Duke Researchers Discover Central Role Of Nitric Oxide In Hemoglobin Action
...ic oxide was inactivatedby hemoglobin, as the iron molecule in hemoglobin essentially consumes NO. Ad...the team discovered that a NO-containinghemoglobin molecule is synthesized in the lungs and that the NO attachedto it differs from that produced in vessel walls...New Cancer Switch Discovered By Duke Medical Center Pharmacologists
...hed on in the cell. They discovered a "safety key" molecule that fits into the normal cABL enzyme to keep it t... "People have been looking for this molecule, or a molecule with these characteristics, for over a decade." In their experiments, Dai and Pendergast discovered ...... can also measure masses of individual pieces of a molecule for further characterization." The researchers -- McLafferty; Gary A. Valaskovic, a postdoctoral associate in McLafferty's lab; and Neil L. Kelleher, a doctoral student -- reported their studies in the journal Science (Aug. 29, 1996). Their work was...Harvard, Duke Researchers Discover 'Off-switch' Inside Human Cells
...s.However, until the Harvard-Duke finding, no such molecule had been foundin human cells. In their experiments, the scientists began by screening a huge library ofhuman proteins to find those that interacted with activated G proteins.Structural analysis revealed that one of the candidate proteins they discov...Discovery Of Cell Sites May Shed Light On How Bodily Systems Interact
... two types of receptors for interleukin-1(IL-1), a molecule produced by the body's immune system during a bacterialinfection, on the somatotrope cells in the pars anterior (outside sections)of the pituitary gland. The research, funded by the National Institutesof Health, was done using monoclonal antibodies a...Green Glow: Not Only For Halloween
...vealed the source of the green glow. "The unusual molecule responsible for the glow resembles a chinese finger puzzle: a barrel-shaped structure with a coil of amino acids corked in the center," explains Kamal Shukla, program director in NSF's division of molecular and cellular biosciences, which funded the ...New Software Provides Quick Analysis of ion-Channel Activity
...grams allow you to not only "watch" an ion channel molecule at work, they provide specific quantitative results on how it works, on how fast protein molecules change shape. That information will give scientists a critical window into a protein's four-dimensional structure (in space and time), which determines...Cholesterol Anchor Helps Signaling Proteins Direct Development
...complete surprise to discover that the cholesterol molecule helps cause the split and then serves as the anchor for the hedgehog signal," says Jeff Porter, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow and first author of the paper. "After spending two years searching for what we thought might be a new molecule, this was like...Medicinal Leech May Offer Clues To Neural Regeneration
...ollow-up studies to identify what information this molecule provides at a cellular level, and to see how these...nzyme also found in humans, produces a "signaling" molecule that sends chemical messages throughout the body to incite certain chemical reactions. Because the N...Optical Microscopy Shines Light On Biology
...tudying a single molecule, "we can examine how the molecule moves very precisely," he said. "For us, we plan to use this to watch a single protein ion channel open and close." The near-field scanning optical microscopy technique is relatively young. Although the fundamentals were mentioned in a series of lett...New Sensor Provides First Instant Test For Toxic E. coli Organism
...he sensor consists of multiple copies of a single molecule which is fabricated into a thin film. This molecule has a two-part composite structure. The surface of the molecule -- developed by Stevens and Cheng --...Moving DNA Molecules With Magnetic Tweezers
...n his magnetic tweezers, grabs hold of asingle DNA molecule and uses a joystick to steer it carefullythrough a...z to make critical measurementsof how a single DNA molecule moves and changes shape. At rest,DNA is a long, chain-like molecule that coils itself into theshape ...Bigger Biology Tackled Through Keyboards
... know whenit will boil. You don't care about every molecule inside," Levin said."But if you want to build physical theory, you may begin at the scaleof molecules colliding." So it is with biological modeling in epidemiology, ecology and immunology.Scientists want to understand the behavior of the entire syst...Laser Microscope At Cornell Images Serotonin In Live Cells
...the same time (in about 10-16 seconds) at the same molecule near the focus. Molecules such as serotonin and tryptophan, which can normally be excited only with deep ultraviolet (~250nm) illumination, are now excited by simultaneously absorbing three infrared photons and, subsequently, fluorescence in the UV....Scientists Determine 3-D Crystal Structure Of Cancer-Causing Protein
...r units, Src homology (SH)domain 2, is a signaling molecule that enables interactions and containsdocking units. Normally, Hck, like the other members of the Src family, is"off," folded into a position much like a snake biting its own tail. In thisclosed position, SH2 binds to the phosphotyrosine in Hck's tai...Molecular Imposter Rebuts Long
...ells. Kool and co-workers created a ring-like molecule that veryclosely mimics the shape of the base thymine in DNA.This thymine mimic lacks the slightly charged regions needed toform hydrogen bonds with thymine's normal partner base,adenine. But when the mimic was placed into a strand of DNA, thescienti...High Levels of Vitamin C Prove Toxic to HIV
...es were the first to prove, in 1993, that the same molecule that allows glucose into cells also serves as a route for vitamin C to enter. Although vitamin C is used by cells in one chemical form (ascorbic acid), it enters cells in another form (dehydroascorbic acid). Once inside the cell, this vital nutrient ...Biosensor Is A Model For Widespread Testing Of Chemicals, Molecules
...se,a sugar compound, in blood, and can switch on a molecule that produces fluorescentlight to signal its catch...ave the protein"signal" that it has recognized the molecule of interest. Butengineers have had to rely on happenstance to find naturally occurring proteinsthat ...Method Eases Making Amino Acids Critical In Medicinal Chemistry
...hesized biomolecule. "Our chemistry begins with a molecule that is superimposable onits mirror image, and converts it into an aryl amino acid that is nonsuperimposableon its mirror image," Beak said. "Our yields are high, dependingupon the reagent being used and the type of amino acid being produced." Beak'...Scientists Use Magnetic Field As Alternative To Space-Based Zero Gravity
...The magnetic field actually picked up every single molecule in the embryos,mimicking the type of cell-by-cell levitation of astronauts that occurs in theweightless conditions of space," said study director James M. Valles, anassociate professor of physics. "Because the embryos contain the samematerials, such ...