molecules, and experiments with atom chips where the magnetic field of miniature wires ...mations (H1 1). v) Atom Chips Recent advances in atom interferometry and quantum optics may lead to a whole new class of components atom chips. Researche...Botulinum toxin structure offers clues for vaccines/treatments
.... But it does increase the distance between a zinc atom and a water molecule crucial to the cleaving process by a mere 0.6 angstroms (an angstrom is one ten-billionth of a meter). That subtle change disturbs the electrostatic properties of the molecule at the active site, making it unable to cleave the ta...Spiders make best ever Post-it notes
...molecules causes them to become dipolar. A dipolar atom or molecule has a "positive-pole" and a "negative-pole". The positive-pole of one atom or molecule will be attracted to the negative-pole of another. This particular electrostatic attract...Hopkins scientists overcome main obstacle to making tons of short, drug-like proteins
...protects one reactive side of the exposed nitrogen atom of the amino acid, and a second step adds the methyl group to the nitrogen's other open spot. The final step uses ultraviolet light to remove the protecting group added in step one. The result is a single pot of the 20 natural amino acids, still att...Water molecules clump more loosely than previously thought
...nd, electrostatic forces stick together a hydrogen atom from one molecule with the oxygen atom from a different molecule. The oxygen can form two hydrogen bonds, so a molecule can link to as many......nd, electrostatic forces stick together a hydrogen atom from one molecule with the oxygen atom from a different molecule. The oxygen can form two hydrogen bonds, so a molecule can link to up to f...Seeing how plants split water could provide key to our future energy needs
...owing that three of the manganese atoms, a calcium atom and four oxygen atoms form a cube like structure, ...ytic centre. The forth and most reactive manganese atom is attached to one of the oxygen atoms of the cube. Together this arrangement gives strong hints abo...New antioxidants are 100 times more effective than vitamin E
...o make better antioxidants by attaching a nitrogen atom to the carbon ring. Theoretically, these molecules...stable in air. In addition to attaching a nitrogen atom to the ring, Pratt's idea was to substitute a nitrogen atom for one of the carbon atoms in the ring ...UF study suggests life on Earth sprang from borax minerals
...t is simple. With only one carbon atom, one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms, there is a lot of formaldehyde to work with in the cosmos." Benner and his team showed that formaldehyde, with other interstellar compounds, could form ribose and other sugars when treated in the presence of base materials su...Cells' ability to open blood's floodgates hinges on unexpected factors
...tons, NAD is converted to NADH (NAD plus H, or one atom of hydrogen). Williamson thought the ratio between these two forms of the compound (NADH/NAD) might be modulating blood flow. Two other compounds involved in energy production, pyruvate and lactate, can affects cells' ratio of NADH to NAD. Williamson...Parasite's enzyme structure helps address a public health issue
...e structure of the protein. "We can place every atom in the protein, and we can chart their interactions," says Anderson. "We learn how the protein is put together and which atoms bond to one another. It's important to learn the structure of a protein to figure out how it works." Researchers in Ander...When heme attacks: After trauma, the molecule that makes life possible rampages
...owflake of a carbon framework surrounding a single atom of iron, but it is crucial for the cellular process of respiration and the action of nirtroglycerine. "Generally, the heme molecule is attached to larger molecules, such as hemoglobin, but it is easily set loose. Indeed, there is an entire cellular...