Scientist uses form to explain function of key building blocks of life
...h unprecedented accuracy the strengths of hydrogen bonds in a protein. The scientists were then able to pr...he proteins, to determine the strength of hydrogen bonds in ten different variants of the protein. From that data, the team was able to explain changes in p...Discovery will aid identification of misregulated genes in Rett Syndrome
...ich is organized as two complementary strands with bonds between them that can be "unzipped" like a zipper....only one other base: A-T, T-A, C-G, G-C create the bonds that connect the complementary strands. Long stretches of base pairs make up genes. All genes found...Virginia Tech engineer investigates enzyme link to neurological disease
...dy. TGases, whose function is to catalyze covalent bonds among proteins, are commonly found in several different human tissues. In the presence of unusually high levels of these enzymes, some proteins tend to form denser clusters than normal in vivo. If the aggregates grow in size, it can lead to a build-u...Metal-based medicine could treat diseases in the body
...called redox chemistry to steal electrons from the bonds holding the target molecule together. Others use hydrolysis, meaning that they break down the target's chemical waterproofing, so that the water that is naturally present in a cell dissolves the target. That's what makes these complexes different fro...New tool to study elusive DNA structure could help reveal better understanding of cancer, diabetes
...ucture, the 'G-quartet,' that arises from hydrogen bonds between guanines only," says Linda McGown, professor and chair of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Scientists have long speculated about the existence of these G-quartets, as well as the role they ...Spiders help scientists discover how muscles relax
...stead. When muscle is activated, they suggest, the bonds between the myosin heads are broken. This frees each head to interact with actin and cause muscle contraction. "We have focused on the relaxed muscle to understand the structure of the thick filaments when they are not involved in contraction, but r...New look at DNA hints at origin of ultraviolet damage
...he 1960s: that UV causes mutations by damaging the bonds between base pairs the horizontal "rungs" on the ...ve bases. In undamaged DNA, there are no chemical bonds between vertically stacked bases. But the bases do interact electronically, which is why Kohler thin...Beetle-inspired switch uses water for bonding
...switch that uses water droplets to create adhesive bonds almost as strong as aluminum by borrowing a mechanism found in palm beetles. The new beetle-inspired switch, designed by Cornell University engineers, can work by itself on the scale of a micron -- a millionth of a meter. The switches can be combine...Genomics reveals mechanism of heat resistance in bacteria
...g with some other thermophiles have many disulfide bonds (covalent bonds between two spatially proximate cysteines), which are known to improve stability. By mapping int...Sticky mutant proteins implicated in Lou Gehrig's disease
...to reagents that can disrupt some of the protein's bonds or remove its metal ions, they become much stickier than the normal protein. "The mutants, but not the normal SOD1, adhere to a hydrophobic or 'greasy' surface, and this property could promote abnormal interactions with other proteins or membranes i...New molecule may aid in production of biofuels and fungi-resistant plants
...ases have quite a challenge. In order to break the bonds between the sugar units, they must gain access to the bonds by somehow disrupting the packing of the sugar chains in the chitin molecule. How exactly chitinases...Redesigned protein accelerates blood clotting
...alcium ions (calcium binding sites). When calcium bonds to it, factor VIII changes shape and becomes better able to bind factor IX. In past research, Fay's team had identified a single amino acid (out of the more than 2,300 building blocks making up factor VIII) with the potential, if replaced, to chang...Fundamental discovery -- bone fracture
... in abalone shells. This glue involves sacrificial bonds (with hidden length) that uncoil when the bone is stressed." That interdisciplinary research group included the research groups of Morse and Stucky, as well as that of Herbert J. Waite. Said co-author Daniel Morse, director of UCSB's Institute f...Junk DNA shapes social behavior
...s more quickly. They also were more likely to form bonds with mates, and they spent more time nurturing their offspring. "This is the first study to demonstrate a link between microsatellite length, gene expression patterns in the brain and social behavior across several species," said Young. "Because a s...New U. of Colorado polymer has applications for dentistry, electronics, automobiles
... made up of identical molecules linked by chemical bonds to form repeating chains or webs -- generally show...CU polymer was treated with UV light, the chemical bonds linking the molecules, or monomers, continually broke and reformed during light exposure, "relaxing"...Rodent social behavior encoded in junk DNA
...angers more readily and were more apt to form pair bonds and nurture their young. "If you think of brain circuits as locked rooms, the vasopressin receptor as a lock on the door, and vasopressin as the key that fits it, only those circuits that have the receptors can be 'opened' or influenced by the hormon...Elephants imitate sounds as a form of social communication
...lso occur in other species where long-lived social bonds are based on individual relationships and where members of a group separate and reunite over time."...Tiny scaffolding allows stem cells to become working fat cells
...a mat that resembles the intracellular matrix that bonds cells together in normal tissue. The fibers are about the size of a collagen fiber, several nanometers (a billionth of a meter) across, and provide tensile strength to support the growing tissue," Kniss said.The researchers then "seeded" that scaffol...Why is the helix such a popular shape? Perhaps because they are nature's space savers
...lices are helical because the shape is dictated by bonds between molecules. But that only answers how a helix is formed and not why they are that shape," said Randall Kamien, a professor in Penn's Department of Astronomy and Physics. "It turns out that a helix, essentially, is a great way to bunch up a v...Promising anti-TB compound finally can be synthesized with ease
...ivation of the normally unreactive carbon-hydrogen bonds and produces only the target compound. "We solve the control of the three-dimensional shape all in this one key step," said Davies. "The synthesis is now so smooth that we are able to complete the whole sequence in only 10 days, a proce...