As a girl and young woman, Annie Dookhan was quiet, unassuming, not one to wear makeup. She was charming but stood out more for her dedication to her studies, and by all accounts appeared headed for success.

The only child of hard-working immigrant parents, she enjoyed their pride as she glided through a prestigious Boston prep school, graduated from college with a degree in biochemistry and appeared headed for medical school.

Now, as she takes center stage in a shocking scandal that has sent the Massachusetts legal system into a tailspin, those familiar with her from school and work are struggling to reconcile the Annie Dookhan they knew with the chemist accused of falsifying criminal drug tests.

''I find it hard to believe that she was an individual who decided to falsify lab results ... that she would turn into someone who did something like that. ... That isn't the person I remember,'' said John Warner, an instructor who gave her A's and A-minuses in 2000 when she took his biochemistry class as a senior at the University of Massachusetts-Boston.

''Obviously, things can happen to people,'' he said. ''Either something happened in her life that changed the person that she is, or this is a deeper story.''

Dookhan's struggle with both personal and professional problems in 2009 - including a miscarriage and a legal ruling that put new pressures on chemists at the lab - may help offer an explanation, one former co-worker said.

''Perhaps she was trying to be important by being the go-to person,'' Elizabeth O'Brien told state police, who shut down the lab in August after discovering the extent of Dookhan's alleged mishandling of drug samples sent to the lab by local police departments.

In her own interview with police, Dookhan said she had not tested all the drugs she claimed she did, forged initials of her co-workers, and sometimes mixed drug samples to cover her tracks.

''I messed up bad; it's my fault. I don't want the lab to get in trouble,'' she said, according to a state police report.

She faces as many as 20 years in prison on obstruction of justice charges. More than two dozen drug defendants are already back on the streets as authorities scramble to figure out how to handle the cases of more than 1,100 inmates whose cases Dookhan handled.

The rest is here:
A closer look at the accused rogue chemist Annie Dookhan

BOSTON As a girl and young woman, Annie Dookhan was quiet, unassuming, not one to wear makeup. She was charming but stood out more for her dedication to her studies, and by all accounts appeared headed for success.

The only child of hard-working immigrant parents, she enjoyed their pride as she glided through a prestigious Boston prep school, graduated from college with a degree in biochemistry and appeared headed for medical school.

Now, as she takes center stage in a shocking scandal that has sent the Massachusetts legal system into a tailspin, those familiar with her from school and work are struggling to reconcile the Annie Dookhan they knew with the chemist accused of falsifying criminal drug tests.

"I find it hard to believe that she was an individual who decided to falsify lab results ... that she would turn into someone who did something like that. ... That isnt the person I remember," said John Warner, an instructor who gave her As and A-minuses in 2000 when she took his biochemistry class as a senior at the University of Massachusetts-Boston.

"Obviously, things can happen to people," he said. "Either something happened in her life that changed the person that she is, or this is a deeper story."

Dookhans struggle with both personal and professional problems in 2009 including a miscarriage and a legal ruling that put new pressures on chemists at the lab may help offer an explanation, one former co-worker said.

"Perhaps she was trying to be important by being the go-to person," Elizabeth OBrien told state police, who shut down the lab in August after discovering the extent of Dookhans alleged mishandling of drug samples sent to the lab by local police departments.

In her own interview with police, Dookhan said she had not tested all the drugs she claimed she did, forged initials of her co-workers, and sometimes mixed drug samples to cover her tracks.

"I messed up bad; its my fault. I dont want the lab to get in trouble," she said, according to a state police report.

She faces as many as 20 years in prison on obstruction of justice charges. More than two dozen drug defendants are already back on the streets as authorities scramble to figure out how to handle the cases of more than 1,100 inmates whose cases Dookhan handled.

Read the original:
For lab chemist Annie Dookhan, an unlikely road to scandal

BOSTON (AP) As a girl and young woman, Annie Dookhan was quiet, unassuming, not one to wear makeup. She was charming but stood out more for her dedication to her studies, and by all accounts appeared headed for success.

The only child of hard-working immigrant parents, she enjoyed their pride as she glided through a prestigious Boston prep school, graduated from college with a degree in biochemistry and appeared headed for medical school.

Now, as she takes center stage in a shocking scandal that has sent the Massachusetts legal system into a tailspin, those familiar with her from school and work are struggling to reconcile the Annie Dookhan they knew with the chemist accused of falsifying criminal drug tests.

I find it hard to believe that she was an individual who decided to falsify lab results that she would turn into someone who did something like that. That isnt the person I remember, said John Warner, an instructor who gave her As and A-minuses in 2000 when she took his biochemistry class as a senior at the University of Massachusetts-Boston.

Obviously, things can happen to people, he said. Either something happened in her life that changed the person that she is, or this is a deeper story.

Dookhans struggle with both personal and professional problems in 2009 including a miscarriage and a legal ruling that put new pressures on chemists at the lab may help offer an explanation, one former co-worker said.

Perhaps she was trying to be important by being the go-to person, Elizabeth OBrien told state police, who shut down the lab in August after discovering the extent of Dookhans alleged mishandling of drug samples sent to the lab by local police departments.

In her own interview with police, Dookhan said she had not tested all the drugs she claimed she did, forged initials of her co-workers, and sometimes mixed drug samples to cover her tracks.

I messed up bad; its my fault. I dont want the lab to get in trouble, she said, according to a state police report.

She faces as many as 20 years in prison on obstruction of justice charges. More than two dozen drug defendants are already back on the streets as authorities scramble to figure out how to handle the cases of more than 1,100 inmates whose cases Dookhan handled.

Here is the original post:
Those Who Knew Dookhan ‘Shocked’ By State Drug Lab Scandal

BOSTON (AP) As a girl and young woman, Annie Dookhan was quiet, unassuming, not one to wear makeup. She was charming but stood out more for her dedication to her studies, and by all accounts appeared headed for success.

The only child of hard-working immigrant parents, she enjoyed their pride as she glided through a prestigious Boston prep school, graduated from college with a degree in biochemistry and appeared headed for medical school.

Now, as she takes center stage in a shocking scandal that has sent the Massachusetts legal system into a tailspin, those familiar with her from school and work are struggling to reconcile the Annie Dookhan they knew with the chemist accused of falsifying criminal drug tests.

"I find it hard to believe that she was an individual who decided to falsify lab results ... that she would turn into someone who did something like that. ... That isn't the person I remember," said John Warner, an instructor who gave her A's and A-minuses in 2000 when she took his biochemistry class as a senior at the University of Massachusetts-Boston.

"Obviously, things can happen to people," he said. "Either something happened in her life that changed the person that she is, or this is a deeper story."

Dookhan's struggle with both personal and professional problems in 2009 including a miscarriage and a legal ruling that put new pressures on chemists at the lab may help offer an explanation, one former co-worker said.

"Perhaps she was trying to be important by being the go-to person," Elizabeth O'Brien told state police, who shut down the lab in August after discovering the extent of Dookhan's alleged mishandling of drug samples sent to the lab by local police departments.

In her own interview with police, Dookhan said she had not tested all the drugs she claimed she did, forged initials of her co-workers, and sometimes mixed drug samples to cover her tracks.

"I messed up bad; it's my fault. I don't want the lab to get in trouble," she said, according to a state police report.

She faces as many as 20 years in prison on obstruction of justice charges. More than two dozen drug defendants are already back on the streets as authorities scramble to figure out how to handle the cases of more than 1,100 inmates whose cases Dookhan handled.

More here:
For Mass. lab chemist, an unlikely road to scandal

The first emotion, for those of us in North Carolina who havent just won the Nobel Prize in chemistry, is pride. We are proud to have Dr. Robert Lefkowitz of Duke University living and working in our midst. We are proud of what his achievements say about this areas intellectual climate and depth of scientific expertise.

Pride verges with respect and gratitude. The award to Lefkowitz which he shares with Stanfords Brian Kobilka, whom he mentored at Duke recognizes a career that reached the apex of achievement in medical research.

Over the years in his lab, he hammered away at riddles of cell biology and biochemistry in search of answers that would make medicines work more effectively. It was a dedication that must have been driven not only by the thrill of discovery but also by the physicians desire to ease peoples suffering.

In the process, Lefkowitz fulfilled the high calling of a professor of medicine training more than 200 other scientists such as Kobilka to make their own discoveries in their own labs. That Duke, where he has worked since 1973, proved to be a fertile and compatible home base is a great credit to the university, which for the first time can point to a Nobel awarded for work done on its campus.

It takes a special kind of environment to foster research at such a high level. North Carolina is fortunate indeed that the region we know as the Research Triangle provides the environment that can support a scientist of Lefkowitz caliber.

He becomes the fifth Triangle-area Nobel winner, following previous laureates associated with UNC-Chapel Hill, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and Wellcome Research Laboratories.

This state looks to the life sciences as an economic mainstay, both in the conduct of research that attracts many millions in federal grants and as a focus of industry. The honor to Lefkowitz amounts to putting a fresh shine on the North Carolina brand. And it underscores the appeal of that tried-and-true goal doing well by doing good.

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Hail to a scientist

Stockholm, Oct. 10 (AP): Two American researchers won the Nobel Prize in chemistry today for studies of protein receptors that let body cells sense and respond to outside signals like danger or the flavour of food. Such studies are key for developing better drugs.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka had made ground-breaking discoveries, mainly in the 1980s, on an important family of receptors, known as G-protein-coupled receptors.

About half of all medications act on these receptors, including beta blockers and antihistamines, so learning about them will help scientists to come up with better drugs.

The human body has about 1,000 kinds of such receptors, structures on the surface of cells, which let the body respond to a wide variety of chemical signals, like adrenaline. Some receptors are in the nose, tongue and eyes, and let us sense smells, tastes and light.

"They work as a gateway to the cell," Lefkowitz told a news conference in Stockholm by phone. "As a result they are crucial ... to regulate almost every known physiological process with humans."

Lefkowitz, 69, is an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and professor at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. Kobilka, 57, worked for Lefkowitz at Duke before transferring to Stanford University School of Medicine in California, where he is now a professor.

Lefkowitz said he was fast asleep when the Nobel committee called, but he did not hear it because he was wearing ear plugs. So his wife picked up the phone. "She said, 'There's a call here for you from Stockholm,'" Lefkowitz told The Associated Press. "I knew they ain't calling to find out what the weather is like in Durham today."

He said he didn't have an "inkling" that he was being considered for the Nobel Prize.

"Initially, I expected I'd have this huge burst of excitement. But I didn't. I was comfortably numb," Lefkowitz said.

Kobilka said he found out around 2:30am, after the Nobel committee called his home twice. He said he did not get to the phone the first time, but that when he picked up the second time, he spoke to five members of the committee.

Read more from the original source:
Cell signalling work scoops Nobel

Election to the Fellowship recognises a career that has significantly advanced the world's store of scientific knowledge. The Academy also elects a small fraction of its Fellows by Special Election, recognising conspicuous service to the cause of science.

Fellows elected to the Academy in 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z

Adams, Jerry Mckee, PhD, FAA, FRS, NAS Joint Head, Molecular Genetics of Cancer Division, and Director, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Specialized Center of Research, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research. Professor of Molecular Genetics, University of Melbourne. Speciality: The genetics of haemopoietic differentiation and malignancy. Year of election: 1986

Allen, David Grant, PhD, FAA Professor of Physiology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Sydney. Website: http://www.physiol.usyd.edu.au/~davida Speciality: Cardiac and skeletal muscle physiology. Year of election: 2006

Alpers, Michael, AO FAA FRS Centre for International Health, Curtin University Year of election: 2012

Anderson, Brian David Outram, AO, PhD, DHC (Louvain), Hon Dr ScTech (Swiss Fed Inst Tech), Hon DEng (Syd, Melb, Newcastle), Hon DSc (UNSW), FAA, FRS, FTSE Professor, Research School of Information Sciences and Engineering, Australian National University. Website: http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~briandoa/contact.html Speciality: Control systems; signal processing; telecommunications. Year of election: 1974

Anderson, Jan Mary, PhD, FDhc (Ume), FAA, FRS Adjunct Professor, Division of Plant Science Research School of Biology, ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, Australian National University. Website: http://biology.anu.edu.au/Staff/Profiles/PS/Anderson/index.php Speciality: Thylakoid membranes; photosynthesis; acclimation; photoinactivation; molecular organisation. Year of election: 1987

Anderson, Marilyn FAA, FAICD, FTSE Professor, Department of Biochemistry, La Trobe University. Speciality: Plant defence related proteins. Year of election: 2011

Andrews, Thomas John, PhD, FAA Speciality: Biochemistry and molecular biology of photosynthetic carbon metabolism. Year of election: 1998

Continue reading here:
Fellowship list

Carolyn Lim | DP

Dr. Christine Guthrie, a biochemistry professor at the University of California, San Francisco, delivered the keynote address at Penns biomedical postdoctoral research symposium, which took place on Oct. 9.

Yesterday, the Biomedical Postdoctoral Council and the Office of Biomedical Postdoctoral Programs hosted a symposium to showcase current postdoctoral research.

The symposium, featured about 50 poster exhibits, nine lectures and a keynote address given by Dr. Christine Guthrie, a professor of biochemistry at the University of California, San Francisco.

The event began at noon, ended at 5 p.m. and was followed by a short reception. About 200 people attended the event.

The symposium gave postdocs the opportunity to present their research and to strengthen Penns postdoctoral community, said postdoctoral fellow Melissa Mendez, chair of the BPC Symposium Committee. It gives people who want to present the opportunity to practice and to get communication going, she said. The people who come want to get to know their colleagues.

But the symposium was more than just a postdoctoral mixer. It was an opportunity for the fellows and researchers to practice communicating their ideas to those who do not understand the intricacies of their fields.

It all comes down to communication, said Rohinton Tarapore, BPC co-chair and a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Periodontics. Can postdocs communicate their science in laymans terms? The way we measure the success [of this event] is if you understood a majority of the posters. That means that the postdocs are doing a good job of communicating their ideas.

Postdocs are technically not faculty or staff of the university but are trainees who receive a stipend while conducting research. Their appointments are annual and can be renewed for a maximum of five years. Most postdocs do not see their position as a permanent job, but rather as a stepping-stone toward a larger goal.

Your end goal can be a faculty position, and you can become a professor, or it can be joining and doing industry research in a start-up biotech company like GSK or Pfizer, Tarapore said. You can become a consultant or you can be in policy-making. You can start your own biotech company or [you could go into] writing science articles.

Link:
Symposium highlights postdoctoral research

The highest honour an academic staff member can receive from the University of Alberta was recently awarded to researcher and professor Marek Michalak.

Vice-Dean of Research at the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry and a professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Michalak was honoured with the University Cup for his successes in teaching, research and community service at the Celebrate! Teaching. Learning. Research ceremony Sept. 27.

Originally from Poland and a faculty member with the U of A since 1987, Michalak has mentored nearly 100 students and post-doctoral fellows in his time at the university. However, he believes working with a vibrant team is far more important that his individual contributions.

If (the team) will bring passion and motivation to their work, what difference does it make if we are the bosses? As long as (we) provide the environment, the mentorship and the supervision, then everything falls into place, he said.

If you really think about it thats what I said to the crowd (at the ceremony) Im just doing my job, so whats the big deal?

The research conducted by Michalak and his team includes the analysis and reduction of protein-folding diseases, such as Alzheimers, multiple sclerosis and cystic fibrosis.

As a leader in the field of molecular cell biochemistry, Michalaks accolades include the awarding of $24 million in research funding for his lab and the publication of more than 200 academic papers.

Michalak explained most of his research discoveries started from asking curiosity-driven questions.

In the past 20 years, weve been asking ourselves very simple, almost trivial questions that led us to huge findings, such as (issues like) complete heart blocking in children. That received quite a lot of attention, he said.

Anything is possible; you just never know what the next discovery brings. Thats the fascinating part of science.

Here is the original post:
U of A honours biochemistry professor with University Cup

The Oncology Institute of Hope and Innovation welcomes Dr. Donald Paul Lombardi.

Downey, California (PRWEB) October 08, 2012

He completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan Hospitals, where he won the House Officer Research Award. He did his Medical Oncology Fellowship at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, MD, and did postgraduate fellowships in Molecular Genetics and Molecular Biology at the National Institutes of Health.

He was on the faculty at Washington University School of Medicine (then ranked #2 by the US News & World Report), where he specialized in breast and genitourinary cancers at the Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital (then ranked #6 among US hospitals).

Because of his commitment to the cancer research, he enrolled into a Masters Degree Program in Clinical and Translational Investigation at the Kellogg School of Science at Technology at The Scripps Research Institute and Scripps Translational Science Institute in La Jolla, CA. Utilizing start-of-the-art genomics, proteomics and metabolomics, Dr. Lombardi focused his laboratory work on high fat diets and how they contribute to tumor aggressiveness. He will be coming from Scripps Cancer Center and Scripps Mercy Hospital.

Dr. Lombardi has received numerous honors and awards throughout his career, including a Physician-Scientist Training Award from the Department of Defense for U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command's Breast Cancer Research Program; a Developmental Project/Career Development Award at the University of Texas SPORE in Lung Cancer; a Clinical Associate Physician (CAP) Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH); and, most recently, a KL2 Clinical Scholarship from the NIH.

Dr. Lombardi has a very personal connection with cancer treatment. His mother, sister, and grandmother had breast cancer and his father had testicular cancer.

When I see a patient, I see the individual as a person with cancer first, and then as an oncologist treating that patient second. I think that I bring a passion to cancer care that comes from my own emotional response to having close family members go through cancer treatment.

Dr. Lombardi will be joining eleven other physicians on staff at The Oncology Institute of Hope and Innovation starting October 15th, 2012.

About The Oncology Institute:

Here is the original post:
Donald Paul Lombardi, M.D. Joins The Oncology Institute of Hope and Innovation

Four MU professors were appointed as Curators Professors, the highest educational honor given by the UM System.

Statistics professor Nancy Flournoy, biochemistry professor Gerald Hazelbauer, fisheries and wildlife professor John Jones and geological sciences professor Mian Liu received the award after the UM Board of Curators approved the nominations at its September meeting.

The Curators Professorship is prestigious, and only outstanding scholars with established reputations are considered for appointment, according to the Office of the Provost's website.

The recipients were notified via mail by letters from Chancellor Brady Deaton, Provost Brian Foster and President Tim Wolfe about their nominations. In addition to the award, the recipients receive a raise and a stipend for scholarly activity.

Nancy Flournoy, statistics professor

Flournoy is the former statistics department chairwoman. She currently teaches one undergraduate class and one graduate class. Flournoy was the only woman of the four recognized.

It was really cool, Flournoy said. I was very pleased. Its a great honor.

Her work with statistical theory has been motivated by problems encountered while working with the Seattle bone marrow transplant team, according to her website. Flournoy received her bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles before receiving her Ph.D. from the University of Washington. Flournoy has spent 10 years at MU.

The students are a joy, Flournoy said.

Gerald Hazelbauer, biochemistry department chairman

Read more here:
Four MU professors awarded Curators’ Professorships

SOUTH BEND -- Anthony Serianni was a postdoctoral associate at Cornell University when he and his adviser, Robert Barker, started Omicron Biochemicals in 1982, the same year Serianni joined the faculty at the University of Notre Dame.

"We had developed some new chemistry that made the synthesis of certain kinds of sugar molecules easier to do," says Serianni, the president and CEO. "At that time, I had intentions of pursuing an academic career. I had already applied to Notre Dame.

"We are a carbohydrate lab, a sugar lab," adds Serianni, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. "There's an explosion in the interest in carbohydrates in biology, not just for dietary reasons."

Sugar molecules coat many cells in the human body and interact with other material such as bacteria, viruses and proteins, potentially offering targets for fighting disease, he explains.

"There are lots of molecules that attach themselves to the cell because of the sugars," he says. "Those interactions elicit a whole host of biological responses. Some people believe cancer can be treated by pharmacological intervention on saccharide."

Omicron is not a research laboratory but synthesizes material used in other laboratories.

"We provide the tools, that is, the molecules, that are needed for studies of that type," Serianni says. "When we build these molecules in that lab, we label them. The nuclei of the atoms that compose these molecules are tinkered with slightly," a process called isotopic labeling. "That type of labeling is really valuable."

In some cases, quantities ordered have increased dramatically since the beginning.

"Years ago, a large-scale synthesis of these products might have been 1 to 5 grams," he says, adding that some orders are for thousands of grams. "On the other hand, many of these products are custom-made. They're difficult syntheses. Having a gram or two of material, you're doing pretty well. It varies by the product.

"The need for these kinds of molecules is pretty broad. Lots of different kinds of laboratories doing chemical and biological research might need them."

Original post:
Omicron has Chemistry

The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pondicherry University, will hold a two day national conference on current scenario and emerging trends in hepatocellular diseases.

According to a university release here today, the conference will focus on the key aspects of hepatology research, and strategies to explore liver at the cellular and molecular level.

"Liver is a vital organ in our body as it plays a central role in metabolic regulation and toxin excretion.

Liver is constantly exposed to a variety of stress due to our modern lifestyle adaptations, including tendency to avail drugs and substances, alcohol and fatty foods, resulting in liver injury, specifically to liver cells, hepatocytes. This leads to malfunction and disease conditions of the liver," the release said.

"The damage caused to liver worsens with time and hence it is essential to find a cure or treatment option via biocompatible drugs, herbal medicines and drugs at nanomolar concentrations which can help the liver cells to recuperate even at very minute concentrations," the release further added.

The conference would highlight the recent advances in the field of hepatology research and its future perspectives in various angles. (UNI)

The rest is here:
Pondicherry University to hold conference

MORGANTOWN As a little girl, Joy Wang couldnt grasp what was happening with her paternal grandmother.

Joy and her parents would visit Grandma, yet she did not recognize them, didnt even remember her own son.

The pain from those experiences changed Joys career plans from owning a zoo to curing Alzheimers, and she picked West Virginia University as the place to get the education to make that a reality.

WVU has a great biochemistry program and that will help guide me for the rest of my life, Joy said days before her official start on campus this month. WVU will be like a second family to me. Its always stood out from the rest as having a great atmosphere. Not only will I get support from my group of friends, but from faculty and staff. Everyone is so welcoming. I feel so accepted even though I havent attended classes yet.

Leola Humphries, known as Verna, suffered from dementia. She passed away when Joy was a teen. When Joy grew older, she began to realize on a deeper level the afflictions of her grandmothers illness.

It opened my eyes to how horrible neurological diseases are, Joy said, and it gave me the ability to sympathize with others.

Now I use that pain and those memories as a driving force, a real motivating factor to remind me of what Im doing.

What Joy is doing is working toward her dream to help people like her grandmother by becoming a neurosurgeon. Joy wants to find cures for Alzheimers disease and other disorders of the brain.

Quite ambitious for an 18-year-old. Yet the dream seems entirely attainable with a glance at Joys resume and work ethic thus far. She was part of the National Honor Society, marching band, student council, quiz bowl team, orchestra and swim team at Capital High School in Charleston. She graduated first in her class.

Joy literally could have gone anywhere to begin her journey.

Original post:
Scholar dreams of finding cure for Alzheimer’s disease

Origin-of-life researchers face a deceptively straightforward question: how did simple chemicals produce complex biochemistry? The complexity of this starts to come in when you consider the many complex biomolecules that would have been useful or essential to the first biochemical reactions. And it gets worse when you consider that there are lots of simple organic chemicals that plausibly could have been present on the early Earth. Figuring out which reactions to even start looking at can be a real challenge.

The extent of that challenge was highlighted a few years back, when a Cambridge lab suggested most earlier researchers had gone down a dead end. Previously, researchers tried to build up a sugar and a nucleic acid base separately, and then link to them from precursors of DNA and RNA. But the group from Cambridge showed it was possible to build relatively simple compounds into a three-ring chemical that could then be converted into cytosine, an RNA component. Now, they've revisited that work and shown that all of the precursors of that reaction can be made with little more than cyanide.

The reaction the group reported back in 2009 only required a set of two or three carbon precursors, but these molecules were already somewhat complex: cyanamide, cyanoacetylene, glycolaldehyde, and glyceraldehyde. We don't know that all of these chemicals would be common on a pre-biotic Earth, which leaves its relevance to the origin of life a somewhat open question.

In a new paper, the same lab tackles forming the simple, two- and three-atom sugars used in their earlier work (glycolaldehyde and glyceraldehyde). To get there, they started with nothing more complex than hydrogen cyanide, a simple molecule comprised of one atom each of hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen. Hydrogen cyanide forms readily under a variety of conditions, and has been found on several bodies in our Solar System, as well as in the interstellar medium.

The authors were intrigued by reports in the literature of a cycle that involves a set of six cyanide molecules, coordinated by two copper atoms. In a water solution, this complex can cycle, driven by ultraviolet light, through a set of reactions that alternately spit out cyanide, protons, and electrons. These electrons get temporarily attached to water molecules, and typically end up being taken up by a scavenger molecule, typically nitrate. However, some reports in the literature noted that, when nitrate isn't added to the reaction, some undefined larger molecules formed.

The authors went back and checked these reaction products, and found that they included both glycolaldehyde and glyceraldehydethe two chemicals that were key building blocks of the reaction that produced the RNA precursor. And all the reaction required was copper ions and some UV light.

If left to continue cycling, the products of the reaction also included some more complex, five-atom ringed structures that incorporate nitrogen and oxygen in the ring. But the authors suspect that with the right conditionsnamely the ones identified in the earlier paperthe products of this new cycle could be sent directly on to form cytosine. They also suggest the addition of other metals could shift the products to additional chemicals that may have biological relevance.

Hopefully, it's safe to assume the lab already has these projects in the works.

Nature Chemistry, 2012. DOI: 10.1038/NCHEM.1467 (About DOIs).

John Timmer / John became Ars Technica's science editor in 2007 after spending 15 years doing biology research at places like Berkeley and Cornell.

Go here to read the rest:
Simple reaction makes the building blocks of a nucleic acid

September 27, 2012 5:02PM

Updated: September 28, 2012 2:29AM

Abbott Laboratories is shrugging off the fact that the company overstated the education level of the man chosen to helm its pharmaceutical spinoff, which is expected to make $18 billion in sales next year. Longtime Abbott exec Richard Gonzalez didnt receive either a bachelors degree in biochemistry from the University of Houston or a masters in biochemistry from the University of Miami contrary to biographical information filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2007 and several years prior while he was a director at the company. There was an administrative error many years ago when the bio was written, said Abbott spokesman Melissa Brotz. When we became aware of it a while back we corrected it promptly I dont have an exact date. Theres absolutely no issues with his educational background or ability to lead. Hes had a distinguished career reaching the highest levels in the company with a proven track record, said Brotz. Gonzalez will take the reigns of the pharmaceutical spinoff AbbVie when the nascent company completes its separation Jan. 1. AbbVie (pronounced Abb-vee) will be the new research-based pharmaceutical firm expected to be launched by Abbott Laboratories by the end of the year. In October 2011, North Chicago-based Abbott said it would separate into two publicly traded firms one in diversified medical products, the other in research-based pharmaceuticals. AbbVie will include Abbotts current portfolio of proprietary pharmaceuticals and biologics. The name is derived from a combination of Abbott and vie, which references the Latin root vi meaning life. The AbbVie logo and graphic identity will be unveiled when the new company is launched. The diversified medical products company, which will retain the Abbott name, will consist of Abbotts existing products portfolio, including its branded generic pharmaceutical, devices, diagnostics and nutritional businesses. AbbVie has nearly $18 billion in annual revenue and will have a portfolio of market-leading brands, including Humira, Lupron, Synagis, Kaletra, Creon and Synthroid. Gonzalez joined Abbott in 1977 and retired briefly in 2007 as the companys No. 2 man before returning in 2009 to head its investment arm and is currently executive vice president of the pharmaceutical products group. A spokesman for the University of Houston confirmed Gonzalez took classes at the school in 1972 and 1973, but did not earn a degree. School administrators from the University of Miami were not immediately available Thursday. Crains Chicago Business first broke the story.

Visit link:
CEO of Abbott’s spinoff didn’t receive college degrees claimed in filings

SUN-TIMES MEDIA September 27, 2012 6:58PM

Updated: September 28, 2012 3:00AM

Abbott Laboratories gave incorrect education credentials for the executive chosen to lead its pharmaceutical spinoff in regulatory filings between 2002 and 2007, Crains Chicago Business is reporting.

Richard A. Gonzalez, named CEO of AbbVie, did not receive a biochemistry bachelors degree nor a biochemistry masters degree from the universities Abbott filings listed, Crains reported.

According to Crains, Gonzalez did not receive a bachelors degree in biochemistry from the University of Houston, nor a masters degree in biochemistry from the University of Miami, contrary to claims in Abbotts filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission when the longtime company executive was a director.

He started at the company in 1977 and retired from Abbott as president and chief operating officer in 2007, but returned two years later.

Gonzalez, 58, currently executive vice president, Global Pharmaceuticals at Abbott, was chosen to be chairman and CEO of AbbVie (pronounced Abb-vee), the new research-based pharmaceutical firm, which is projected to have $18 billion in annual sales after it is spun off later this year.

Abbott external communications Vice President Melissa Brotz confirmed to Crains that Gonzalez did not receive degrees from either university.

The inaccurate information about his education was included in SEC filings as a result of an internal administrative error. She told Crains that Abbott learned about the errors some time ago. The company corrected the information on its Web site immediately after the errors were discovered, she said.

According to the companys Web site, Gonzalez is listed as a research biochemist at the University of Miami School of Medicine and attended the University of Houston, majoring in biochemistry,

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CEO of Abbott spinoff lacks degrees claimed in filings

Rebecca and Michael Terns are seen in their lab at the University of Georgia. Rebecca Terns is asenior research scientist in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in UGAs Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. Michael Terns isa distinguished research professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and genetics.

Bacteria and archaea are among the smallest forms of life on the planet, but don't let their size fool you. These simple creatures have persevered for billions of years, thanks in part to a recently discovered immune-like defense system that protects them from marauding infectious agents like viruses and plasmids.

University of Georgia researchers Michael and Rebecca Terns were some of the first to describe how the bacterial immune system works in a 2009 paper published in Cell. Now, thanks in part to two grants from the National Institutes of Health totaling more than $2.4 million, the Terns lab hopes to find ways of manipulating this bacterial immunity that could have far-reaching implications for a variety of biotechnological and biomedical industries.

"Bacteria, from the pathogens that you hear about on the news to the microbes that normally live in and on our bodies, play a whole range of diverse and important roles in human lives," said Rebecca Terns, senior research scientist in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in UGA's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. "What we're studying is a defense system that protects bacteria from viruses."

The fact that bacteria are vulnerable to viruses is a double-edged sword, because bacteria are both powerful enemies and essential allies. On one hand, pathogenic bacteria cause serious and debilitating diseases in humans. On the other hand, many bacteria serve protective functions, or are used in industries to clean wastewater, make food, produce medicine and make plastics.

Once they have a better understanding of the various mechanisms involved in bacterial immunity, the Terns lab hopes to develop methods to protect helpful bacteria and destroy those that make people sick.

"We're trying to bolster this immune system in the good bacteria that we exploit to make foods, pharmaceuticals and biofuels," said Michael Terns, UGA distinguished research professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and genetics. "At the same time, we're trying to find ways to turn this immune system on itself and kill pathogenic bacteria."

When a bacterium encounters an invader like a virus, it recognizes the viral DNA, chops it up into pieces and incorporates a segment of the viral DNA into its own genome. As the bacteria experiences more threats from viruses, it accumulates a memory bank of past infections in a special part of its genetic code commonly known as CRISPRs, short for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats.

After this initial step, the bacteria then create special CRISPR-associated proteins that ultimately recognize and destroy the virus if it tries to invade again.

"If we take a bacterium and challenge it with a virus in the lab, overnight most of the bacteria will be killed, but there will be a few survivors that have found a piece of the virus and incorporated it into their own genome," Michael Terns said. "And the resulting immunity is heritable, because when these survivors reproduce, all new cells exposed to the same virus will survive."

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Researchers looking to exploit bacterial immune system for medicine and industry

Researchers at McNeese State University believe alligators could hold thekey to healing humans.

At the helm of the study is Dr. Mark Merchant, professor of biochemistry.

Merchant saidhis interest with gators began at an early age.

"I grew up in the marshes of Southwest Louisiana and Southeast Texas hunting and fishing and I am still in the marsh a lot pursuing those activities. I've been around alligators most of my life," Merchant said.

Merchant said he realized a long time ago that there was something special about the immune systems of theseprehistoric animals.

"Alligators and crocodiles are very territorial and they fight andat times, inflict great injury on one another butthe fact is it seems they heal rather rapidly despite the fact they live in an environment wherethere are lots of potentially infectious microbes such asbacteria and fungi and things that can infect these massive wounds," Merchant said.

When his research began 11 years ago, Merchantwas able to prove the blood of alligators could kill pathogens. Since then, he has learned more howalligator blood kills bacteria, fungi and viruses, specifically white blood cells.

"What we have found in the last four or five years is that the white blood cells from alligators can and other crocodilians around the world make these tiny peptides that have tremendous antibacterial and antifungal activity," explained Merchant. "We have just recently isolated the small peptides or proteins and are working to determine the exact structure. So we think we potentially may have not only a new antibiotic, but a whole new class of antibiotics for human and veterinary use."

Merchantsaid there is still a lot of researchbeforethe antibioticcan be produced inlabs.

"It could be tomorrow. It could be next month or it could be in 10 years. I hope it is sooner rather than later," he said.

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Research of alligator blood could one day help humans

Its a most regal honour for an academic.

On November 17, Oceanography Professor John Cullen and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Professor Andrew Roger will become fellows of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC). Induction into the RSC represents a distinguished career in research the cumulative accomplishments of an academic life. Fellows are considered top intellectuals, persons who provide thought leadership for the betterment of Canada and the world.

This honour comes for Dr. Cullen after years of presenting solid research on significant global challenges. Just one example is his work on human-caused stratospheric ozone depletion, a hot-button issue in the 1980s and 90s. Although at the time scientists knew increased ultraviolet radiation from ozone depletion would harm marine organisms, they didnt know by how much.

I worked with Dr. Patrick Neale at the Smithsonian Institute and Richard Davis in my lab to develop new ways to measure the effects of ultraviolet radiation on photosynthetic plankton, explains Dr. Cullen. We discovered that UV radiation would cause significant but not catastrophic impacts and in doing so we developed a sound scientific foundation for making those assessments.

Dr. Roger has spent much of his career piecing together the Tree of Life. His group has shown that much of lifes diversity comprises five-to-six super-kingdom level groups that diversified more than 1 billion years ago. In collaboration with Alastair Simpson's Biology group, Rogers team assembled the first evidence for a large super-kingdom group called the Excavata.

Clarifying the deepest 'structure' of the Tree of Life is realizing many biologists dreams since Darwin proposed the theory of evolution, says Dr. Roger. We can now map major evolutionary transitions that gave rise to diversity and better understand mechanisms that control evolution.

Drs. Cullen and Roger agree that their success stems from an unwavering dedication to uncovering the truth.

Dr. Cullen emphasizes reporting results honestly and clearly, reiterating, A scientists job is to help people understand nature, not to impress people with accomplishments.

Dr. Roger draws on collaborations with other academics, postdoctoral researchers and students to find the truth behind lifes mysteries. He credits much of his success to seeking out academics with complementary skills and getting the right trainees for his projects.

Ive been fortunate to work with excellent colleagues and trainees, says Dr. Roger. Ive also strived to create a comfortable intellectual environment and provide the financial support and guidance for my trainees to explore their scientific interests.

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A "Royal" recognition for Dal scientists