Life Sciences and Chemistry

Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have determined how toxin produced by anthrax bacteria blocks a person’s normal immune response, a discovery that could lead to new treatments for anthrax infection.

In a paper to be published in the January 15th issue of The Journal of Immunology the UCSD scientists show why, in the presence of anthrax toxin, human immune cells fail to respond normally to lipopolysaccharide—a component of the cell walls of many bacteria including the ba

New method tracking single atoms may lead to improved drug design

Until now, scientists studying the workings of ultra-microscopic forms have had to rely on the scientific equivalents of still photos, something like trying to fathom driving by looking at a photograph of a car. Now, Prof. Irit Sagi and her team of the Structural Biology Department are using new and innovative methods developed at the Weizmann Institute to see real-time “video clips” of enzyme molecules at work. The res

Microscopic Mojave Desert plants growing on the underside of translucent quartz pebbles can endure both chilly and near-boiling temperatures, scavenge nitrogen from the air, and utilize the equivalent of nighttime moonlight levels for photosynthesis, a new study reports. The plants, which receive enough light through the pebbles to support photosynthesis, could offer a model for how plants first colonized land, as well as how they might have evolved on Mars, said the scientists who performed the stud

By revealing the architecture of an essential enzyme in a parasite, Dartmouth researchers are helping address a public health issue.

Researchers in the laboratory of Amy Anderson, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, have unveiled the structure of an enzyme called dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase, also known as DHFR-TS, from a waterborne parasite called Cryptosporidium hominis. Knowing the chemical structure of the enzyme will help researchers design highly targeted drugs to

Research by North Carolina State University scientists, in conjunction with scientists from the Netherlands and BioResource International, an NC State spin-off biotechnology company, has shown that, under proper conditions, an enzyme can fully degrade the prion – or protein particle – believed to be responsible for mad cow disease and other related animal and human diseases.

These transmissible prions – believed to be the cause of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the technical name fo

Researchers at Northeastern University today announced that they have demonstrated that, contrary to previous research, swinging the limbs during the act of running requires a significant fraction of energy. In contrast to the established hypothesis, which asserted that force produced when the foot is on the ground (stance-phase) is the only determinant of the energy cost of running, Northeastern researchers observed that a significant fraction energy was used to fuel muscles that move the limb while