Proteins are an essential ingredient of each and every cell and constitute most of its dry mass. This Mini Lecture explores the chemical structures of the macromolecules and introduces to the specific, three-dimensional constitution of the amino-acid-chain, the buildup and degradation of proteins with lecture snippets of Nobel Laureates Christian Anfinsen and Johann Deisenhofer.

In this activity on page 1 of the PDF, learners compare the relative sizes of biological objects (like DNA and bacteria) that can't be seen by the naked eye. Learners will be surprised to discover the range of sizes in the microscopic world. This activity can be followed up with a second activity, "What's in a microbe?", located on page 3 in the same resource.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Domesticated edible insects are a sustainable protein source that has been gaining global attention. P. brevitarsis is one such species, and their larvae can also eat decaying organic waste and turn it into a plant-growth promoting mixture. But organic matter like this is high in lignocellulose, which is difficult to digest. In fact, these larvae lack the enzymes needed to break lignocellulose down on their own. So, researchers checked their microbiome for microbial genes able to fill in the gaps. The researchers established a comprehensive reference catalog of gut microbial and host genes. Between the two sets of genes, lignocellulose-degrading enzymes were abundant and highly diversified. P. brevitarsis larvae also selectively enriched their microbiome for lignocellulose-degrading microbes and had physiological adaptations that assisted in lignocellulose degradation..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Metabolism is a complex process that has a lot more going on than personal trainers and commercials might have you believe. Today we are exploring some of its key parts, including vital nutrients -- such as water, vitamins, minerals, carbs, fats, and proteins -- as well as how anabolic reactions build structures and require energy, while catabolic reactions tear things apart and release energy.

Chapters:
Introduction: Metabolism
Metabolism, Anabolism, & Catabolism
Essential Nutrients: Water, Vitamins, Minerals
Carbohydrates
Lipids
Proteins
Review
Credits

This Protein Purification video lesson is intended to give students some insight into the process and tools that scientists and engineers use to explore proteins. It is designed to extend the knowledge of students who are already somewhat sophisticated and who have a good understanding of basic biology. The question that motivates this lesson is, ''what makes two cell types different?'' and this question is posed in several ways. Such scientific reasoning raises the experimental question: how could you study just a subset of specialized proteins that distinguish one cell type from another? Two techniques useful in this regard are considered in the lesson.

In this activity, students interact with 12 models to observe emergent phenomena as molecules assemble themselves. Investigate the factors that are important to self-assembly, including shape and polarity. Try to assemble a monolayer by "pushing" the molecules to the substrate (it's not easy!). Rotate complex molecules to view their structure. Finally, create your own nanostructures by selecting molecules, adding charges to them, and observing the results of self-assembly.

This course is a reading supplement to Cells: Molecules and Mechanism by E.V. Wong

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Gastric cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. One factor linked to the disease is an aberrant mucin profile in the gastric mucosa. Mucin proteins are the major building blocks of mucus and normally support the barrier function of the gut lining. But abnormal shifts in mucin makeup are believed to disrupt the gut microbiome in ways that facilitate tumor progression. To explore how, researchers examined tumor tissues from 108 patients with gastric cancer. Tumors associated with poor survival were found to overexpress the mucin gene MUC13. Overexpression of MUC13 was, in turn, linked to increased abundance of certain oral bacteria, namely, Neisseria, Prevotella, and Veillonella, which are known to promote inflammation. Deciphering these mucin-microbiome signatures in gastric cancer could make a big impact in prevention and treatment, as they could signal disease before symptoms of gastric cancer set in..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Students perform an activity similar to the childhood “telephone” game in which each communication step represents a biological process related to the passage of DNA from one cell to another. This game tangibly illustrates how DNA mutations can happen over several cell generations and the effects the mutations can have on the proteins that cells need to produce. Next, students use the results from the “telephone” game (normal, substitution, deletion or insertion) to test how the mutation affects the survivability of an organism in the wild. Through simple enactments, students act as “predators” and “eat” (remove) the organism from the environment, demonstrating natural selection based on mutation.

Students learn about mutations to both DNA and chromosomes, and uncontrolled changes to the genetic code. They are introduced to small-scale mutations (substitutions, deletions and insertions) and large-scale mutations (deletion duplications, inversions, insertions, translocations and nondisjunctions). The effects of different mutations are studied as well as environmental factors that may increase the likelihood of mutations. A PowerPoint® presentation and pre/post-assessments are provided.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Spermatozoa are incredibly unique specialized cells—once they leave the testes, they do not transcribe genes or synthesize new proteins. So, the final step in their maturation, capacitation, is regulated via posttranslational modifications (PTMs) of existing proteins. To learn more, researchers recently examined the relationship between two types of PTMs in frozen bull sperm, specifically tyrosine phosphorylation and reversible oxidative PTMs (oxPTMs). The researchers also examined the role of PRDX enzymes, as their activity is closely related to reversible oxPTMs. Proteins that bind to the egg surface, called zona-pellucida binding proteins, were especially common among reversible oxPTM modified proteins, and proteins related to the tail, or flagella, were associated with all the analyzed PTM types. Inhibiting PRDX activity during capacitation caused an increase in reversible oxPTMs and a decrease in tyrosine phosphorylation, as well as changes in the PTMs on several key proteins and enzymes..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Sialic acids are a family of sugars found throughout the body. They facilitate a variety of cellular functions such as interactions between cells and the detection of foreign bodies. But sialic acids are also linked to the progression of cancer, including bladder cancer. In a new study, researchers examined how bladder cancer cells rich in sialic acids respond to NEU1, one of several enzymes responsible for removing sialic acids from lipids and proteins. The team found that low NEU1 expression was linked to abnormally large amounts of sialic acids in cancer cells. In fact, low expression of NEU1 correlated with bladder cancer progression. High NEU1 expression, on the other hand, enhanced cancer cell death and decreased cancer proliferation. These findings were obtained for both cancer cells grown in the lab and cells extracted from mice with bladder cancer..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Learn about organic chemistry through engaging, bitesize animated videos. They are organised into these chapters: crude oil, functional groups, alkanes and alkenes, alcohols, carboxylic acids and esters, polymers, proteins, carbohydrates, organic chemistry in everyday life and nanoscience.

Primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary protein structure. Beta pleated sheets and alpha helices.

Proteine sind wesentliche Bestandteile jeder einzelnen Zelle und machen den größten Teil ihrer Trockenmasse aus. Diese Mini Lecture untersucht die chemische Struktur von Makromolekülen und führt dabei in die spezifische, dreidimensionale Beschaffenheit der Aminosäurekette ein sowie in den Auf- und Abbau der Proteine, mit Vortragsauszügen der Laureaten Christian Anfinsen und Johann Deisenhofer.

Physical Chemistry is the application of physical principles and measurements to understand the properties of matter, as well as for the development of new technologies for the environment, energy and medicine. Advanced Physical Chemistry topics include different spectroscopic methods (Raman, ultrafast and mass spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic and electron paramagnetic resonance, x-ray absorption and atomic force microscopy) as well as theoretical and computational tools to provide atomic-level understanding for applications such as: nanodevices for bio-detection and receptors, interfacial chemistry of catalysis and implants, electron and proton transfer, protein function, photosynthesis and airborne particles in the atmosphere.

The goal of proteomics is to analyze the varying proteomes of an organism at different times, in order to highlight differences between them. Put more simply, proteomics analyzes the structure and function of biological systems. [8] For example, the protein content of a cancerous cell is often different from that of a healthy cell. Certain proteins in the cancerous cell may not be present in the healthy cell, making these unique proteins good targets for anti-cancer drugs. The realization of this goal is difficult; both purification and identification of proteins in any organism can be hindered by a multitude of biological and environmental factors. [9]

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"The human protein Tid-1 sits at the nexus of many key cellular processes and signaling pathways. These processes include cellular proliferation, growth, survival, aging, apoptosis, and even movement. Tid-1 is a member of the heat shock protein 40 family and helps other proteins fold correctly after translation or refold after a damaging stress event. Dysregulated Tid-1 behavior is involved in numerous human diseases including cancers, cardiomyopathies, and neurodegenerative disorders. Given its wide influence within the cell, Tid-1 could be a key biomarker or even therapeutic target for these diseases, but to leverage Tid-1 effectively, researchers need to understand its functionality in detail. To this end, a team of scientists consolidated the current research on human Tid-1. They found that Tid-1’s protein-protein interactions corresponded to its roles in various diseases and provide insight into how Tid-1 affects pathogenic developments..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Check the video to see how you can stain and destain your SDS-page in few minutes thanks to the use of a microwave owen.