Anthrax enzyme images reveal secrets of antibiotic resistance, suggest new drug design
...Jude investigators created images of the loops and helical ribbons of protein making up this DHPS. In addition, they created images showing how certain small enzyme mutations allow it to alter its structure, blocking the attachment of sulfa drugs. The image showed that while this slight change in the shape o...Optimizing protein's 'death domain' halts leukemia in laboratory study
...lding novel drugs. But one hurdle loomed. When the helical "death domain" is removed from its parent protein, it loses its rigid shape, becoming floppy liked an overstretched Slinky. In this form, it is vulnerable to degradation, unable to enter cells, and left powerless to block the antideath BCL-2 protein....Structure solved at Scripps shows how one human protein reduces potency of chemotherapy
...netic information, is composed of two intertwining helical strands that bind to each other through base pairing. Each strand is composed of four types of DNA bases (A, G, C, and T) attached to one another through a sugar-phosphate backbone. The other strand in the pair has a complementary sequence of bases. ...Gestational diabetes not found to alter the metabolic processes in obese pregnant women
...the role of the increased maternal serum leptin (a helical protein secreted by adipose tissue and acting on a receptor site in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus to curb appetite and increase energy expenditure as body fat stores increase) concentrations in pregnancy has not yet been fully explaine...Proteins transform DNA into 'molecular velcro'
...nduce "supercoiling" in DNA, which occurs when two helical molecules intertwine. "We decided to try to develop a single-molecule assay, to see whether we could really understand the mechanism of this protein's effects on DNA," said Bustamante. "Even though there was no bulk assay for this protein's ac...Stretching DNA on a tiny scale, researchers probe the basis for its compaction
...sin complexes isolated from frog eggs. Because the helical DNA could be twisted, the scientists were also able to investigate how DNA topology in this case, topological states called positive and negative supercoiling might affect its ability to be compacted by Condensin. Such measurements are central to i...St. Jude shows how disorderliness in some proteins lets them interact with a diversity of molecules
... that the p27 protein resembles a relatively rigid helical (twisted) rod with a wobbly piece of spaghetti hanging off each end. One of the wobbly arms binds to cyclin A, while the other arm binds to Cdk2. When p27 is by itself in a solution, the arms are loose and disordered. But when p27 encounters Cdk2-cy...Changes in shape of single protein plays key role in the spread of cancer cells
...inculin changes its shape by moving the individual helical "cylinders" making up its headmuch like the movement of the fingers on a hand--in a process called helical bundle conversion. This process, which the team discovered, occurs after one of two different protei...Separation day arrives for Mars Express and Beagle 2
...in the SUEM to push the probe from Mars Express. A helical guide groove induces a linear velocity of 0.3 m/s (1 ft/s) and an angular velocity of 14 rpm into the probe....Researchers solve structure of key drug target
...ealed that Lac Y consists of an array of irregular helical structures that wind their way through the cell me...e unanticipated symmetry in the two bundles of six helical protein segments that pierce the membrane. Most importantly, said Kaback, the LacY structure suggest...New opportunities for accelerating the conquest of human cancer
Washington, D.C. Fifty years ago, the double helical structure of DNA was revealed, ushering in a new era of genetics that promised to radically alter the way medicine is practiced. For much of the last half of the 20th Century, that promise remained largely unfulfilled. But with the recently announced...Argonne research offers clues to Alzheimer's plaques
... gently twist in a clockwise direction to form the helical structures seen in electron micrographs....Scientists observe nanosize microtubules 'treadmilling' across plant cells
...direction and follows them, becoming a part of the helical array," Ehrhardt said. "There's nothing actually physically moving anything, and that makes treadmilling a really unexpected mechanism for assembling higher-ordered structures," Shaw observed. What guides the microtubule to its new orientation? The...News tips: Genetics research builds on legacy of double helix
... describing for the first time the correct, double helical structure of the DNA molecule. Twenty-five years later, Johns Hopkins researchers Hamilton Smith and Daniel Nathans were awarded the Nobel Prize for finding proteins in bacteria that could cut DNA at specific, predictable places, ushering in the era ...Carnegie Mellon scientists create unique DNA probe with great potential
...es and have been shown to bind, or hybridize, with helical DNA according to the pairing rules first proposed by Watson and Crick, namely guanine (G) pairs with cytosine (C), and adenine (A) pairs with thymine (T). The resulting PNA-DNA hybrid duplexes are actually more stable than a duplex consisting of two ...First draft of 'periodic table' of protein structures helps visualize nature's universe of proteins
...uctural element of protein motifs, consisting of a helical spiral of amino acids, like a right-handed curled ribbon. For a motif with two helices, two parallel helices represent a motif distinct from two anti-parallel helices. Working with 498 different motifs was computationally intensive - Kim's group occu...Could an anti-marijuana compound hold the key to body weight and appetite control?
...p between the endocannabinoid system and leptin, a helical protein secreted by adipose tissue and acting on a receptor site in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus to curb appetite and increase energy expenditure as body fat stores increase, was reported. Specifically, a deficiency of leptin has bee...Scientists identify motor that powers parasitic cell invasion
...tes exhibit circular gliding, upright twirling and helical gliding. But with only partial gene function the parasites performed a reduced number or incomplete circles and at a lower speed. With the gene completely shut down the parasites were totally unable to move." "Toxoplasma remains an important threat t......ose of many disease causing microbes, it assumes a helical coil shape and breaks through the membrane into the cell, destroying it. Dr. Zasloff and his research team also were the discoverers of squalamine in sharks. Squalamine was the first of a novel class of steroids which has shown to be effective agai......entally friendly hydro-power, Gorlov has developed helical turbines for use in river, tidal, and open ocean currents. His innovation has led to a series of patents for the Gorlov Helical Turbine, which shows great promise for alleviating the worldwide crisis in energy use. The Russian-born Gorlov was brande...