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Category Archives: Biochemistry

Art Ragauskas on Team Investigating Lignin Conversion to Biodiesel Fuel

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Art Ragauskas on Team Investigating Lignin Conversion to Biodiesel Fuel

Art Ragauskas

March 14, 2013 - IPST Professor Art Ragauskas of Georgia Techs School of Chemistry and Biochemistry has been named to a multi-university team conducting a two-year research project that is aimed at engineering a microbe to break lignin down into a lipid, or fat, and then into biodiesel.

According to a recent article in Biodiesel magazine, the research has the potential to make cellulosic ethanol refineries more profitable, while providing new feedstock for biodiesel production growth.

The $2.4 million project recently awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy is headed by Joshua Yuan, a Texas A&M University AgriLife Research plant pathologist. The team includes scientists from Georgia Institute of Technology, University of British Columbia and Washington State University.

To see the entire Biodiesel article, click on this link: Texas researcher looks into biodiesel production from lignin

For more information about IPST, please visit: http://www.ipst.gatech.edu .

SOURCE: Institute of Paper Science and Technology (IPST)

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Art Ragauskas on Team Investigating Lignin Conversion to Biodiesel Fuel

Science PhD Students Discover Career Opportunities at Symposium March 19 at Stony Brook University

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Newswise Stony Brook University, in collaboration with Brookhaven National Laboratory, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, will be holding an all-day career symposium on Tuesday, March 19, in the Charles B. Wang Center. The Research Your Future Career Symposium is sponsored by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) and is open to graduate students and postdocs at the participating institutions.

This event is being run by Stony Brook University graduate students and postdocs, and includes a series of panel discussions by professionals in the areas of academia, biotech and finance, industry and government, and patent law. Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., MD, will give the welcome address. The days schedule also includes lunch and an afternoon networking session with local businesses from the tri-state area, including Pall Life Sciences, forteBio, Regeneron, Hoffmann & Baron LLP, Advanced Microscopy Group (part of Life Technologies), The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Merck Inc., Mirimus Inc., Molecular Medicine, New York Genome Center and North Shore LIJ.

P. Roy Vagelos, MD, retired Chairman and CEO of Merck Inc. and Chairman of the Board at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., is the keynote speaker.

We have filled our registration quota and are really excited about the success of this event, said Nadine Dalrymple, postdoctoral associate in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, who is one of the event organizers. This is the first time we are holding this career and networking symposium. The main organizers of the event submitted a proposal to ASBMB and won support to bring the event to Stony Brook. We then received a number of sponsorships, which allowed us to open this event up to more than 300 grads and postdocs. Our goal is to showcase the variety of career options available to those with a science PhD.

The event organizers, all from Stony Brook University, include faculty advisor Peter J. Tonge, a professor in the Department of Chemistry; PhD students Peter Chahales and Krithika Venkataraman; and postdoctoral associate Nadine Dalrymple. The organizing committee, also from Stony Brook University, includes Lynn Allopenna, Assistant Dean in the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs; Alfreda S. James, Assistant Director in the Career Center; and PhD students Azeez Aranmolate, Mel Pilar Espaillat, Nikki Evensen, Ellie Ivanova, Mahalakshmi Ramadass and Perry Y. Woo.

Registration will be in the Main Lobby of the Wang Center, and businesses will have tables in the Skylight Lobby. Panel sessions will be held in the Wang Theater and Lecture Halls 1 and 2. Lunch will be in the Zodiac Lobby and Chapel, with networking opportunities in both the Main Lobby and Skylight Lobby. Vendor tables featuring Biotix Inc., Enzo Life Sciences, Eppendorf, VWR and WorldWide Medical Products Inc. will be displayed throughout the Wang Center.

Symposium panel discussions include:

Academia with Jorge L. Benach, PhD, Chair, Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Stony Brook University; David Bynum, PhD, Director, Center for Science and Mathematics Education, Stony Brook University; and Doreen Ware, PhD, Adjunct Associate Professor, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Biotech and Finance with Prakhar Verma, PhD, Senior Analyst, Prescient Life Sciences; Jeffrey Saelens, PhD, Regional Center Director, Small Business Development Center, Stony Brook University; Mark Lesko, JD, Executive Director, Accelerate Long Island; and James Egan, PhD, Director of Business Development, IRX Therapeutics, Inc.

Industry and Government with Karim Berrada, PhD, Director, DNA Formulation, Applied DNA Sciences Inc.; Zygmund Roth, PhD, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance, IRX Therapeutics Inc.; John C. McKew, PhD, Chief, Therapeutics Development Branch, NIH Center for Translational Therapeutics; and Melpomeni Melek, PhD, Global Head of Hematology, Global Regulatory Affairs, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc.

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Science PhD Students Discover Career Opportunities at Symposium March 19 at Stony Brook University

Canterbury scientist’s study on Cystic Fibrosis in adults

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MEDIA RELEASE

Friday March 15, 2013

Canterbury scientists study on Cystic Fibrosis in adults to be published

A Canterbury biochemistry scientists study on Cystic Fibrosis in Adulthood an evolving spectrum disorder, is to be published next month.

Sandy Woods scientific paper has just been accepted for publication in the NZ Journal of Medical Laboratory Science and will be appearing in the April issue.

Sandy is a Medical Laboratory Scientist in Specialist Biochemistry for Canterbury Health Laboratories and says she chose to study Cystic Fibrosis in adulthood after noticing she was testing more adults as part of her job.

Up until about 2005 these tests were mainly performed on children and babies, Sandy says.

Noticing a steady increase in the number of adult appointments for tests, I was curious to know what we were finding?

In Sandys study she reviewed 15 years worth of adult cases investigated through CHL where Cystic Fibrosis was suspected.

It was evident there were many cases of what has been termed atypical Cystic Fibrosis. So what had previously been considered a defined diagnosis for the disorder is actually much broader. I expect more cases of atypical Cystic Fibrosis will be found in future, Sandy says.

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Canterbury scientist’s study on Cystic Fibrosis in adults

Scientists discover why some proteins are speedier than others

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(Phys.org) Scientists from our Department of Biology & Biochemistry have solved a problem that has frustrated biologists for years why different parts of proteins are made at different rates.

Their discovery, published in the online journal PLOS Biology, should help scientists make proteins that would be otherwise tricky to produce in the lab.

Proteins are made in the cell by machines called ribosomes, which read gene transcripts (called mRNA) and 'translate' the genetic code into strands of protein.

The researchers looked at yeast proteins that were made at different rates. They found that the parts of proteins that took the longest to make were composed of mostly positively charged amino acids.

Co-author Laurence Hurst, Professor of Evolutionary Genetics at the University, explained: "If you imagine the ribosome as a doughnut with a hole in it, the mRNA strand is fed through the hole in the centre, translating the genetic code to give the corresponding amino acid chain, which comes out of a tunnel in the side of the doughnut.

"If the protein being created is positively charged, it gums up the negatively charged tunnel and slows down the protein production."

Lead author Katie Charneski, added: "This was a real surprise as most people before had assumed that it was something about the mRNA that caused slowing or speeding of the ribosome."

"Many organisms, including humans, have 'tails' on the ends of their mRNAs that normally the ribosome does not translate. But if mistakes occur in protein production, the tail may be erroneously translated, always producing a string of positively charged amino acids.

"These charges might act as a tagging signal for the cell to destroy the potentially toxic protein."

The speed at which proteins are made has consequences for the cell and has been puzzled over by biologists for years. Changes in this speed can affect how well proteins fold and where they end up in the cell, and hence their eventual function.

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Scientists discover why some proteins are speedier than others

Selectively manipulating protein modifications

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Public release date: 10-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Michael Hottiger hottiger@vetbio.uzh.ch 41-446-355-474 University of Zurich

This press release is available in German.

Protein activity is strictly regulated. Incorrect or poor protein regulation can lead to uncontrolled growth and thus cancer or chronic inflammation. Members of the Institute of Veterinary Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Zurich have identified enzymes that can regulate the activity of medically important proteins. Their discovery enables these proteins to be manipulated very selectively, opening up new treatment methods for inflammations and cancer.

For a healthy organism, it is crucial for proteins to be active or inactive at the right time. The corresponding regulation is often based on a chemical modification of the protein structure: Enzymes attach small molecules to particular sites on a protein or remove them, thereby activating or deactivating the protein. Members of the Institute of Veterinary Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Zurich in collaboration with other Institutes have now discovered how the inactivation of a protein, which is important for medicine, can be reversed.

New group of ADP-ribosylhydrolases identified

An important protein modification is ADP-ribosylation, which is involved in certain types of breast cancer, cellular stress reactions and gene regulation. So-called ADP-ribosyltransferases attach the ADP ribose molecule to proteins, thereby altering their function. In recent years, many ADP-ribosyltransferases have been discovered that can convey single or several ADP-riboses to different proteins. Enzymes that can remove these riboses again, however, are less well known. Professor Michael Hottiger's team of researchers has now identified a new group of such ADP-ribosylhydrolases. The scientists discovered that a so-called macrodomain is responsible for removing the ADP-riboses in human proteins, but also in the bacterium Archaeoglobus fulgidus.

"We therefore assume that the reversal of the modification takes place in a similar way in different species," explains Michael Hottiger.

Biomedically relevant: inactivation of the modified enzyme GSK3

The researchers also prove that ADP-ribosylhydrolases can remove the ADP-ribose of the intensively studied enzyme GSK3, which regulates the synthesis of storage substances and is important in the progression of various diseases. ADP-ribosylation deactivates GSK3, which can be reversed again by the newly identified enzyme. "Our discovery enables ADP-ribose modification to be manipulated and tested selectively, and new treatment methods developed for diseases such as inflammations or cancer," concludes Michael Hottiger.

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Selectively manipulating protein modifications

MIT professor speaks at 13th annual Shine Lecture

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The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry hosted the 13th annual Henry J. Shine Lecture, coinciding with Shines 90th birthday celebration in the Chemistry building at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The event started with an introduction by Carol Korzeniewski, chairwoman of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and was followed by an introduction about Shine by Interim President Lawrence Schovanec. Guigen Li, a professor in the Department of Chemistry, gave the guest speaker introduction.

Its an endowed lectureship, Korzeniewski said. It was endowed by the friends, and colleagues of Professor Shine, friends, colleagues and former students.

The reason for the continuation of the lecture series, she said, was because the series brings distinguished researchers from around the world to Tech to interact with students and discuss science.

The event was open to the public, she said, but most of the people who attended were from the chemistry department along with science departments, engineering departments and the Tech Health Sciences Center.

After the lecture, Korseniewski said a Q-and-A session occurred, followed by refreshments and a birthday cake to be presented to Shine in the foyer of the building.

He turned 90 in January, she said. Thats what makes this years lecture special.

A group of faculty specializing in organic chemistry selected the guest speaker with preparation taking place a year before the event happened, Korzeniewski said.

The speakers are very prominent, often members of the National Academy of Science, she said. Weve had Nobel Laureates.

Li, Korzeniewski said, played an important role in getting the guest speaker to participate in the lecture series.

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MIT professor speaks at 13th annual Shine Lecture

In the Lab: Research roundup

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Following is a list of some of the medical research grants awarded to scientists in the area.

St. Louis University School of Medicine

The scientist Dr. Robert E. Fleming, professor of pediatrics; and biochemistry and molecular biology.

The grant $1.8 million from National Institutes of Health.

The study Examine the role of transferrin in the production of red blood cells and iron metabolism, as a possible treatment for thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder, and other iron overload diseases.

The scientist Yuna Ayala, assistant research professor of biochemistry and molecular biology.

The grant $617,181 from National Institutes of Health.

The study Reveal the basic mechanisms associated with neurodegenerative diseases, such as ALS and dementia, that would aid in the development of therapies and better diagnostic tools.

Washington University School of Medicine

The scientist Dr. Stuart Sweet, professor of pediatrics.

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In the Lab: Research roundup

Student conducts independent Alzheimer’s research

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A Cal Poly Pomona biochemistry student is working on independent Alzheimers disease research and is trying to secure private funding to further his research.

Reilly Breaux and his research partner, Alex Lopes, who attends MiraCosta College, are working to figure out what happens when different genes associated with Alzheimers are combined rather than isolated.

Alzheimers disease is a form of dementia that causes problems in thinking, memory and behavior that is on the rise in the elderly.

There are more than 5 million Americans living with Alzheimers disease, according to the Alzheimers Association, a non-profit organization.

[Alzheimers disease] has already been extensively researched, but it cant be measured, said Breaux. Its not quantitative because youre just seeing this person has the gene and this person doesnt, but still sometimes they both get Alzheimers. Its a really tricky thing.

Breaux and Lopes research is also looking at a gene that has to do with swelling of the brain.

Weve actually found another gene that might have been overlooked, which has to do with inflammation of the brain and that can attribute to the build up of [beta amyloid protein], said Breaux.

The build up of the beta amyloid protein has been linked to Alzheimers disease, said Breaux.

Were not only trying to research the combinations, the interactions, of certain genes, but also maybe this other gene, which has to deal with inflammation in the brain, is causing it or helping it, said Breaux.

The idea of combining genes was inspired by another project that Breaux is working on, which is an iPhone application that deals with the interaction of drugs.

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Student conducts independent Alzheimer’s research

Part 1 of 7 | Paleo Diet

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Part 1 of 7 | Paleo Diet Strength Training Biochemistry | Doug McGuff MD
Subscribe on Youtube: t21c.com Subscribe by e-mail: http://www.the21convention.com Follow on Twitter twitter.com About the speaker : Doug McGuff, MD became interested in exercise at the age of 15 when he first read Arthur Jones #39; Nautilus Training Bulletin No. 2. His interest in exercise and biology led him into a career in medicine. In 1989, he graduated from the University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio and went on to train in Emergency Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences at Little Rock where he served as Chief Resident. From there, Dr. McGuff served as Faculty in the Wright State University Emergency Medicine Residency and was a staff Emergency Physician at Wright-Patterson AFB Hospital. Throughout his career Dr. McGuff maintained his interest in high intensity exercise. Doug realized a lifelong dream when he opened Ultimate Exercise in November, 1997. Over the past 13 years Dr. McGuff and his instructors have continued to explore the limits of exercise through their personal training clients at Ultimate Exercise. In addition to his work at Ultimate Exercise, Dr. McGuff is a partner with Blue Ridge Emergency Physicians, PA Dr. McGuff Lives in Seneca, South Carolina with his wife of 25-years, and their Children Eric and Madeline. Doug is the best selling co-author of Body by Science ( amzn.to ) and The Body by Science Question and Answer Book ( amzn.to ). Visit Doug #39;s blog at http://www.bodybyscience.net See Doug #39;s second lecture at The 21 Convention ...

By: Under21convention07

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Part 1 of 7 | Paleo Diet

2013 Regional Science

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2013 Regional Science Engineering Fair at Exploration Place
Future scientists and engineers joined in for the fifth annual Wichita Regional Science and Engineering Fair at Exploration Place on Friday, March 1, 2013. Students in grades 4-12 were encouraged to participate either individually or as a team. Categories included Botany, Physics Physical Science, Engineering Inventions, Social Science/Behavioral, Chemistry, Mathematics Computer Science, Earth/Space Science, Environmental Science, Zoology and Biochemistry/Medicine Health. The Wichita Regional Science and Engineering Fair is affiliated with the Kansas State Science and Engineering Fair.

By: ExplorationPlace

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2013 Regional Science

Columbus Africentric Food Tour: L’Appat Patteserie Cafe – Video

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Columbus Africentric Food Tour: L #39;Appat Patteserie Cafe
"Take a pinch of Mexican cayenne, a teaspoon of Indian curry, a dollop of cream cheese and a hint of lavender" -- sounds like the recipe for a magic spell and in a way -- it is. "Didier Alapini cooks up magic everyday at L #39;Appat! His international fusion restaurant located at the corner of Oak and Champion in the heart of Olde Towne. Didier, who immigrated to the US from the African nation of Benin in 1998, learned to cook from his mother who had started a catering business in the late 1980 #39;s. Benin had been a French colony so its cuisine has a strong French as well as African influence. Not one to stay idle, Didier who has degrees in physiology, microbiology, biochemistry, biology and nutrition planned to obtain a doctorate in Nutrition and Food Science and Biochemistry at the Ohio State University. He was moved to go into the catering and restaurant business while watching a television program where a scientist demonstrated how to make BBQ sauce in his own kitchen. Didier had an epiphany, exclaiming, "I can do that!..." Find out more @ lappatcafe.com Facebook "L #39;appat patisserie cafe" Address: 1159 Oak street, Columbus, Ohio ABOUT AFRICENTRIC FOOD TOUR: The Columbus Africentric Food Tour is an exploration of amazing local Africentric Cuisines Restaurants in Central Ohio! Each episode, we discover an array of Nubian influenced, mouth-watering delicacies, while introducing you to the chefs practitioners of culinary excellence responsible for these exquisite dishes ...

By: AfricentricsLIVE

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Columbus Africentric Food Tour: L'Appat Patteserie Cafe - Video


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