Lab reports: eligibility criteria sparks row The Hindu In 2005, members of an ad hoc committee appointed by the Supreme Court and of the executive committee of the MCI had approved the decision of the ethics committee that a person with M.Sc. (Medical Biochemistry) degree with or without Ph.D is entitled ... |
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Lab reports: eligibility criteria sparks row - The Hindu
Food is more than the energy that fuels our bodies it is preventive medicine. Maybe not a cheesy chimichanga, but the type of food that is loaded with vitamins and proteins can maximize the benefits to the human body.
We need to look at the functional properties of food more closely so we can achieve the desired outcome, said Justin Siegel, associate professor of chemistry, biochemistry and molecular medicine, and faculty director for the Innovation Institute for Food and Health. Instead of focusing on the quantity of food which is a legitimate long-term concern globally lets hone in on creating quality food that possesses more active nutritional ingredients that deliver greater health benefits with every serving.
Siegel has a vision to transform the greater Sacramento region into the incubator pipeline for food science innovations. The initiative, dubbed Food Valley, would accelerate the commercialization of game-changing ideas across the food system by tapping into research, industry and policy. It would also prepare tomorrows food innovators and entrepreneurs through experiential learning programs.
Food Valley aims to patent its food innovations through developing technologies. These concepts can be grown into companies and potentially be a launchpad for Aggie entrepreneurs.
Siegel became interested in biotechnology as a kid. More recently, he thought about the possibilities of using biotech to disrupt the food systems industry. He co-founded PVP Biologics, a food biotech company, in 2016. PVP created a pill called KumaMax, which could help those who have celiac disease. KumaMax is currently in clinical trials, awaiting FDA approval.
Food Valley is about letting people experience freedom in what they are able to eat especially as it pertains to food allergies and restrictions, Siegel said. With modern technology we can both see the exact molecules that make up our food and manipulate those molecules to change how they interact with someones body.
No centralized hub for food innovations exists yet. Siegel said he believes UCDavis has the right ingredients to emerge as the leader.
Twenty years ago, this was science fiction, he said. Now we can do things we never thought possible. There is going to be a hub for food innovation, and UCDavis should be the place it happens.
This is one of several Big Ideas, forward-thinking, interdisciplinary programs and projects that will build upon the strengths of UCDavis to positively impact the world for generations to come. Learn more at bigideas.ucdavis.edu.
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The Future of Food - UC Davis
Boston-based artist Bethany Nol Murray has found a way to channel her migraines into painting. The series, entitled Migraines in Nature, explores the sensory overload that accompanies the condition, including the ocular disturbances called auras. By viewing these kaleidoscopic landscapesdistorted by migrainesthe artist hopes people will find unexpected joy in the natural world around them.
Before pursuing art, Murray studied biochemistry at Reed College for two years. Afterward, she transferred to the Rhode Island School of Design and graduated with a BFA in Painting. It was there that the artist began to merge her interest in her own headache disorder with her creative work. I have had chronic migraines for over twenty years of my life, Murray says. I began making paintings to show the incredible beauty that accompanies this strange neurological condition, as I have always been fascinated at the neurobiology behind the imagery I see. Most of the paintings in the series are based in heavily wooded forests, which the artist explains is often a refuge for her to avoid strong light. To illustrate her visual symptoms of auras, macroscopia, and microscopia, Murray distorts the landscapes with expressive waves, large areas of fractured color, and bursts of white light.
The artist describes the series of paintings as having an Alice in Wonderland feeling to them. Each forest scene shows a world of magnified color, which borders on fantasy. To achieve this, Murray works with white and black gessousing the black of the canvas to be the shadow, and adding the light in a swirling, patterning effect that mimics the aura I see all the time. This heavy contrast makes each piece from the series stand out as a unique visual encounter.My paintings have been proof to myself of what I experience during an attack, and despite the pain, Ive made the choice to see the good, weird, and beautiful, says Murray.
To keep up to date with the artists latest creations, including upcoming exhibitions, you can follow her on Instagram.
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Artist Creates Series of Paintings Inspired By Her Chronic Migraines - My Modern Met
Consciousness exists everywhere in the Universe and inside all of us.
All of us are immersed in cosmic consciousness, a field of conscious awareness which extends across the Universe.
We can bring this realization into our everyday life in the world by adopting a spirituality which is less about belief and more about practice, in particular the practice of inwardly focussing our attention.
This momentary inward focussing of our attention helps us be more aware of our intuitions, which are always emerging out of the cosmic space inside us and these intuitions can help us make great choices in the world and live well.
This is easy to do and something we can fit into stray moments of our everyday life, helping us get in tune with the single consciousness-space that orchestrates and binds together the whole Universe.
This cosmic intelligence is transforming itself into all life everywhere in the Universe and into our own unique human form, for the duration of a human life.
Tuning in to this conscious cosmic space and being present, here and now in the moment, helps us dissolve the thought boundaries around our separate self and we can begin to see ourselves as active participants in the evolution of conscious awareness.
Active participants in this evolution because were tuned into or joined into, we could say, the intelligence of the living and conscious Universe, the cosmic intelligence which is transforming itself into all life everywhere.
Key to this is taking a bit of time every day to become consciously present in the moment, by focussing our attention inwardly.
When we lose our inner connection into consciousness in the Universe, we can see ourselves as separate from the world and from other people, apparently alone inside the boundaries of our own mind, experiencing the world through the lens of a personal and insecure ego self.
Ego is insecure because its just a collection of thoughts and images in our mind, a shallow conceptual fiction about ourself, created since childhood, which has no grounding in the universal consciousness inside all of us.
As we tune in to and intuitively realize this universal consciousness within ourselves by inwardly paying attention to it, we can know it as the cosmic aware space inside all of us.
When we do this, we realize that theres no actual other. Theres only the appearance of others, all of us within one seamless field of conscious awareness in all space everywhere.
What we are, the spacious consciousness at the core of all of us, is what is looking through all life everywhere into the world.
A field-experiencing cosmic intelligence is generating all life across the Universe, experiencing every moment within all of us and becoming more aware of itself by doing so.
Its transforming itself, moment by moment, into the precisely orchestrated biochemistry of our human body and knows every transient moment of our life.
Each one of us is like a visible music, as streaming flows of vibrational information that are emerging out of cosmic consciousness, create the realtime, visible materialization we can observe as precisely orchestrated living cell biochemistry.
While several trillion complex biochemical reactions, all in precise sync with one another, are occurring throughout our human body, coherent neural processing, within trillions of synapses in our brain, is generating the impression of a three dimensional world around us.
In our busy, contemporary world, we often lose touch with a conscious, everyday connection into cosmic intelligence and no longer have an awareness of being woven into each other and at home in the Universe.
We can recover our inner connection into consciousness in the Universe by paying attention to the aware space inside us, the cosmic spatial awareness in all of us and throughout the Universe.
We can allow the thought boundaries around our separate sense of self to dissolve away, leaving us with the realization that consciousness exists everywhere, inside all of us.
A cosmic consciousness that knows all of us as itself.
29_12_19
Paul Mulliner is a writer and digital artist
Read more at : https://thriveglobal.com/authors/paul-mulliner/
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Consciousness Is Everywhere in the Universe - Thrive Global
Paint Remover Market: Introduction
Paint remover also named as paint striper is a product used to remove the paint, and other finishes. Additionally, it is intended to clean the underlying surfaces. The paint remover products containing harmful substances which leads poisoning. The other pain removal method such as scraping, sanding is safer and environment friendly than paint striper products.
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Paint Remover Market: Overview
The global paint remover market is segmented into types, end-users, and region. Based on type, the paint remover market is classified into caustic type, solvent type, and biochemical type. Sodium hydroxide (also known as lye or caustic soda), is the mostly used caustic. It works through breaking down the chemical bonds of the paint, usually by hydrolysis of the chain bonds of the polymers forming the paint. Solvent paint remover breach the layers of paint and break the bond between the paint and the object by swelling the paint. Dichloromethane, also called methylene chloride, is the most common solvent used as a paint strippers. Caustic paint remover leads the global paint remover market due to the features of removing the thick layer of paint and easy to use in compare to other paint removers. Biochemical paint remover is anticipated to gain significant growth due to the attributes of eco-friendly, and use of natural sources in the products of these paint stripers. In terms of end-users, the paint remover market can be categorized into vehicle maintenance, aerospace, industrial repairs, building renovation, furniture refinishing, and others. The application of paint removers in aerospace, and building renovation together lead the global paint remover market due to the use of paint removers in modification of aircrafts, and old infrastructures.
Paint Remover Market: Trends & Developments
The paint remover market is growing on the ground of increase its application in various end-users industries such as vehicle maintenance, aerospace, renovations etc. The growing renovation activities in developed nations on North America, and Europe fuels the demand for paint remover market growth. However, the several serious health risk associated with paint removal products, and stringent government regulation inhibits the market growth. Additionally, the high cost of paint removal products may hamper the market growth. Nevertheless, the growing R&D activities to develop eco-friendly paint removers, and rise in usage of biochemical paint removers create new opportunities for global paint remover market growth.
Paint Remover Market: Regional Outlook
Based on region, the global paint remover market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. North America dominates the global paint remover market owing to the well-established aerospace industry in this region. The wide use of paint remover product in modification of aircraft is the key factor driving the global paint remover market growth. Additionally, the presence of key manufactures in this region also fuels the global paint remover market growth.
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Paint Remover Market: Key Players
Prominent players in the global paint remover market include 3M, Green Products, Henkelna, Franmar Chemical, PPG (PPG Aerospace), United Gilsonite Labs, Formbys, GSP, Fiberlock Technologies, EZ Strip, and Akzonobel.
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Paint Remover Market Structure, Industry Inspection, And Forecast - Market Research Sheets
Los Angeles, United State,January 2020 :
The latest report up for sale by QY Research demonstrates that the global Biochemistry Analyzers market is likely to garner a great pace in the coming years. Analysts have scrutinized the market drivers, confinements, risks, and openings present in the overall market. The report shows course the market is expected to take in the coming years along with its estimations. The careful examination is aimed at understanding of the course of the market.
Global Biochemistry Analyzers Market: Segmentation
The global market for Biochemistry Analyzers is segmented on the basis of product, type, services, and technology. All of these segments have been studied individually. The detailed investigation allows assessment of the factors influencing the market. Experts have analyzed the nature of development, investments in research and development, changing consumption patterns, and growing number of applications. In addition, analysts have also evaluated the changing economics around the market that are likely affect its course.
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The various contributors involved in the value chain of the product include manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, intermediaries, and customers. The key manufacturers in this market includeAbbottDanaherRoche DiagnosticsSiemens
By the product type, the market is primarily split intoSemi-AutomaticFully Automatic
By the end users/application, this report covers the following segmentsHospital and Diagnostic LaboratoriesHome Care, and AcademicResearch Institutes
What will the report include?
Market Dynamics: The report shares important information on influence factors, market drivers, challenges, opportunities, and market trends as part of market dynamics.
Global Market Forecast: Readers are provided with production and revenue forecasts for the global Biochemistry Analyzers market, production and consumption forecasts for regional markets, production, revenue, and price forecasts for the global Biochemistry Analyzers market by type, and consumption forecast for the global Biochemistry Analyzers market by application.
Regional Market Analysis: It could be divided into two different sections: one for regional production analysis and the other for regional consumption analysis. Here, the analysts share gross margin, price, revenue, production, CAGR, and other factors that indicate the growth of all regional markets studied in the report.
Market Competition: In this section, the report provides information on competitive situation and trends including merger and acquisition and expansion, market shares of top three or five players, and market concentration rate. Readers could also be provided with production, revenue, and average price shares by manufacturers.
Strategic Points Covered in TOC:
Chapter 1: Introduction, market driving force product scope, market risk, market overview, and market opportunities of the global Biochemistry Analyzers market
Chapter 2: Evaluating the leading manufacturers of the global Biochemistry Analyzers market which consists of its revenue, sales, and price of the products
Chapter 3: Displaying the competitive nature among key manufacturers, with market share, revenue, and sales
Chapter 4: Presenting global Biochemistry Analyzers market by regions, market share and with revenue and sales for the projected period
Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9: To evaluate the market by segments, by countries and by manufacturers with revenue share and sales by key countries in these various regions
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2020 Biochemistry Analyzers Market Insight ( Investment Analysis, Market Overview and Focus on Top Players) | By QYResearch - The Picayune Current
Explore schools that excel in biology and biochemistry.
Students might pursue a degree in biology or biochemistry as a path to medical school or a variety of professions. Whatever their career goals, prospective students can explore the top 10 Best Global Universities for Biology and Biochemistry, as ranked by U.S. News based on academic research performance in this subject area.
10. Cornell University
Location: Ithaca, New York
Best Global Universities overall rank: 23
Fact: Cornell University offers multiple college majors that relate to biology and biochemistry, including biology and society, chemistry and chemical biology, biomedical engineering, biological sciences and biological engineering.
9. Johns Hopkins University
Location: Baltimore
Best Global Universities overall rank: 11
Fact: Johns Hopkins University conducted $2.56 billion in medical, science and engineering research in the fiscal year 2017, according to its website.
8. University of California--San Diego
Location: La Jolla, California
Best Global Universities overall rank: 19
Fact: The University of California--San Diego's biological sciences division has more than 100 research labs, according to its website.
7. University of Oxford
Location: Oxford, England
Best Global Universities overall rank: 5
Fact: The University of Oxford's biochemistry department offers a four-year program for undergrads that culminates in a master's credential, according to the department's website.
5 (tie). University of Cambridge
Location: Cambridge, England
Best Global Universities overall rank: 9
Fact: The University of Cambridge's department of biochemistry is home to more than 50 research groups investigating "how cells and their constituent molecules work in life and relate to disease," according to the institution's website.
5 (tie). University of California--San Francisco
Location: San Francisco
Best Global Universities overall rank: 15
Fact: For globally minded students, the University of California--San Francisco offers a one-year master's program in global health and a doctoral program in global health sciences, according to the school's website.
4. University of California--Berkeley
Story continues
Location: Berkeley, California
Best Global Universities overall rank: 4
Fact: The University of California--Berkeley has six field stations for biology researchers in places as close as San Jose, California, and as far as French Polynesia, according to the school's website.
3. Stanford University
Location: Stanford, California
Best Global Universities overall rank: 3
Fact: During the 2017-2018 school year, human biology was the second most popular undergraduate major at Stanford University, according to the institution's website. Computer science was the most popular.
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Best Global Universities overall rank: 2
Fact: Three members of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's biology department faculty are recipients of the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine, according to the university's website.
1. Harvard University
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Best Global Universities overall rank: 1
Fact: Harvard University is affiliated with 19 hospitals and health-focused research institutes in the Boston area, per its website, creating many opportunities for student research in life sciences fields.
These are the top 10 global universities for biology and biochemistry.
-- 1. Harvard University
-- 2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
-- 3. Stanford University
-- 4. University of California--Berkeley
-- 5 (tie). University of California--San Francisco
-- 5 (tie). University of Cambridge
-- 7. University of Oxford
-- 8. University of California--San Diego
-- 9. Johns Hopkins University
-- 10. Cornell University
Learn more about studying overseas.
Learn about global universities that offer free or very low tuition, and find out how to account for the language of instruction at global schools. Follow U.S. News Education on Facebook and Twitter for more education rankings and advice.
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Top 10 Global Universities for Biology and Biochemistry - Yahoo News
Explore schools that excel in biology and biochemistry.
Students might pursue a degree in biology or biochemistry as a path to medical school or a variety of professions. Whatever their career goals, prospective students can explore the top 10 Best Global Universities for Biology and Biochemistry, as ranked by U.S. News based on academic research performance in this subject area.
10. Cornell University
Location: Ithaca, New York
Best Global Universities overall rank: 23
Fact: Cornell University offers multiple college majors that relate to biology and biochemistry, including biology and society, chemistry and chemical biology, biomedical engineering, biological sciences and biological engineering.
9. Johns Hopkins University
Location: Baltimore
Best Global Universities overall rank: 11
Fact: Johns Hopkins University conducted $2.56 billion in medical, science and engineering research in the fiscal year 2017, according to its website.
8. University of California--San Diego
Location: La Jolla, California
Best Global Universities overall rank: 19
Fact: The University of California--San Diego's biological sciences division has more than 100 research labs, according to its website.
7. University of Oxford
Location: Oxford, England
Best Global Universities overall rank: 5
Fact: The University of Oxford's biochemistry department offers a four-year program for undergrads that culminates in a master's credential, according to the department's website.
5 (tie). University of Cambridge
Location: Cambridge, England
Best Global Universities overall rank: 9
Fact: The University of Cambridge's department of biochemistry is home to more than 50 research groups investigating "how cells and their constituent molecules work in life and relate to disease," according to the institution's website.
5 (tie). University of California--San Francisco
Location: San Francisco
Best Global Universities overall rank: 15
Fact: For globally minded students, the University of California--San Francisco offers a one-year master's program in global health and a doctoral program in global health sciences, according to the school's website.
4. University of California--Berkeley
Location: Berkeley, California
Best Global Universities overall rank: 4
Fact: The University of California--Berkeley has six field stations for biology researchers in places as close as San Jose, California, and as far as French Polynesia, according to the school's website.
3. Stanford University
Location: Stanford, California
Best Global Universities overall rank: 3
Fact: During the 2017-2018 school year, human biology was the second most popular undergraduate major at Stanford University, according to the institution's website. Computer science was the most popular.
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Best Global Universities overall rank: 2
Fact: Three members of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's biology department faculty are recipients of the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine, according to the university's website.
1. Harvard University
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Best Global Universities overall rank: 1
Fact: Harvard University is affiliated with 19 hospitals and health-focused research institutes in the Boston area, per its website, creating many opportunities for student research in life sciences fields.
These are the top 10 global universities for biology and biochemistry.
-- 1. Harvard University
-- 2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
-- 3. Stanford University
-- 4. University of California--Berkeley
-- 5 (tie). University of California--San Francisco
-- 5 (tie). University of Cambridge
-- 7. University of Oxford
-- 8. University of California--San Diego
-- 9. Johns Hopkins University
-- 10. Cornell University
Learn more about studying overseas.
Learn about global universities that offer free or very low tuition, and find out how to account for the language of instruction at global schools. Follow U.S. News Education on Facebook and Twitter for more education rankings and advice.
More From US News & World Report
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Top 10 Global Universities for Biology and Biochemistry - Yahoo Finance
Lakeland University students Tegan Schneider and Mitchel Larsen presented their research at the 50th annual Society for Neuroscience (SfN) meeting in Chicago in October.(Photo: Jered McGivern)
SHEBOYGAN - The woman's skin sample had already been "tricked" to think it was an embryo. The job for two Lakeland University biochemistry students was to make it behave like brain tissue.
Tegan Schneider, of Plymouth, and Mitchel Larsen, of Sheboygan, teamed up for this unusual task during Lakeland's summer research program, hoping to better understand how the brain regulates neurotransmitters.
Now juniors, they continued their work this semester and recently presented their research at the 50th annual Society for Neuroscience meeting in Chicago.
The sample they worked with came from the Medical College of Wisconsin and had already been directed, using chemicals, to behave like fetal tissue.
To get the sample to think it was brain tissue, Schneider and Larsen added growth factors that those cells would normally see during developmentin the brain.
The purpose of making brain cells in a dish, from skin cells: Donated brain tissue is hard to come by, said Jered McGivern, an assistant professor of biochemistry at Lakeland, who helped them with their research.
"There's a lot of work being done in the medical field to use (this method) for developing treatments and cures," McGivern said.
McGivern said Schneider and Larsen did a great job of trying different techniques to study neurotransmitters with the instrumentation they had, and they did a lot of work outside of the summer program because they were so interested.
One of the biggest challenges was to keep their cells from getting contaminated, sincethey don't have an immune system.
Theresearch is good experience for them to have as they move into bigger labs, McGivern said.
Suzette Rosas didthe foundational work and is now a graduate student at the Medical College of Wisconsin, he added.
McGivern joined Schneider and Larsen at the meeting in Chicago, which was attended by over 27,000 people, and where the students got to learn about work being done in the field.
Schneider and Larsenwere able to attend the meeting because of a gift from 1969 Lakeland graduate Cliff Feldmann.
Contact Diana Dombrowski at ddombrowski@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @domdomdiana
More: Can expecting mothers predict their baby's gender? Sheboygan study has an answer
More: Here are the improvements Sheboygan made to the recently reopened Pennsylvania Ave. bridge
More: Fatal farm accident reported on County Line Road in Sheboygan
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After 'tricking' skin cells to behave like brain tissue, Lakeland students present at neuroscience megaconference - Sheboygan Press
Huber R. Warner, Ph.D., a biochemist who led NIAs Biology of Aging Program, passed away suddenly on September 12 in St. Paul, Minn., at the age of 83.
Dr. Warner joined NIA in 1984 where he managed the Molecular Biology Program while also serving as chief, Biochemistry and Metabolism Branch. In January, 2000 he was named associate director of the NIA Biology of Aging Program. Warner played a large part in expanding the scope and scale of aging research at the NIA, while helping to mentor a new generation of scientists. His research interests included oxidative stress, molecular mechanisms of apoptosis, functional genomics and stem cells.
Huber was not only a well-respected scientist and leader in our field, but his gentle nature made him beloved by both the community and his colleagues, said Dr. Felipe Sierra, director of the NIA Division of Aging Biology (DAB).
Dr. Dick Sprott, Warners predecessor at the NIA DAB, said Dr. Warner served with diligence and great scientific acumen. While his insights were important for the biology of aging field, we will remember him for leadership and common sense. I, like many others, will always treasure his sound advice and friendship.
Dr. Richard Hodes, director of the NIA said The entire NIA family is saddened by the loss of Dr. Warner. He helped guide and grow the study of aging biology at the NIH and NIA with a steady hand and curious mind, and will be deeply missed.
Warner was born in 1936 in Glendale, Ohio. He received a doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Michigan in 1962, and following postdoctoral work at M.I.T., he joined the faculty of the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minn., in 1964. He was a member of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America.
After leaving NIA in 2004, he returned to the University of Minnesota, where he served as associate dean of research until his retirement in 2010. He spent his later years at the Universitys independent living community, and returned often with family to his beloved Cawaja Beach in Ontario, Canada. Warner was known for his many athletic interests and as an enthusiastic volunteer coach for youth sports. He played hockey growing up, and tennis in his later years, and was a member of the NIH Tennis and Sailing clubs.
A memorial service celebrating Warner will be held on Saturday, November 16, at 1:00 p.m. at the University of Minnesota. He is survived by sons Geoffrey and Peter; daughter-in-law Dawn; and 3 granddaughters: Chloe, Laurel and Alexandra.
People interested in honoring Warner can make a tax-deductible donation to the "Huber Warner Fellowship in Molecular Biology, which supports a talented graduate student studying the mechanisms of aging. Donations can be made online or by sending a check to:
University of Minnesota Foundation200 Oak Street, SE, Suite 500Minneapolis, MN 55455-2010
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NIA Mourns the Loss of Dr. Huber Warner - National Institute on Aging
Comparative genomics, bioinformatics, and biochemical assays enable the pairing of endogenous peptides with orphan GPCRs.
Although there is increasing evidence of the clinical importance of GPCRs that bind to peptide hormones and neuropeptides, there remain more than 100 GPCRs for which the endogenous ligands are unknown. These are referred to as orphan GPCRs (oGPCRs). Foster et al. combined comparative genomics, bioinformatic analysis, and functional assays to pair 17 endogenous peptide ligands with five oGPCRs, as well as identify additional peptides for nine GPCRs that had previously characterized ligands. The authors used comparative genomics to identify peptide precursors and peptides, showing that almost all precursors contained an N-terminal signal peptide, which is required for secretion. Investigation of the characteristic features of class A GPCRs showed distinct structural differences between those that bind to peptide ligands and those that bind to nonpeptide ligands. The authors then mined the entire human proteome to identify peptides with characteristics that made them plausible GPCR ligands. They made a library of synthetic peptide ligands and generated cell lines expressing different oGPCRs that were predicted to be potentially activated by peptides. Last, the authors performed pharmacological and biochemical assays to assess receptor internalization, -arrestin recruitment, and select second messenger generation to identify peptide-receptor pairs that resulted in signaling responses. A number of these peptides and GPCRs have previously been implicated in disorders of the reproductive and nervous systems, among other diseases. Thus, this combinatorial approach has deorphanized five GPCRs, expanded the known peptide-receptor network, and facilitated the future investigation of the roles that these peptides and GPCRs play in physiology and disease.
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Taking care of the orphans - Science
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Susan Martinis has been named the vice chancellor for research and innovation at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, pending approval by the Board of Trustees. Martinis had served in an interim role since September 2017.
The appointment was announced today in a message from Chancellor Robert Jones to the university community. Martinis succeeded Peter Schiffer in the role.
When I first announced that Professor Martinis would serve as interim vice chancellor for research, I said she had earned a reputation at Illinois as a collaborative scholar and consultative leader who gets work done, Jones said. That reputation has only grown in the past two years. She has been a strong and innovative leader for our Illinois research enterprise, and we are thrilled to see her take on the role.
As interim vice chancellor for research, Martinis oversaw the evolution of three large-scale initiatives: the Cancer Center at Illinois and the Center for Social and Behavioral Sciences became the eighth and ninth universitywide research centers, while the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities is on track to become an Illinois Board of Higher Education-approved institute. She also led the transition of the oversight of Research Park and EnterpriseWorks from the University of Illinois System to the Urbana-Champaign campus, was named the senior leadership point-of-contact for the Discovery Partners Institute and the Illinois Innovation Network, and chairs the Chancellors Economic Development Advisory Group.
Martinis also oversaw strengthening of the business infrastructure that supports the Illinois research community, uniting pre- and post-award functions under one administrative umbrella and implementing an electronic proposal-routing system.
She earned a B.S. in biochemistry from Washington State University and a Ph.D. in biochemistry at Illinois. Martinis trained at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as an American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellow, then worked to launch the startup biotechnology company Cubist Pharmaceuticals until moving to her first academic position at the University of Houston in 1997.
Martinis joined the Illinois faculty in 2005 as an associate professor of biochemistry. In 2009, she advanced to professor and department head; in 2015, she was named the Stephen G. Sligar Professor in the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, a professorship she will continue to hold.
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Martinis named vice chancellor for research and innovation - University of Illinois News Bureau
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Axcella Health (Nasdaq: AXLA), a biotechnology company pioneering the research and development of novel interventions to address dysregulated metabolism and support health, today announced that it will present new data on the companys liver product candidates at The Liver MeetingTM, the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), being held this week in Boston. Two poster presentations highlight mechanistic data from preclinical and non-IND clinical studies of two of its investigational candidates, AXA1665 and AXA1125.
Simultaneous dysregulation in multiple pathways is a fundamental feature of complex diseases such as hepatic encephalopathy (HE) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), explains Dr. Manu Chakravarthy, M.D., Ph.D., Axcellas SVP of Clinical Development and Chief Medical Officer. In order to effectively address these conditions, a safe, multifactorial approach is required. We are excited to share our latest clinical findings, which both affirm and deepen our mechanistic understanding of the ways in which AXA1665 and AXA1125 may impact key biochemical and molecular pathways.
Poster #0432 showcases the distinctive pharmacokinetic profile of AXA1665, as compared to a standard protein supplement, with improved nitrogen and ammonia handling by AXA1665 in subjects with hepatic insufficiency.
Poster #2134 further delineates mechanisms underlying the previously reported observations of AXA1125 from a non-IND clinical study.
Further information is contained in the aforementioned posters at AASLD:
Abstract Number: #0432Title: AXA1665, a defined composition of endogenous metabolic modulators, but not dietary protein improved the dysregulated amino acid metabolism and ammonia disposal in Child-Pugh A and B subjectsPresentation Type: PosterSession Date/Time: November 8, from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. ETLocation: Hynes Convention Center, Hall B
Abstract Number: #2134Title: Mechanistic insights into the multimodal effects of AXA1125 in T2D subjects with NAFLDPresentation Type: PosterSession Date/Time: November 10, from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. ETLocation: Hynes Convention Center, Hall B
About Endogenous Metabolic Modulators
Endogenous metabolic modulators (EMMs) are a broad family of molecules, including amino acids, which fundamentally impact and regulate human metabolism. Our AXA Candidates are comprised of EMMs that individually have a history of safe use as food. We believe that, unlike conventional targeted interventions currently used to address dysregulated metabolism, EMM compositions have the potential to directly and simultaneously modulate multiple metabolic pathways implicated both in complex diseases and overall health.
About Non-IND Clinical Studies
Axcella conducts Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved, non-investigational new drug application (Non-IND) clinical studies in humans with its AXA Candidates under U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations and guidance supporting research with food. In these studies, Axcella evaluates in humans, including in individuals with disease, AXA Candidates for safety, tolerability and effects on the normal structures and functions of the body. Non-IND, IRB-Approved Clinical Studies are not designed or intended to evaluate an AXA Candidates ability to diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat or prevent a disease. If Axcella decides to further develop an AXA Candidate as a potential therapeutic, subsequent studies will be conducted under an IND.
Internet Posting of Information
Axcella uses its website, http://www.axcellahealth.com, as a means of disclosing material nonpublic information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Such disclosures will be included on the companys website in the Investors and News section. Accordingly, investors should monitor such portions of the companys website, in addition to following its press releases, SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts.
About Axcella Health
Axcella is designing and developing AXA Candidates, compositions of endogenous metabolic modulators, or EMMs, engineered in distinct ratios, designed to target and maximize the fundamental role that EMMs play in regulating multiple metabolic functions. Axcellas AXA Candidates are generated from its proprietary, human-focused AXA Development Platform. Axcella believes its expertise and capabilities in EMMs position it to become a preeminent biotechnology company reprogramming metabolism to address a diverse set of complex diseases and support health. Axcellas AXA Development Platform has already produced a pipeline of product candidates in programs targeting liver, muscle and blood. Axcella was founded by Flagship Pioneering. For more information, visit http://www.axcellahealth.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including, without limitation, statements regarding the development potential of AXA Candidates, including AXA1665 and AXA1125, potential expansion into new therapeutic fields, the ability of endogenous metabolic modulators to impact dysregulated metabolism and health and the timing of the companys clinical studies and the timing of receipt of data from the same. The words may, will, could, would, should, expect, plan, anticipate, intend, believe, estimate, predict, project, potential, continue, target and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on managements current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and important factors that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, including, without limitation, those related to the breadth of the companys pipeline of product candidates, the strength of the AXA Development Platform, the efficiency of the companys discovery and development approach, the clinical development and safety profile of AXA Candidates and their health or therapeutic potential, whether and when, if at all, AXA Candidates will receive approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and for which, if any, indications, competition from other biotechnology companies, the companys liquidity, its ability to successfully develop AXA Candidates through current and future milestones on the anticipated timeline, if at all, past results from Non-IND, IRB-Approved Clinical Studies not being representative of future results, and other risks identified in the companys SEC filings, including Axcellas Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and subsequent filings with the SEC. The company cautions you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Axcella disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any such statements to reflect any change in expectations or in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release represent the companys views only as of the date hereof and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. The company explicitly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
The University of Tennessee Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology (BCMB) is home toover 400 undergraduate majors. Housed in the Ken and Blaire Mossman (1311 Cumberland Ave.) and Hesler Biology (1406 Circle Dr.)Buildings, our research teams of faculty, undergrads, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows are working on topics ranging from molecular structure to organismal levels.
RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR DEAF STUDENTS IN SYSTEMS BIOLOGY AND MOLECULAR SIGNALING
Applications are now being solicited for a ten week, NSF-funded summer REU program sponsored by the BCMB Department. The program will provide students with the opportunity to engage in multi-disciplinary research projects employing molecular, genetic, genomic, and systems level approaches to investigate the strategies through which model organisms across the biological kingdom sense and adapt to a changing environment. The program is tailored to Deaf students within the biological, chemical, and physical sciences with an interest in careers in STEM. In addition, Hearing students with an interest in scientific research as well as training in American Sign Language are encouraged to apply to the program. Further information and an online application are available .
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Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology
Traditionally considered a specific discipline within the broad field of chemistry, a degree in Biochemistry from Elizabethtown College helps students to integrate the perspectives of chemistry and biology. Key to our approach is getting students to think like a biochemist! By developing and fine-tuning critical thinking skills through intentional course work (both in the classroom and especially in the laboratory), our Biochemistry majors develop the ability to apply chemical principles towards better understanding biological function.
Students looking to pursue pre-medical, and other health professional program studies, have found that studying Biochemistry at E-town College has provided them with the education, practical experience, and critical thinking skills necessary to enter into top medical schools like the Penn State Hershey College of Medicine, Wake Forest, and the University of Pennsylvania. The Biochemistry major through E-town College is also accredited by the American Chemical Society's Committee on Professional Training. The American Chemical Society is the largest scientific society in the world!
Where do our graduates go?
enter graduate school
enter professional school
Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry
The Biochemistry program is geared towards getting you into chemistry and biology labs early and often. By the time you begin your first biochemistry lab in your junior year you will have completed laboratory experiences in general chemistry and general biology, organic chemistry, chemical instrumentation, and genetics, to name a few.Through these multi-disciplined lab experiences, you gain confidence and mastery in a variety of relevant laboratory techniques, instrumental methods, and data analysis. You will also gradually develop more autonomy in the design of experimental work and the use of state of the art instrumentation. All biochemistry majors in the Department will complete faculty-supervised research as a part of their capstone experience. Butfaculty-supervised researchis not relegated to senior level departmental majors--you could begin formal independent research as early as your first year!
See the full academic requirements for the Biochemistry major.
Regardless of what path you intend to follow once you graduate, we recognize that first and foremost you will be a professional citizen of the department. As such, we are intentional in developing a strong sense of professionalism, especially in the areas of ethics, scientific writing, and oral communication. Our students routinely present the results of their independent research at professional meetings ranging from the local through national levels.
Students in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry have the opportunity to complete off-campus study programs, including international summer research! You can spend a semester at programs such as the University of Otago in New Zealand, recently named in the top 200 universities in the world, through our on campus study abroad office! While studying abroad, you will have the opportunity to complete relevant, international, field work and practicums that will give you real-world experience, making you competitive in a global market.
After Graduation
As one of the top liberal arts colleges in the northeast, we integrate cross-curricular courses to ensure our graduates understand, and can practice, their area of study in the context of the world around them. We understand that students studying biochemistry have a variety of professional/career interests once they leave us. Some may elect to go directly into the workforce, while others will formally extend their education by pursuing studies in graduate school, medical or dental school, optometry school, or physician's assistant programs. Our graduates have found careers in all the major sectors including academic, medical, industrial, and government. Regardless of their intended career path, our majors are prepared to make a difference in the world around them once they graduate!
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Biochemistry Major in Pennsylvania - Elizabethtown College
A cofactor is a non-protein chemical compound or metallic ion that is required for a protein's biological activity to happen. These proteins are enzymes, and cofactors can be considered "helper molecules" that assist in biochemical transformations. The rates at which these happen are characterized by enzyme kinetics.
Cofactors can be subclassified as either inorganic ions or complex organic molecules called coenzymes,[1] the latter of which is mostly derived from vitamins and other organic essential nutrients in small amounts. A coenzyme that is tightly or even covalently bound is termed a prosthetic group.[2] Cosubstrates are transiently bound to the protein and will be released at some point, then get back in. The prosthetic groups, on the other hand, are bound permanently to the protein. Both of them have the same function, which is to facilitate the reaction of enzymes and protein. Additionally, some sources also limit the use of the term "cofactor" to inorganic substances.[3][4] An inactive enzyme without the cofactor is called an apoenzyme, while the complete enzyme with cofactor is called a holoenzyme.[5]
Some enzymes or enzyme complexes require several cofactors. For example, the multienzyme complex pyruvate dehydrogenase[6] at the junction of glycolysis and the citric acid cycle requires five organic cofactors and one metal ion: loosely bound thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP), covalently bound lipoamide and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), and the cosubstrates nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) and coenzyme A (CoA), and a metal ion (Mg2+).[7]
Organic cofactors are often vitamins or made from vitamins. Many contain the nucleotide adenosine monophosphate (AMP) as part of their structures, such as ATP, coenzyme A, FAD, and NAD+. This common structure may reflect a common evolutionary origin as part of ribozymes in an ancient RNA world. It has been suggested that the AMP part of the molecule can be considered to be a kind of "handle" by which the enzyme can "grasp" the coenzyme to switch it between different catalytic centers.[8]
Cofactors can be divided into two major groups: organic Cofactors, such as flavin or heme, and inorganic cofactors, such as the metal ions Mg2+, Cu+, Mn2+, or iron-sulfur clusters.
Organic cofactors are sometimes further divided into coenzymes and prosthetic groups. The term coenzyme refers specifically to enzymes and, as such, to the functional properties of a protein. On the other hand, "prosthetic group" emphasizes the nature of the binding of a cofactor to a protein (tight or covalent) and, thus, refers to a structural property. Different sources give slightly different definitions of coenzymes, cofactors, and prosthetic groups. Some consider tightly bound organic molecules as prosthetic groups and not as coenzymes, while others define all non-protein organic molecules needed for enzyme activity as coenzymes, and classify those that are tightly bound as coenzyme prosthetic groups. These terms are often used loosely.
A 1980 letter in Trends in Biochemistry Sciences noted the confusion in the literature and the essentially arbitrary distinction made between prosthetic groups and coenzymes group and proposed the following scheme. Here, cofactors were defined as an additional substance apart from protein and substrate that is required for enzyme activity and a prosthetic group as a substance that undergoes its whole catalytic cycle attached to a single enzyme molecule. However, the author could not arrive at a single all-encompassing definition of a "coenzyme" and proposed that this term be dropped from use in the literature.[9]
Metal ions are common cofactors.[10] The study of these cofactors falls under the area of bioinorganic chemistry. In nutrition, the list of essential trace elements reflects their role as cofactors. In humans this list commonly includes iron, magnesium, manganese, cobalt, copper, zinc, and molybdenum.[11] Although chromium deficiency causes impaired glucose tolerance, no human enzyme that uses this metal as a cofactor has been identified.[12][13] Iodine is also an essential trace element, but this element is used as part of the structure of thyroid hormones rather than as an enzyme cofactor.[14] Calcium is another special case, in that it is required as a component of the human diet, and it is needed for the full activity of many enzymes, such as nitric oxide synthase, protein phosphatases, and adenylate kinase, but calcium activates these enzymes in allosteric regulation, often binding to these enzymes in a complex with calmodulin.[15] Calcium is, therefore, a cell signaling molecule, and not usually considered a cofactor of the enzymes it regulates.[16]
Other organisms require additional metals as enzyme cofactors, such as vanadium in the nitrogenase of the nitrogen-fixing bacteria of the genus Azotobacter,[17] tungsten in the aldehyde ferredoxin oxidoreductase of the thermophilic archaean Pyrococcus furiosus,[18] and even cadmium in the carbonic anhydrase from the marine diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii.[19][20]
In many cases, the cofactor includes both an inorganic and organic component. One diverse set of examples is the heme proteins, which consist of a porphyrin ring coordinated to iron.[21]
Iron-sulfur clusters are complexes of iron and sulfur atoms held within proteins by cysteinyl residues. They play both structural and functional roles, including electron transfer, redox sensing, and as structural modules.[22]
Organic cofactors are small organic molecules (typically a molecular mass less than 1000 Da) that can be either loosely or tightly bound to the enzyme and directly participate in the reaction.[5][23][24][25] In the latter case, when it is difficult to remove without denaturing the enzyme, it can be called a prosthetic group. It is important to emphasize that there is no sharp division between loosely and tightly bound cofactors.[5] Indeed, many such as NAD+ can be tightly bound in some enzymes, while it is loosely bound in others.[5] Another example is thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP), which is tightly bound in transketolase or pyruvate decarboxylase, while it is less tightly bound in pyruvate dehydrogenase.[26] Other coenzymes, flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), biotin, and lipoamide, for instance, are covalently bound. Tightly bound cofactors are, in general, regenerated during the same reaction cycle, while loosely bound cofactors can be regenerated in a subsequent reaction catalyzed by a different enzyme. In the latter case, the cofactor can also be considered a substrate or cosubstrate.
Vitamins can serve as precursors to many organic cofactors (e.g., vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12, niacin, folic acid) or as coenzymes themselves (e.g., vitamin C). However, vitamins do have other functions in the body.[27] Many organic cofactors also contain a nucleotide, such as the electron carriers NAD and FAD, and coenzyme A, which carries acyl groups. Most of these cofactors are found in a huge variety of species, and some are universal to all forms of life. An exception to this wide distribution is a group of unique cofactors that evolved in methanogens, which are restricted to this group of archaea.[28]
Metabolism involves a vast array of chemical reactions, but most fall under a few basic types of reactions that involve the transfer of functional groups.[58] This common chemistry allows cells to use a small set of metabolic intermediates to carry chemical groups between different reactions.[59] These group-transfer intermediates are the loosely bound organic cofactors, often called coenzymes.
Each class of group-transfer reaction is carried out by a particular cofactor, which is the substrate for a set of enzymes that produce it, and a set of enzymes that consume it. An example of this are the dehydrogenases that use nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) as a cofactor. Here, hundreds of separate types of enzymes remove electrons from their substrates and reduce NAD+ to NADH. This reduced cofactor is then a substrate for any of the reductases in the cell that require electrons to reduce their substrates.[30]
Therefore, these cofactors are continuously recycled as part of metabolism. As an example, the total quantity of ATP in the human body is about 0.1mole. This ATP is constantly being broken down into ADP, and then converted back into ATP. Thus, at any given time, the total amount of ATP + ADP remains fairly constant. The energy used by human cells requires the hydrolysis of 100 to 150moles of ATP daily, which is around 50 to 75kg. In typical situations, humans use up their body weight of ATP over the course of the day.[60] This means that each ATP molecule is recycled 1000 to 1500 times daily.
Organic cofactors, such as ATP and NADH, are present in all known forms of life and form a core part of metabolism. Such universal conservation indicates that these molecules evolved very early in the development of living things.[61] At least some of the current set of cofactors may, therefore, have been present in the last universal ancestor, which lived about 4 billion years ago.[62][63]
Organic cofactors may have been present even earlier in the history of life on Earth.[64] The nucleotide adenosine is present in cofactors that catalyse many basic metabolic reactions such as methyl, acyl, and phosphoryl group transfer, as well as redox reactions. This ubiquitous chemical scaffold has, therefore, been proposed to be a remnant of the RNA world, with early ribozymes evolving to bind a restricted set of nucleotides and related compounds.[65][66] Adenosine-based cofactors are thought to have acted as interchangeable adaptors that allowed enzymes and ribozymes to bind new cofactors through small modifications in existing adenosine-binding domains, which had originally evolved to bind a different cofactor.[8] This process of adapting a pre-evolved structure for a novel use is known as exaptation.
A computational method, IPRO, recently predicted mutations that experimentally switched the cofactor specificity of Candida boidinii xylose reductase from NADPH to NADH.[67]
The first organic cofactor to be discovered was NAD+, which was identified by Arthur Harden and William Youndin 1906.[68] They noticed that adding boiled and filtered yeast extract greatly accelerated alcoholic fermentation in unboiled yeast extracts. They called the unidentified factor responsible for this effect a coferment. Through a long and difficult purification from yeast extracts, this heat-stable factor was identified as a nucleotide sugar phosphate by Hans von Euler-Chelpin.[69] Other cofactors were identified throughout the early 20th century, with ATP being isolated in 1929 by Karl Lohmann,[70] and coenzyme A being discovered in 1945 by Fritz Albert Lipmann.[71]
The functions of these molecules were at first mysterious, but, in 1936, Otto Heinrich Warburg identified the function of NAD+ in hydride transfer.[72] This discovery was followed in the early 1940s by the work of Herman Kalckar, who established the link between the oxidation of sugars and the generation of ATP.[73] This confirmed the central role of ATP in energy transfer that had been proposed by Fritz Albert Lipmann in 1941.[74] Later, in 1949, Morris Friedkin and Albert L. Lehninger proved that NAD+ linked metabolic pathways such as the citric acid cycle and the synthesis of ATP.[75]
In a number of enzymes, the moiety that acts as a cofactor is formed by post-translational modification of a part of the protein sequence. This often replaces the need for an external binding factor, such as a metal ion, for protein function. Potential modifications could be oxidation of aromatic residues, binding between residues, cleavage or ring-forming.[76] These alterations are distinct from other post-translation protein modifications, such as phosphorylation, methylation, or glycosylation in that the amino acids typically acquire new functions. This increases the functionality of the protein; unmodified amino acids are typically limited to acid-base reactions, and the alteration of resides can give the protein electrophilic sites or the ability to stabilize free radicals.[76] Examples of cofactor production include tryptophan tryptophylquinone (TTQ), derived from two tryptophan side chains,[77] and 4-methylidene-imidazole-5-one (MIO), derived from an Ala-Ser-Gly motif.[78] Characterization of protein-derived cofactors is conducted using X-ray crystallography and mass spectroscopy; structural data is necessary because sequencing does not readily identify the altered sites.
The term is used in other areas of biology to refer more broadly to non-protein (or even protein) molecules that either activate, inhibit, or are required for the protein to function. For example, ligands such as hormones that bind to and activate receptor proteins are termed cofactors or coactivators, whereas molecules that inhibit receptor proteins are termed corepressors. One such example is the G protein-coupled receptor family of receptors, which are frequently found in sensory neurons. Ligand binding to the receptors activates the G protein, which then activates an enzyme to activate the effector.[79] In order to avoid confusion, it has been suggested that such proteins that have ligand-binding mediated activation or repression be referred to as coregulators.[80]
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Cofactor (biochemistry) - Wikipedia
BENGALURU:A communication by the Medical Council of India saying that only those who have registered with MCI and state medical councils will be allowed to sign on medical reports has received opposition from the hospital sector. This recent decision by MCI will keep all pathologists and those with MSc or MD in biochemistry, microbiology, medical microbiology away from signing certificates, health and medical reports.
At present, MSc and PhD holders in medical microbiology, medical biochemistry, life sciences, applied biology, cutogenetics and biotechnology are allowed to sign medical test reports. But this new decision by MCI will restrict MSc and PhD holders to only teaching. A senior professor of a medical college in the city said, These are allied sciences and MCI cant restrict them to teaching. If MCI says only those registered with MCI can sign health and medical reports, then only MBBS doctors can sign. These pathology lab reports are system generated and they dont need an MBBS holder to sign them, said another senior pathologist.
Many in the sector have raised the issue with Union health minister J P Nadda on Twitter and some have even asked HRD minister Prakash Javadekar to remove MSc in biochemistry and microbiology courses from the purview of U GC.
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MCI order on signing med reports causes stir- The New Indian Express - The New Indian Express
Most college students finish their undergraduate degrees around the age of 22. But Crystal Vander Zanden isnt most students.
The 23-year-old Arizona native is leaving Colorado State University a newly minted Ph.D. in biochemistry the youngest ever from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
The soft-spoken, unassuming Vander Zanden defended her Ph.D. thesis in June, and is now packing up her apartment in Fort Collins after spending six years working toward her doctorate. In the fall, she will begin a National Institutes of Health-fundedpostdoctoral fellowshipat the University of New Mexico. There, shell conduct research on biophysical characterization of Alzheimers Disease-related protein aggregation, while also teaching courses at a local community college.
Growing up in Glendale, Arizona, Vander Zanden was home-schooled an environment in which she quickly advanced at her own pace. At age 8, she asked her mother if she could enroll in a biology course. After passing an entrance exam, Vander Zanden took her first college-level course at Glendale Community College, at the age of 9. At age 13, she graduated from Glendale High School.
She went on to Nebraskas Doane University (then Doane College), majoring in biochemistry. She was a student researcher in the lab of Assistant Professor Erin Wilson, studying the biochemical properties of protein adsorption in bone. While in college, her family mom, stepdad and younger siblings all moved to Nebraska.
Choosing CSU to pursue a Ph.D. was a no-brainer for Vander Zanden, who was 17 when she visited Fort Collins for the first time and interviewed for the graduate program. She fell in love with campus, and with the small, close-knit biochemistry department. She chose CSU over two other Ph.D. programs.
People were laid back, but still doing fantastic science, she said.
Before she turned 18, Vander Zanden began her Ph.D. under the mentorship of Professor Shing Ho. With Ho, she learned how to think as an independent scientist, to come up with her own questions, and to figure out whats interesting about the data youve just collected.
Her Ph.D. examined the mechanics and functions of a DNA marker called hydroxymethylcytosine. The marker plays an important role in DNA recombination, the process by which damaged DNA fixes itself.
Ho said when Vander Zanden first joined his lab, she was put on a project about halogen bonding. Soon after, he asked her to change focus to the new study on which she would eventually write her thesis for determining hydroxymethylcytosines role in recombination. This switch required Vander Zanden to learn techniques Hos lab was not expert in, and to create an entirely new research direction.
It took determination and real courage as a scientist to take this leap of faith, and I could not imagine any other student of her age, or any age, taking on such a challenge, Ho said.
A compassionate individual and a source of intellectual and emotional support for many, Vander Zanden has earned the respect of students, faculty and others around her, Ho said. It has been a genuine honor to have played a part in helping Crystal find her passion in science and in teaching these past six years.
During her time at CSU, Vander Zanden received a National Institutes of Health pre-doctoral fellowship, and also received the College of Natural Sciences Graduate Student Excellence in Teaching Award. At the time, Vander Zanden was a teaching assistant in two courses, including physical biochemistry among the most challenging of undergraduate courses for biochemistry majors.
Vander Zanden said she routinely had 10 or more students crammed into her graduate student space during office hours. And it was through these types of experiences that she discovered how much she enjoys teaching.
It was an awesome thing to teach students until they actually understood something, and they felt empowered within themselves, Vander Zanden said.
She is also not one to take education and the opportunities she has embraced lightly.
Education is one of the only means we have in our society to do better than our parents, she said. Its an amazing thing and I want to be a part of that.
When Vander Zanden first applied to the Ph.D. program at CSU, her mom came with her, because Vander Zanden was not technically an adult. Besides some minor social setbacks with being under the legal drinking age for most of her time here, being younger has not been a major factor, with her peers or her students.
Though, driving was an issue in undergrad, she recalls. I was able to drive the same year everyone in my class was able to drink.
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At the ripe age of 23, Crystal Vander Zanden is a newly minted CSU Ph.D. - Source
Decoding aging is one complicated process that scientists across globe are busy working on.
While a revolutionary breakthrough is still awaited, a group of scientists from Allahabad have developed unique model of rat which can go a long way in helping them find a formula to control the process.
Perhaps taking a cue from Bollywood blockbuster Paa, the scientists have developed a model of rat which displays a higher rate of aging.
The accelerated aging model of rat provides a great tool for scientists to study aging and also to test anti-aging drugs, claims prof SI Rizvi from the Biochemistry department of Allahabad University (AU).
Rizvi is leading the research team.
The teams findings and achievement have been published in the recent issue of the prestigious research journal Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications published from US.
Explaining his new research, prof Rizvi said that his team created a rat model which mimics the human condition of Progeria, a disease in which the patient starts to show a faster rate of aging.
Progeria syndrome was highlighted in the acclaimed Hindi movie Paa wherein the character was portrayed effectively by Amitabh Bachchan.
Progeria is a rare genetic condition that causes a childs body to age fast. Most kids with progeria do not live past the age of 13. The disease affects both sexes and all races equally. It affects about 1 in every 4 million births worldwide. Medical experts believe that India has around 8-10 reported cases of progeria and potentially 66 unreported cases.
To study aging, scientists rely on animal models such as C elegans (an earthworm), fruit flies, and mice. The consideration for choosing an animal is primarily based on its lifespan. Shorter lifespan provides an opportunity to study age-dependent changes in a shorter time frame.
To create the Progeria model of rat, the Allahabad University scientists subjected normal rats to chronic treatment of 30 days with dihydrotachysterol, a chemical similar to vitamin D. A look into relevant scientific literature reveals that very few studies have been conducted on such a model of rat.
Normal experimental rats have a lifespan of two years, which is too large a time for conducting experiments. The rat model mimicking Progeria provides a very good model to study aging process in a short span of time, added prof Rizvi.
The young progeria-mimicking rats display a certain level of oxidative stress (an established hallmark of aging) equivalent to old age rats.
The research group will now test Metformin, a common anti-diabetic drug, as an experimental anti-aging drug on increased aging model rats. Initial results using Metformin as an anti aging drug have been very exciting, added prof Rizvi.
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Allahabad University scientists create 'accelerated ageing model' in ... - Hindustan Times
The academic setting is one that Taylor gravitates toward as a reader some of his favorite novels include The Idiot, by Elif Batuman; The Marriage Plot, by Jeffrey Eugenides; Harvard Square, by Andr Aciman; and Fates and Furies, by Lauren Groff but he rarely sees people like himself when he reads them. He hopes Real Life changes that. What I wanted to do was to take this genre and this milieu that I really respond to as a reader and to sort of write myself into it, Taylor said.
He channeled this desire into his first published piece of writing, the story Cold River, which appeared in 2015 in Jonathan, a literary journal published by Sibling Rivalry Press. He wrote the story as an undergraduate student, after he had gone to a bookstore in Montgomery but couldnt find the queer books he was looking for. When he asked the clerk if they had them, he said, the guy was like, Were a family store, we dont stock that kind of stuff here.
Taylor considers himself primarily a short-story writer, but the desire to see people like him represented in literature led him to make his book debut with a novel. I had this feeling no one was going to take me seriously until I write this novel, he said. Im going to write a novel so that people will let me write short stories in peace.
Stories are on the way. His next book is a collection, Filthy Animals, which will also be published with Riverhead.
But now that Taylor has made space for himself in the world of novels, maybe hell stick around, he said. Over the summer, I was like Oh, maybe I will write another novel.
Correction: Feb. 10, 2020An earlier version of this article misstated the publisher of the literary journal Jonathan. It is Sibling Rivalry Press, not Lambda Literary.
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For a Scientist Turned Novelist, an Experiment Pays Off - The New York Times