Category Archives: Biochemistry

Biochemistry

Recognition for three ILS scientists – The New Indian Express

By Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: Three scientists of Institute of Life Sciences (ILS) are among the worlds most influential scientific minds in 2022, as per a report published by Stanford University. The report that classified scientists in 22 scientific fields and 176 sub-fields has enlisted in-charge Director of ILS Prof Pulok Kumar Mukherjee, scientists Sanjeeb Sahoo and Amaresh Panda for their outstanding research in the field of drug discovery, biochemistry and molecular biology.

Prof Mukherjee is working on traditional medicine-inspired drug discovery and development from Indian medicinal plants with major emphasis on their validation, formulation, and standardisation. Sahoo focuses on nano-technology-based targeted drug delivery to tumour tissues whereby using the techniques, one can kill cancer cells in a lower dose with less toxicity to the normal tissue.

Similarly, Pandas research group has been working on the role of poorly characterised circular RNAs in muscle regeneration and insulin bio-synthesis. The new molecular mechanisms identified during his work contribute valuable knowledge of the post-transcriptional processes that influence human health and disease.

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Recognition for three ILS scientists - The New Indian Express

Biochemistry

Vitamin B1 may decrease the chances of migraine headaches – Medical News Today

Migraine headaches can be painful and difficult to manage.

The specific symptoms and timing are different for each person affected.

Experts are still working to understand why migraine headaches happen and what preventative steps people can take.

A recent study published in Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain reports that dietary intake of the B vitamin thiamine may help prevent migraine in some people.

Experts say the information gained from this research indicates a protective factor that may help improve outcomes for people who experience migraine.

Migraine is a neurologic condition that causes severe headaches that are typically localized to one area of the head.

The pain can be intense and people sometimes can experience other symptoms such as nausea or vomiting. Migraine headaches can be related to specific triggers, such as stress or hormonal changes.

Diet is one area that can affect migraine headaches. However, the specifics are something that experts are still working to understand. Specific food triggers or preventative measures can be different for each person.

Dr. Clifford Segil, DO, a neurologist at Providence Saint Johns Health Center in California, noted a few examples of this to Medical News Today:

Dietary triggers are common for migraine. Wines, cheeses, and caffeine can trigger a migraine headache. I ask patients on their first visit with me to keep a headache journal to see if there are any medications that trigger headaches. Caffeine can both cause and help headaches, so it is hard to generalize if something like this causes or helps headaches.

People who experience migraine may work with their doctors and other specialists to identify headache triggers.

As more data emerges about the relationship between diet and migraine headaches, clinical recommendations for treatment may continue to change.

Researchers in the new particular study examined the association between two B vitamins, thiamine (vitamin B1) and riboflavin (vitamin B2), and the experience of severe headaches or migraine.

Researchers looked at data from participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999-2004 in their cross-sectional study.

Researchers included more than 13,000 participants in their analysis. Of these participants, 2,745 had experienced either a severe headache or migraine within the past three months. The researchers studied the 24-hour dietary intake of thiamine and riboflavin by looking at data collected from computer-assisted interviews of the participants.

They accounted for several factors, including participants ages, lifestyles, demographics, and comorbidities.

Researchers reported that higher amounts of thiamine in the diet were associated with lower chances of migraine. This was particularly true among female participants. However, the researchers did not find a significant decrease in risk related to riboflavin.

Dr. James Giordano, a professor of neurology and biochemistry at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C., who was not involved in the study, noted the following to MNT:

This study provides important data to support that nutritional factors can be influential upon the induction of migraine headache. Of particular note is that this study demonstrated a statistically significant role of thiamine (vitamin B-1) in mitigating migraine. Thiamine has been shown to be particularly important in regulating brain levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin; abnormalities in serotonin function have been directly implicated in the pathophysiology of migraine.

The study did have some limitations.

First, the data relies on self-reporting from participants, which can be inaccurate. For example, when evaluating the incidence of migraine, there is some assumption that participants who reported a severe headache likely experienced a migraine. The 24-hour recall method also has the potential for errors in data collection.

In addition, the interviews did not include questions about all intestinal diseases and researchers did not look into dietary patterns.

Researchers also did not look at the intake of dietary supplements, which could have impacted the intake of thiamine and riboflavin.

Finally, there is the risk of errors based on the analysis techniques used and this type of study cannot prove that lack of thiamine causes migraine.

Overall, the study notes the impact thiamine may have on migraine headaches. It could open the door to further research in this area and later guide specific clinical recommendations.

Giordano noted the following:

Taken together, it may be that thiamine could provide a useful dietary supplement for migraine-suffering individuals who may be mild to moderately magnesium deficient or who have metabolic disturbances of calcium and magnesium metabolism.

He also noted the following areas for continued research:

While research is most certainly interesting and important, additional studies should be conducted to determine more specific roles for thiamine, as well as other vitamin co-factors that may be clinically useful in preventing or lessening migraine.

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Vitamin B1 may decrease the chances of migraine headaches - Medical News Today

Biochemistry

New Center Leads Collaborative Research to Improve Firefighter Health – University of Arizona

The new Center for Firefighter Health Collaborative Researchin the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona Health Sciences will allow researchers to expand their work with firefighters and fire departments to study the occupational health risks firefighters face.

The center, recently approved by the UArizona Office of Research, Innovation and Impact, builds on years of firefighter health research conducted by Zuckerman College of Public Health faculty in close collaboration with fire departments. Some of that research has already had a positive impact on firefighter health, including helping inform the International Agency for Research on Cancers decision to classify occupational exposure as a firefighter as carcinogenic, changing the previous classification of possibly carcinogenic.

This new center focuses our efforts to find answers to the health questions that our firefighter partners are asking by bringing together the researchers who are working with firefighters on a range of issues, said Jefferey L. Burgess, MD, MS, MPH, professor in the Zuckerman College of Public Health. Our community-engaged research with firefighters is at the heart of the center.

Research conducted at the Center for Firefighter Health Collaborative Research will build on previous studies and provide a database to help inform decisions, practices and policies to improve firefighter safety and health.

The center researchers and their teams have brought in over $50 million in grant funding awards since 2015 and resulted in more than 45 research publications that have informed practice and policy for firefighters and other essential workers.

Our collaboration with researchers from the University of Arizona Health Sciences has already delivered real benefits for our firefighters. I am proud that we can be part of a larger effort that advances health promotion and policy for all firefighters, said Tucson Fire Department Capt. John Gulotta. This collaborative effort is unique because stakeholder perspectives, activities and opinions from all levels of the fire service from frontline firefighters to senior leadership are represented. This approach improves the chance for successful change in the fire service safety culture.

We have forged strong relationships with the Tucson Fire Department and other fire departments that enable this research, said Dr. Burgess, who is also a member of the BIO5 Institute. At the same time, were able to draw on a range of public health expertise and exposure science knowledge at the University of Arizona Health Sciences and other collaborating universities that make it possible to do this work and answer these important occupational health questions.

Other College of Public Health researchers working with the Center for Firefighter Health Collaborative Research include associate professor Kate Ellingson, PhD; assistant professor and BIO5 Institute member Leslie Farland, ScD, MSc; assistant professor Melissa Furlong, PhD; associate professor Patricia Haynes, PhD, CBSM; and assistant professor Yiwen Liu, PhD. They work closely with firefighter partners including Gulotta; Capt. Jamie Gabriel from the Los Angeles County Fire Department; retired Capt. Jeff Hughes from the Orange County Fire Authority; Derek Urwin, PhD, engineer with the Los Angeles County Fire Department and assistant adjunct professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UCLA; and Darin Wallentine, deputy fire chief of administrative services for the Sarasota County Fire Department in Florida.

Among many ongoing areas of research, Dr. Haynes works closely with the Tucson Fire Department to provide mental health services for firefighters, who often experience unusual levels of stress on the job. She worked with the Tucson Fire Department to develop a Peer Operational Support Team, or POST, where trained peers connect with their colleagues to provide resources after potentially traumatic calls.

I am fortunate to work with Tucson Fire, and the collaborative mental health programming we implemented has made a difference, Dr. Haynes said. Our POST program has bridged employees to mental health care and reduced the stigma sometimes associated with seeking care.

Moving forward, researchers at the center will build on existing partnerships and expand collaborations with other fire departments and wildland firefighting agencies, growing their reach and expertise to change policy and practice that will lead to better health outcomes for firefighters.

All of us in the college are very proud of what our faculty and their firefighter colleagues have accomplished, said Iman Hakim, MD, PhD,dean of the Zuckerman College of Public Health, They have been at the forefront of firefighter health research in many ways, with strong partners in the Tucson Fire Department, and they are really making a difference. Im very pleased that the new center will provide a focus for this expertise and continue our progress to keep firefighters healthy.

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New Center Leads Collaborative Research to Improve Firefighter Health - University of Arizona

Biochemistry

Leaning in to the scientific community – ASBMB Today

Kelly Ward has understood the value of community in the pursuit of science since she was a child. She grew up in Reading, Massachusetts, home to a school system she praises for having great opportunities for young students to be involved in science, technology, engineering and mathematics pursuits.

Ward joined Science Olympiad, a nationwide team-based science competition, in middle school, kept up her involvement all through high school and even went to the national competition.

Courtesy of Kelly Ward

Kelly Ward is a senior at Northeastern University with a biochemistry majorand a data science minor.

I really liked participating in the competitions, and you can see that today given that I went into biochemistry, she said. I love the process of asking a question, designing the experiment, and seeing if youve answered the question. I find it really rewarding.

Ward went on to choose Northeastern University for her undergraduate degree because it has a strong biochemistry program, research opportunities and a co-op program.

An American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Student Chapter member since the fall of her first year, Ward said she knew she wanted to be involved with the chapter as soon as she saw its thriving booth at the Northeastern student activities fair. Everyone seemed really nice, welcoming, and passionate about their research areas, she said.

After her first year as a member, she became the chapters secretary; she was the president last year and is serving as president again this year.

Embedded in the rich biotechnology ecosystem of Boston, Ward and her chapter have a lot of opportunities for external engagement. Under her leadership and in collaboration with the biochemistry program director, Kirsten Fertuck, the chapter hosts frequent panels with local professionals, focused on career progression and life as an industry scientist.

Weve had speakers from a variety of biotech companies in and around Boston, Ward said. Its been incredibly beneficial to hear about their experiences and gather great advice.

Her chapter also hosts panels with Northeastern faculty about undergraduate research and graduate school. Northeasterns co-op program, where students work full time for six months instead of attending classes, ties nicely into the atmosphere of being embedded in the local scientific community and experiential learning.

Ward thinks its important to keep the social elements of science and community engagement alive too. Her chapter hosts games nights and offers volunteer opportunities. The members partner with other Northeastern clubs as well as clubs at other Boston area colleges to grow their community and network. Her chapter has hosted Active Site, a regional conference for undergraduates sponsored by the ASBMB.

Now a senior with a biochemistry major and a data science minor, Ward wants to go on to graduate school to continue her scientific studies. Shes open to a variety of programs including biochemistry or immunology but ultimately would like to continue to work in oncology.

I have been fascinated by the variety of approaches to cancer treatment that Ive seen during my co-ops and on campus research, she said, and Id love to continue to work in this complex field.

Whatever becomes her ultimate career goal, Ward knows shed like to be in a position where she can mentor younger scientists. Mentoring, she said, has been an important part of her own journey.

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Leaning in to the scientific community - ASBMB Today

Biochemistry

Houghton Hall dedication to highlight homecoming at Fredonia – Evening Observer

Submitted PhotoA re-imagined and renovated collaborative student space in Houghton Hall.

The welcome mat will be rolled out during homecoming, including on Friday for the dedication of the renovated and redesigned Houghton Hall that completes the transformation of STEM education at the State University of New York at Fredonia.

Houghton Hall brings Geology and Environmental Sciences; Physics, Computer and Information Sciences, and Mathematical Sciences together under one roof and connects with the Science Center home to biology, biochemistry, chemistry and science education to form the Fredonia Science Complex.

Houghton is equipped with high-tech laboratories with cutting-edge equipment for teaching and research, well-designed conference rooms and comfortable student lounges that encourage interdisciplinary collaboration.

One only has to stroll through Houghton to appreciate its impact on our students and their professors, said Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Andy Karafa. The energy is palpable.

Houghton Project Shepherd and Associate Professor of Physics Erica Simoson will lead a tour of the building that starts in the front first floor lobby at 1 p.m. The dedication ceremony, at 2 p.m., will feature remarks by Fredonia President Stephen H. Kolison Jr. and Dean Karafa.

The formal ribbon-cutting ceremony is at 2:30 p.m., followed by individual ribbon-cutting ceremonies of 13 named spaces beginning at 3 p.m.

Faculty and students will be stationed in their respective academic departments and areas of interest, such as the Department of Mathematical Sciences unique fishbowl study room and the Department of Computer and Information Sciences robotics lab, throughout the afternoon. Light refreshments will be served at 4:30 p.m.

One guiding principle behind the design of the building was collaborative learning. Indeed, one of our spaces is called the Bradley Collaboratory. Just about everywhere you walk, you see students engaging with each other and with their professors, Karafa said.

Renovation of the 74,000-square-foot structure that opened in the 1970s can easily be described as massive, encompassing interior demolition, hazardous materials abatement and exterior rehabilitation that began in 2017, followed by interior redesign, construction and fit-out, or finish work in individual spaces. Houghton began to resemble a parking ramp when exterior brick and concrete block outer walls were removed early in the demolition phase.

The finished building incorporates many new features, such as brightly painted interiors, an additional interior corridor on the first and second floors that leads to department office suites, as well as open study areas lit by natural light and interior research labs that can be viewed from corridors. Yet, some of Houghtons character dark brick walls in stairwells, skylights and precast concrete t-shaped beams in ceilings remains.

When you walk through the building, theres still a sense of what Houghton used to be, but at the same time theres a newness about it, observed Director of Facilities Planning Markus Kessler. Its a much more pleasant space to be in for faculty and students.

As the Houghton project spanned eight years, from initial planning to completion, there were two project shepherds. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Associate Professor Emeritus Holly Lawson served as the original project shepherd until she retired, and was succeeded by Dr. Simoson. Both worked diligently to ensure that the needs of faculty and students were communicated and met.

The research and teaching labs were carefully designed with a great deal of faculty input to facilitate the teacher-scholar model, where members of the faculty closely mentor students in a wide array of research activities, Karafa said. Fredonia professors have always engaged students in such high-impact experiences, he added.

Members of the Houghton Dedication Committee include Simoson, Director of Facilities Services Kevin Cloos, Director of Marketing and Communications Jeff Woodard, Capital Projects Manager Ken Schmitz, Director of Development June Miller-Spann of the Fredonia College Foundation, Karafa and Mr. Kessler.

Campus representatives serving on the Houghton Planning Committee included Mr. Schmitz, former Capital Projects Manager Paul Agle, Simoson, Kessler and Dr. Lawson, along with representatives of the SUNY Construction Fund and Mitchell Giurgola, project architect.

Assisting the planning committee were Gretchen Fronczak from Facilities Planning, Interim Vice President for University Advancement Betty Gossett, Assistant Director of Facilities-Custodial Services Mark Delcamp, Vice President for Finance and Administration Michael Metzger, Director of Purchasing Shari Miller and Karafa.

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Houghton Hall dedication to highlight homecoming at Fredonia - Evening Observer

Biochemistry

ASBMB weighs in on Title IX updates – ASBMB Today

The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology last month made five recommendations to the U.S. Department of Education in response to the agencys proposed rulemaking regarding sexual harassment and Title IX protections.

The recommendations included (1) defining sexual harassment better, (2) eliminating the requirement for live cross-examinations in harassment and assault cases, (3) making explicit protections to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual, and other non-straight, non-cisgender identifying people, (4) confirming protections against multiple forms of retaliation, and (5) making explicit protections of all postdocs.

Title IX is a 1972 civil rights law that protects people from discrimination based on sex in educational institutions, programs or activities that receive federal funding. Over the decades, the law has opened doors for many women and girls to have equal access to education and extracurricular activities, such as sports. But in recent years, Title IX protections have come and gone, depending upon who has been in the White House.

In 2011, the Obama administration provided a guidance urging colleges and universities to deal with sexual harassment and assaults on campus. However, the Trump administration removed many protections. Then-Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, for example, narrowed the definition of sexual harassment and stripped away protections in favor the accused, resulting in damaging experiences for survivors, such as mandatory live cross-examinations.

In the first month President Joe Biden was in office, he issued an executive order aimed at preventing and combating discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation in the federal service. Two months later, he issued an executive order on discrimination specifically in educational settings.

That summer, the ASBMB urged the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights to clearly define sexual harassment, eliminate mandatory live cross-examinations and change the standard of evidence in Title IX cases to align with other civil cases by using a preponderance of the evidence.

This summer, the agency released a notice of proposed rulemaking, to which the ASBMB responded with the following suggestions, hewing closely to the ones it released in June 2021.

The society expressed support for the agencys new definition of sexual harassment: sex discrimination, including related to a hostile environment under the recipients education program or activity, as well as discrimination on the basis of sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation and gender identity.

Whereas the Trump administrations definition had three categories sexual assault, quid pro quo and sexual harassment the new definition ensures that all forms of sexual harassment and sexual violence are covered.

The society expressed support for the agencys new language making live cross-examinations of harassment and assault survivors optional. The society also urged officials to allow institutions to proceed with the single-investigator model when needed as it is better for avoiding direct confrontation between the accuser and the accused, and it is common practice in civil rights cases.

The society expressed support for proposed language making LGBTQIA+ individuals explicitly protected under Title IX. By protecting LGBTQIA+ students, the department will be creating safer and less hostile learning environments not only for LGBTQIA+ students but for all students, resulting in more optimal learning outcomes, the society wrote.

The society expressed support for a proposed amendment that would protect survivors of harassment and assault from multiple forms of retaliation, not just retaliation from supervisors. While keeping language broad so that multiple situations can apply is beneficial, the society wrote, explaining different forms of retaliation is key to upholding communication between the department and those protected by Title IX. Moreover, updating Title IX to specifically state the prohibition of peer retaliation is important to ensure more victims feel safe to come forward.

The society urged the agency to explicitly extend protections to people in postdoctoral positions. Currently, students, employees and people participating or attempting to participate in an education program or activity can file Title IX grievances; however, there is no specific wording to protect postdocs, who sometimes are not classified as employees. The society recommended the agency insert direct language to all amendments, including those that prohibit discrimination against pregnant people, to protect individuals in postdoctoral positions.

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ASBMB weighs in on Title IX updates - ASBMB Today

Biochemistry

Cook recognized for scientific leadership in biohealth research – University of WisconsinMilwaukee

James Cook, distinguished professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, has been awarded the Hector F. DeLuca Scientific Achievement Award from BioForward Wisconsin. The award recognizes Cooks scientific leadership and contributions to the states biohealth industry.

Cook is a leading expert in GABA-A brain receptor drug targeting and has published more than 550 papers in the fields of natural products, medicinal chemistry and organic synthesis. He is a recipient of the UW System Innovator Award and the UW-Milwaukee Innovator Award, and he has filed over 90 patents.

Cooks UWM research group created a series of compounds for drug-resistant epilepsy and chronic pain that were licensed to RespireRx Pharmaceuticals. The compounds carry no risk of addiction, tolerance, sedation or impaired coordination in preclinical tests of their use to circumvent the opioid crisis.

His research collaboration at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health at the University of Toronto has led to licensing compounds that target depression, schizophrenia and Alzheimers disease to Damona Pharmaceuticals.

He cofounded four pharmaceutical startups, including Promentis Pharmaceuticals with David Baker at Marquette University. Promentis has a drug in clinical trials for the chronic mental illness trichotillomania (chronic hair-pulling). The compound also is effective for treating anxiety disorder without the side effects of sedation or dependence.

With neurologist Soma Sengupta at the University of Cincinnati, Cook cofounded Amlal Pharmaceuticals, which is testing compounds for glioblastoma (brain tumors), melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer.

At UWM, Cook was a founding member of the Milwaukee Institute for Drug Discovery, which has faculty and student members from the departments of chemistry and biochemistry, psychology, biological sciences and engineering.

Interacting with various departments, students and over 30 collaborators worldwide have made it much easier to do drug discovery and development at UWM, Cook said. The support from the UWM administration and the faculty and staff of the MIDD has been unwavering, even when resources were scarce. This has led to a bright future for MIDD and UWM.

Cook joined the UWM faculty in 1973 and was promoted to university distinguished professor in 2002.

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Cook recognized for scientific leadership in biohealth research - University of WisconsinMilwaukee

Biochemistry

Shining lights on the cell – ASBMB Today

The cellular machinery is a remarkable system that is able to regulate myriad life processes with exquisite specificity by responding to a variety of environmental cues. This essential regulation is achieved through a network of highly dynamic signaling molecules that are regulated both spatially and temporally.

Inspired by natures fluorescent proteins and photosensors, biochemists have made tremendous advances toward developing new classes of genetically encoded protein tools to detect and control signaling activities with high spatiotemporal precision. With these new tools, new kinds of biochemistry, biology and cell biology are being discovered on a regular basis.

For the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology annual meeting, Discover BMB, in Seattle in March, we have assembled symposia featuring some of the top experts in these diverse fields who will discuss new tools for manipulating and visualizing the activity of enzymes and other classes of protein activity in living cells across a range of settings. As an example of the impact of these tools, we will highlight the emerging field of liquidliquid phase separation as an organizing principle of cell signaling uniquely identified by advances in our ability to probe and control biomolecules in vitro and in cells.

Keywords: Optogenetics, fluorescent biosensors, protein engineering, phase separation.

Who should attend: Biochemists, cell biologists and protein engineers interested in novel protein-based tools to observe and control cellular behavior as well as new concepts in cellular organization that have emerged from use of these reagents.

Theme song: Blinding Lights by The Weeknd.

This session is powered by high-quality photons from the UV to the infrared.

Toolkit for native biochemistry: Sensors, actuators and computational toolsKevin H. Gardner (chair),City University of New York Advanced Science Research CenterKlaus Hahn,University of North Carolina at Chapel HillSabrina Spencer,University of Colorado BoulderDavid van Valen,California Institute of Technology

Spatiotemporal control of cellular signalingJin Zhang (chair),University of California, San DiegoMark von Zastrow,University of California, San FranciscoLukasz Bugaj,University of PennsylvaniaAnton Bennett,Yale University

Liquidliquid phase separation as a signaling paradigmChristine Mayr (chair),Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer CenterZhijian "James" Chen,University of Texas Southwestern Medical CenterSarah Veatch,University of MichiganShana ElbaumGarfinkle,City University of New York Advanced Science Research Center

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Shining lights on the cell - ASBMB Today

Biochemistry

Scope of Biochemistry in Pakistan | Jobs, Salary, And Career – The Academia Mag

Choosing a career is a tough task, especially when it comes to deciding which degree one wants to choose. It can be a tough decision, as we dont know what the future holds, or which career would be in high demand in the coming days. However, the field of biochemistry is always on the rise, and it opens a gateway to multiple job opportunities once you graduate with a degree in biochemistry. Students often wonder if the scope of biochemistry is good in Pakistan or if they will have a bright future with the qualification of biochemistry. Well, if you are interested and very much passionate about biochemistry but confused if this qualification has any scope in our country, then you have landed on the right page. Because in this article we will discuss everything related to biochemistry as to what is the scope of this qualification, the jobs, the salary, and what career opportunities it holds.

Read on!

Biochemistry is the chemistry of biological processes. This subject deals with all kinds of biological processes which involves chemical reactions like reproduction, metabolism, growth, etc. Biochemistry also includes the sciences of biophysical chemistry, neurochemistry, bioorganic, etc. Biochemistry helps individuals understand biology at a molecular level, it also offers a wide variety of techniques that are critical for conducting research in biomedical or agricultural fields. It has also made quite significant contributions towards understanding as well as finding the DNA structures.

Many students often ask this question while choosing a higher education degree because everyone wants a secure future with a great job. Well, one thing is for sure, there is a huge demand and scope in the field of biochemistry in Pakistan so the students wanting to pursue this degree can choose it in an instant. A graduate in biochemistry can easily find a good job whether in a private or a public sector. There are multiple fields in which a biochemist can easily get employment. In fact, biochemistry is a field where an individual can very quickly make a rewarding secure career.

The employment of biophysicists and biochemists is expected to grow by a whopping 15% in the coming years. After obtaining a degree in biochemistry, the graduates can easily get great work opportunities in a wide range of fields which includes hospitals, education sectors, agriculture, research organizations, food institutes, and much more. The demand for biochemistry has always been on the rise in Pakistan and it will continue to do so. Hence, biochemistry is a good career in Pakistan.

Read more: Scope of Food Science and Technology in Pakistan

As biochemistry is known to be used in a vast variety of fields which includes agriculture, pharmaceutical companies, research organizations, education sectors, etc. People who hold a degree in biochemistry can work in numerous places and fields. This may include:

The salary of biochemists varies from industry to private sector or public sector. It also depends on the qualifications and skill sets one has. But an average salary of a biochemistry graduate would be from approximately 50,000- 65,000 per month. However, the salary may raise with the passage of time and may go up to 75,000- 150,000 per month.

Good Luck!

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Scope of Biochemistry in Pakistan | Jobs, Salary, And Career - The Academia Mag

Biochemistry

Green tea molecule can break up protein tangles in the brain that cause Alzheimers – News-Medical.Net

Scientists at UCLA have used a molecule found in green tea to identify additional molecules that could break up protein tangles in the brain thought to cause Alzheimer's and similar diseases.

The green tea molecule, EGCG, is known to break up tau fibers -; long, multilayered filaments that form tangles that attack neurons, causing them to die.

In a paper published in Nature Communications, UCLA biochemists describe how EGCG snaps tau fibers layer by layer. They also show how they discovered other molecules likely to work the same way that would make better potential candidates for drugs than EGCG, which can't easily penetrate the brain. The finding opens up new possibilities for fighting Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and related diseases by developing drugs that target the structure of tau fibers and other amyloid fibrils.

Thousands of J-shaped layers of tau molecules bound together make up the type of amyloid fibrils known as tangles, first observed a century ago by Alois Alzheimer in the post-mortem brain of a patient with dementia. These fibers grow and spread throughout the brain, killing neurons and inducing brain atrophy. Many scientists think removing or destroying tau fibers can halt the progression of dementia.

"If we could break up these fibers we may be able to stop death of neurons," said David Eisenberg, UCLA professor of chemistry and biochemistry whose lab led the new research. "Industry has generally failed at doing this because they mainly used large antibodies that have difficulty getting into the brain. For a couple of decades, scientists have known there's a molecule in green tea called EGCG that can break up amyloid fibers, and that's where our work departs from the rest."

EGCG has been studied extensively but has never worked as a drug for Alzheimer's because it's ability to dismantle tau fibers works best in water, and it doesn't enter cells or the brain easily. Also, as soon as EGCG enters the bloodstream it binds to many proteins besides tau fibers, weakening its efficacy.

To investigate the mechanisms through which EGCG breaks up tau fibers, the researchers extracted tau tangles from the brains of people who died from Alzheimer's and incubated them for varying amounts of time with EGCG. Within three hours, half the fibers were gone and those that remained were partially degraded. After 24 hours, all the fibers had disappeared.

Fibrils in the middle stage of EGCG-induced degradation were flash frozen, and images of these frozen samples showed how EGCG snapped the fibrils into apparently harmless pieces.

The EGCG molecules bind to each layer of the fibers, but the molecules want to be closer together. As they move together the fiber snaps."

David Eisenberg, UCLA professor of chemistry and biochemistry

Kevin Murray, who was a UCLA doctoral student at the time and is now in the neurology department at Brown University, identified specific locations, called pharmacophores, on the tau fiber to which EGCG molecules attached. Then he ran computer simulations on a library of 60,000 brain and nervous system-friendly small molecules with potential to bind to the same sites. He found several hundred molecules that were 25 atoms or less in size, all with the potential to bind even better to the tau fiber pharmacophores. Experiments with the top candidate molecules identified from the computational screening identified about a half dozen that broke up the tau fibers.

"Using the super-computing resources available at UCLA, we are able to screen vast libraries of drugs virtually before any wet-lab experiments are required," Murray said.

A few of these top compounds, most notably molecules called CNS-11 and CNS-17, also stopped the fibers from spreading from cell to cell. The authors think these molecules are candidates for drugs that could be developed to treat Alzheimer's disease.

"For cancer and many metabolic diseases knowing the structure of the disease-causing protein has led to effective drugs that halt the disease-causing action," Eisenberg said. "But it's only recently that scientists learned the structures of tau tangles. We've now identified small molecules that break up these fibers. The bottom line is, we've put Alzheimer's disease and amyloid diseases in general on same basis as cancer, namely, that structure can be used to find drugs."

CNS-11 is not a drug yet but the authors call it a lead.

"By studying variations of this, which we are doing, we may go from this lead into something that would be a really good drug," Eisenberg said.

The paper, "Structure-based discovery of small molecules that disaggregate Alzheimer's disease tissue derived tau fibrils in vitro," was funded primarily by the National Institutes of Health's Institute of Aging, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Source:

Journal reference:

Seidler, P.M., et al. (2022) Structure-based discovery of small molecules that disaggregate Alzheimers disease tissue derived tau fibrils in vitro. Nature Communications. doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32951-4.

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Green tea molecule can break up protein tangles in the brain that cause Alzheimers - News-Medical.Net