Two bills have recently been introduced in the Wisconsin Legislature to provide a path forward for biomedical research that honors the dignity of the human beings that it is meant to serve. These are the Fetal Remains Respect Act and the Unborn Child Disposition and Anatomical Gift Act, part of the Heal Without Harm Legislative Initiative. Contrary to what some claim, these bills do not stifle research. As scientists, we wholeheartedly support this initiative to support and advocate for biomedical research that benefits all human persons, without sacrificing one for another.

These bills come on the heels of a yearlong investigation of the abortion industry by the U.S. House Select Investigative Panel. The final report corrects many false and misleading statements regarding the role of fetal tissue in science and medicine. In nearly 100 years of unrestricted research, the panel investigation confirms, not a single clinical treatment has been developed from human fetal tissue. Vaccines for polio, measles, and mumps were never produced using human fetal tissue but rather used monkey cells, chicken eggs, and nonfetal human cells. None of the 75 vaccines available in the U.S. is produced using fresh fetal tissue. The continued use of certain cell lines derived from aborted fetal tissue to produce a small portion of vaccines (less than 15 percent) is due more to the high cost of switching than to any scientific reason. In regard to development of new vaccines, greater than 98 percent of research articles published on Zika do not use fetal tissue. Conversely, adult blood cells recently led to a breakthrough in vaccine development for Cytomegalovirus (CMV), a virus affecting brain development in a way similar to Zika.

The panel investigation further discredits the claim that fetal tissue plays an indispensable role in life-saving research. Fetal tissues (or byproduct stem cells) are used in only 0.01 percent of clinical trials currently underway and in merely 0.2 percent of grants funded by NIH between 2010-2014 none of which is investigating Alzheimers disease, where many claim fetal tissue is required and the gold standard. In many cases, aborted fetuses are not the most appropriate tissue source, but these tissues are still used because they are cheaper and easier to obtain than adult tissues. These facts suggest that, in practice, even scientists are not convinced that fetal tissue is critical to research.

In stark contrast, people suffering with cancer, diabetes, heart disease, neurological diseases, and others are benefiting now from clinical trials and treatments using adult stem cell therapies. Adult stem cells have saved the lives of over 1 million people worldwide, but not one person is alive today because of stem cells from aborted fetal tissue.

Therefore, as a next step, the panel provides several recommendations to ensure the advancement of research that is superior both scientifically and ethically, followed by a call for increased federal investment in these areas. Wisconsin risks losing time, money and lives if an ethical approach to research is not advocated and supported. It is within Wisconsins best interest to pass these bills. Science and ethics do work together.

Maria Feeney, of West Bend, has a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical chemistry and conducts research in biochemistry. Tara Sander Lee, of Brookfield, has a Ph.D. in biochemistry and researches molecular and cellular biology. Kathleen M. Schmainda, of Elm Grove, has a Ph.D. in biochemistry and conducts brain cancer research.

Share your opinion on this topic by sending a letter to the editor to tctvoice@madison.com. Include your full name, hometown and phone number. Your name and town will be published. The phone number is for verification purposes only. Please keep your letter to 250 words or less.

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Maria Feeney, Tara Sander Lee and Kathleen M Schmainda: Fetal tissue from abortions is (still) not needed for ... - Madison.com

A new report shows the equivalence of YSIs 2300 STAT Plus Glucose and Lactate Analyser and their new 2900D Biochemistry Analyser for reference measurements and system calibration of blood glucose monitoring systems.

YSI, a Xylem brand, have an established reputation in laboratory and field analytical instrumentation. Their YSI 2300 STAT Plus Glucose and Lactate Analyser (YSI 2300) was a Class II in-vitro diagnostics (IVD) medical device that became widely accepted by manufacturers as a method for reference measurements and system calibration of blood glucose monitoring systems.

YSIs next-generation 2900D biochemistry analyser is a laboratory instrument that employs the same biosensor technology as the YSI 2300, but is a non-IVD analyser. The YSI 2900 is intended for use in research, biotechnology and food-processing applications, but it is not specifically designed for clinical diagnostics and sports physiology applications, although it has been increasingly adopted as a reference standard by blood glucose monitoring system manufacturers.

A paper now available reports on a study that compares the YSI 2900 and YSI 2300 in order to evaluate their precision and accuracy for human whole blood and plasma analysis. Non-pooled samples from six lots of human blood from a local blood bank were used for the study to assess instrument validity and reliability. Two analysers of each YSI model were employed with 288 human whole blood and 288 plasma samples, across a range of values, were analysed.

Data collected on the YSI 2900 analysers indicate that the 2900 provided precise and accurate whole blood and plasma glucose readings across a wide range of blood glucose concentrations. Based on the results of this study, it was concluded that the YSI 2900 demonstrated analytical comparability to that of the YSI 2300.

The full report can be read as a PDF, available for download on this website. Please click on the link below for more details.

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YSI's 2900D Biochemistry Analyser as a reference standard for blood glucose monitoring systems - Laboratory Talk

Index Copernicus Value: 85.79

Journal of Biochemistry & Analytical Biochemistry is an academic journal providing an opportunity to researchers and scientist to explore the advanced and latest research developments in the field of Biochemistry. Journal of Biochemistry & Analytical Biochemistry is of highest standards in terms of quality and concentrates on the biological chemistry that are prevalent in unique chemical processes. This Journal covers all areas of the life sciences from botany to medicine that are engaged in biochemical research. Biochemistry deals with the structures, functions and interactions of biological macromolecules, such as proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates and lipids, which provide the structure of cells and perform many of the functions associated with life.

Journal of Biochemistry & Analytical Biochemistry is a scholarly Open Access journal and aims to publish the most complete and reliable source of information on the advanced and very latest research topics.

Biochemistry & Analytical Biochemistry is a peer reviewed scientific journal known for rapid dissemination of high-quality research. This Biochemistry Journal with high impact factor offers an open access platform to the authors in academia and industry to publish their novel research. It serves the International Scientific Community with its standard research publications.

The journal is using Editorial Manager System for quality in review process. Editorial Manager is an online manuscript submission, review and tracking systems. Review process is performed by the editorial board members of Journal of Biochemistry and Analytical Biochemistry or outside experts; at least two independent reviewers approval followed by editor approval is required for acceptance of any citable manuscript. Authors may submit manuscripts and track their progress through the system, hopefully to publication. Reviewers can download manuscripts and submit their opinions to the editor. Editors can manage the whole submission/review/revise/publish process.

Biochemistry is for everyone. It is the central science to both fish biology and fish processing. Fishery biochemistry is considered a branch under veterinary biochemistry providing Proper knowledge on the biochemical composition of fish finds application in several The Biochemistry of Fish - Annual Reviews,The Journal of Fish Biology - fsbi.org.uk, Fish Physiology and Biochemistry,areas. Fish is an easily perishable commodity and deterioration in quality is due to the changes taking place to the various constituents likeproteins, lipids etc.

Related journals toFishery biochemistry

Biochemistry & Analytical Biochemistry,Poultry, Fisheries & Wildlife Sciences,Fisheries and Aquaculture Journal,Journal of Fisheries & Livestock Production,Fish Physiology and Biochemistry, The Biochemistry of Fish - Annual Reviews, The Journal of Fish Biology , Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science, Archive of Fishery and Marine Research, Aquaculture Journals.

Preparative biochemistry deals with all aspects of preparative techniques in biochemistry, including synthetic methods, production or manufacturing, separation,isolation, and purification of materials of biochemical at the laboratory, pilot, and production scale levels.

Related Journals ofPreparative Biochemistry

Biochemistry & Analytical Biochemistry,Journal of Diabetes & Metabolism,Biomolecular Research & Therapeutics,Biochemistry & Physiology: Open Access,Preparative biochemistry, Preparative Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Preparative Biochemistry & Biotechnology (Prep Biochem Biotechnol), Journal of Chromatography A, Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology: Genomics and Proteomics.

Soil Biochemistry is the branch of soil science which ceals with formation and decomposition of soil organic matter, biochemical reactions of Carbon, nitrogen, sulphur, Phosphorous, metals andxenobioticsin soils, and biochemistry of the plant-root rhizosphere. Soil Biochemical reactions mainly concern on the organic fraction, though it is made up of 55 of total soil volume.

Related Journals of Soil Biochemistry

Biochemistry & Analytical Biochemistry,Journal of Environmental & Analytical Toxicology,Journal of Pollution Effects & Control,Journal of Plant Biochemistry & Physiology,Soil Biology & Biochemistry, Biology and Fertility of Soils, Soil Biology and Biochemistry - SciRev, Indian Journal of Agricultural Biochemistry, Journal of soil science and plant nutrition.

Biochemistry of the blood gives us an indication of what is happening with in the body. When different tissues are damaged the damaged cells release specific enzymes which our equipment detects as abnormal levels. This then helps localise the problem. Also if certain organs are not eliminating certain waste products this can tell us they are not functioning properly.

Related Journals ofBlood Biochemistry

Biochemistry & Analytical Biochemistry,Journal of Leukemia,Journal of Bone Marrow Research,Journal of Blood Disorders & Transfusion,Blood Journal, The Ukrainian Biochemical Journal, Journal of Blood Disorders & Transfusion, Journal of Blood Medicine, Open Journal of Blood Diseases, Indian Journal of Hematology and Blood Transfusion.

The Food Biochemistry gathering plans to enhance understanding of detailed composition of foods, especially food components that have beneficial effects on human health.The Food Biochemistry include utilization of modern chemical and biochemical analytical methods offoodcomponents and their reactions, model systems to study their reactions and efficient statistical tools for data analysis to get the maximum informative value.

Related Journals of Food Biochemistry

Biochemistry & Analytical Biochemistry,Journal of Microbial & Biochemical Technology,Journal of Molecular Pharmaceutics & Organic Process Research,Journal of Food & Nutritional Disorders,Natural Products Chemistry & Research,Journal of Food Biochemistry, Food Chemistry, Food Science And Technology, Journal of Nutrition & Food Sciences, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Carbohydrates are carbon compounds that contain large quantities of hydroxyl groups. Carbohydrates also can combine with lipid to form glycolipids or with protein to form glycoproteins. Carbohydrates are made up of a 1:2:1 ratio of Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen (CH2O)n. carbohydrates are for structural purposes, such ascellulose(which composes plants' cell walls) and chitin (a major component of insect exoskeletons).

Related Journals ofCarbohydrates Biochemistry

Biochemistry & Analytical Biochemistry,Journal of Molecular Pharmaceutics & Organic Process Research,Journal of Plant Biochemistry & Physiology,Biochemistry & Physiology: Open Access,Carbohydrate Research, Journal of Carbohydrate Chemistry, International Journal of Carbohydrate Research, Chemistry of the Carbohydrates - Annual Reviews, Carbohydrate Research Journal.

Proteins are composed of a linear polymer of amino acids. Amino acids are molecules containing an amine group (NH3), a carboxylic acid group(R-C=O-OH) and a side-chain (usually denoted as R) that varies between different amino acids. They are particularly important in biochemistry, where the term usually refers to alpha-amino acids. Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form in a biologically functional way.

Related Journals of Protein Biochemistry

Biochemistry & Analytical Biochemistry,Journal of Glycobiology,Journal of Plant Biochemistry & Physiology,Fermentation Technology,Journal of Diabetes & Metabolism,Journal of Bioprocessing & Biotechniques,The Protein Journal, Protein & Cell - a Springer Open journal, Current Advances in Protein Biochemistry, International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

Pesticide Biochemistry deals with the mode of action of plant protection agents such as insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, and similar compounds, including nonlethal pest control agents, biosynthesis of pheromones, hormones, and plant resistance agents. It mainly emphasizes on Biochemistry and Physiology of Comparative toxicity, Mode of action,Pathophysiology, Plant growth regulators, Resistance, Other effects of pesticides on both parasites and hosts.

Related Journals ofPesticides Biochemistry

Biochemistry & Analytical Biochemistry,Journal of Plant Biochemistry & Physiology,Journal of Food Processing & Technology,Journal of Food & Nutritional Disorders,Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology - Journal - Elsevier, Biochemistry Journals, Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology - SciRev, Pesticide Research Journal, Journal of Pesticide Sciences. Journal of Pest Science.

Cellular and Molecular Biology Biochemistry is the study of the molecular nature of living organisms leading to an understanding of the biochemical control of life processes. It mainly focuses on the rapid changes in cytoskeletal proteins, protein kinases, membrane lipids, and small ions that accompany extracellular signals. This includes a wide range of topics from the structure and function of single molecules to the integrated molecular control of entire cells and organisms.

Related Journals ofCellular and molecular Biochemistry

Biochemistry & Analytical Biochemistry,Clinical & Medical Biochemistry: Open Access,Molecular Biology,Biochemistry & Pharmacology: Open Access,Journal of Molecular and Genetic Medicine,Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, Sub-Cellular Biochemistry.

The membranes form the barriers that separate the inside from the outside of living cells and that define organelles within cells. It focuses simplified self-assembled model membranes of lipids and proteins to membranes of living cells, and by using different complementary approaches, including molecular biology, chemical synthesis, analytical tools and advanced biophysical methods.

Related Journals ofMembrane Biochemistry

Biochemistry & Analytical Biochemistry,Journal of Plant Biochemistry & Physiology,Clinical & Medical Biochemistry: Open Access,Journal of Molecular and Genetic Medicine,Molecular Membrane Biology, Membranes And Separation Technology - Journals, Membrane biochemistry Journal, Journal of Biochemical Technology, Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Research.

Abiomoleculeis any molecule that is present in living organisms, including large macromolecules such as proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, and nucleic acids, as well as small molecules such as primary metabolites, secondary metabolites, and natural products. There are thousands of different types of molecules in a cell. A diverse range of biomolecules exist, including Small molecules Monomers, oligomers and polymers.

Related Journals of Biomolecules

Biochemistry & Analytical Biochemistry,Oceanography: Open Access,Journal of Molecular Pharmaceutics & Organic Process Research,Natural Products Chemistry & Research,Biomolecules and Therapeutics, International Journal of Biochemistry and Biomolecules, Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Journal, Theoretical Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics.

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Biochemistry & Analytical Biochemistry - omicsonline.org

Students find that graduating in three years can lead to more opportunities for graduate school and career exploration | Courtesy of Alexia Tragakes (left), Gabrielle Jackson (middle) and Cheewin Kittikunapong (right)

College is often referred to as the best four years of your life. But some students choose to graduate after just three.

College junior Gabrielle Jackson will be graduating this spring, even though she entered Penn as a member of the Class of 2018.

Jackson decided to graduate early after the completion of her sophomore year.

I originally went into the advising office by the end of my sophomore year to look into graduating in three and a half years or maybe submatriculating into Penn Law School, she said. But when I went, I was told that I was too far along to submatriculate into Penn Law and also that instead of graduating in three and a half years, I could just graduate in three.

Instead of completing her senior year of college, Jackson plans on working full-time.

Right now my main focus is finding a job, she said. Im planning on working for a few years and then going to grad school.

The cost of going to Penn for another year as opposed to making money was a major factor, she added.

While Penn does not encourage students to graduate early, Jackson says the University was generally accommodating.

One of the things that I wanted to deal with graduating early was that I wanted to walk with my class with the Class of 2018 as opposed to the Class of 2017, she said. And they were really helpful in making that possible.

Im definitely going to miss out on some of the senior traditions and on another year with my friends who are mostly juniors, she acknowledged. But at the same time, I think Im ready to leave and move on and go to the next step.

Wharton junior Alexia Tragakes also plans to graduate early in order to attend law school. But unlike Jackson, she hopes to enroll in the fall instead of taking time off to work.

Before Penn, I knew that I might want to go to law school, and I came into Penn with a lot of credits, she said.

Most of these credits came from her International Baccalaureate program in high school, with others transferring from summer courses she took.

I think it was towards the end of my freshman year that I realized that with all the credits that I managed to get approved, it was attainable to graduate in three years, and I knew that I wanted to go to law school and that would be the next step, she said.

College junior Cheewin Kittikunapong is graduating early for a different reason: He wants to study internationally next year.

Kittikunapong wants to travel outside of the United States and determined that doing so would be difficult as an undergraduate.

Say I went abroad during my junior year. Id probably have to squeeze in a lot of course units by my fourth year, or else I would need to take an extra semester here, he said.

After squeezing all of his credits into three years, Kittikunapong will pursue his masters degree in Europe, ideally in the United Kingdom, he said.

Another motivating factor for Kittikunapong was his disappointment in Penns biotechnology resources.

Im studying biology right now, but then I hoped to go into biotechnology, and I felt that the biotechnology scene here isnt as great as I hoped it would be, he said.

He hopes to pursue his masters somewhere that offers more opportunities in the field.

Kittikunapong felt that graduating in three years was a smooth process, but it depends on the organization of the individual.

I planned it out really carefully, he said, noting that he made the decision in the middle of his sophomore year.

I was doing a second major biology and biochemistry but then my current major advisor in biochemistry was not having it. He wanted me to stay for the fourth year and do a senior thesis or something, so I just figured that if I dropped biochemistry and just did biology, Id be able to do just three years, so I did that instead.

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Why some Penn students decide to graduate in three years - The Daily Pennsylvanian

A qualification in biochemistry or molecular biology can lead to a multitude of careers in different fields. There are many options to choose from: you could work at a university, in industry, become a science teacher or even a patent law attorney, just to name a few. You can use the resources on this page to find out what youre interested in and how to get your dream job.

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Higher education and beyond | Biochemical Society

Researchers from the University of Maryland (UMD) and The Rockefeller University, who previously developed a method to modify an antibody's sugar group structure, which opened the door for biochemists to create antibodies with consistent sugar groups, report that they havetaken their method a step further by determining which specific sugar combinations enhance--or suppress--an antibody's ability to signal the immune system to attack an invader.

The results ("Modulating IgG Effector Function by Fc Glycan Engineering"),published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, are an important step toward the development of highly effective antibodies to fight cancer and other diseases, according to the investigators.

An antibody's ability to send killer signals depends on the configuration of sugar chains attached to the protein. In naturally occurring antibodies, these sugar chains have a lot of variability. Even in antibodies currently used for disease therapy, a given dose might contain a wide variety of antibody variants, also known as "glycoforms," distinguished by their sugar groups.

Although prior methods tried to sort out these glycoforms and collect the most effective ones, these methods are time consuming, expensive, and not 100% effective. The method used in the current study enables the researchers to create a given antibody with identical glycoforms using biochemical techniques. Each glycoform can then be tested independently to see whether it enhances or suppresses the immune response.

"Our first major step forward was to develop a method to produce homogeneous glycoforms," said Lai-Xi Wang, Ph.D., a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UMD. "With this, we can now look at how individual different sugars affect the properties of antibodies. Until this study, we didn't have an efficient way to know how individual sugars in various glycoforms affect suppression or activation of the immune response."

Most therapeutic antibodies on the market are designed to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases. For example, rituximab is an antibody-based drug used to treat lymphoma, leukemia, and rheumatoid arthritis. Rituximab and other similar antibody drugs are usually produced in cultured cell lines.

"These processes are not optimized at all. There is no easy way to control glycosylation," noted Dr. Wang. Glycosylation is the process by which sugar groups are added to a protein such as an antibody. "Our method could be used to improve antibodies already on the market because it modifies the antibodies directly instead of working at the genetic level."

Dr. Wang's group, which specializes in the biochemistry of protein glycosylation, developed the methodology to modify the antibody sugar groups. They partnered with Jeffrey Ravetch, M.D., Ph.D., and his group at The Rockefeller University, which specializes in immunology and animal models, to test the effects of various glycoforms on the immune response. The new findings will help guide the development of future antibody-based therapeutics.

"Our method would be generally applicable because it can be used on a wide variety of antibodies," explained Dr. Wang. "It's an important step forward in the effort to engineer therapeutic antibodies that can target specific cancers, inflammation, and other diseases. Soon we will be able to build customized antibodies."

The rest is here:
Team Develops More Effective Therapeutic Antibodies - Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Aligarh has released an admission notification inviting applications from interested, eligible candidates to apply for admission to its various programmes offered under various specialisations for the academic session 2017.

BA programme: The candidates interested in applying for this programme should have passed senior secondary school or equivalent examination with at least 50 per cent marks in aggregate with English and three subjects from -- accountancy, Arabic, banking, biology, biotechnology, business organisation, business studies, chemistry, commerce, computer science, economics, education, English, fine arts, geography, Hindi, history, home science, islamic studies, mathematics, Persian, philosophy, physical health education, physics, political science/civics, psychology, Sanskrit, sociology, statistics, Urdu and modern Indian languages (Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi and Kashmiri).

MTech programme: The candidates interested in applying for this programme should have pursued BTech or its equivalent examination, in the relevant branch of study, with not less than 60 per cent marks in aggregate or its equivalent CPI/CGPA/NAG.

MSc programme: The candidates interested in applying for this programme should have pursued BSc with biochemistry/biosciences/life sciences/medical biochemistry/clinical biochemistry as main, with two of the following subsidiary subjects: zoology/botany/ chemistry/biotechnology or BSc with biochemistry/biosciences/clinical biochemistry/ medical biochemistry, as one of the subjects of equal value along with any two of the optional subjects i.e. zoology, botany/chemistry/biotechnology.

(Read: Indian Statistical Institute Admissions 2017: Apply latest by March 10)

The candidates will be selected on the basis of departmental test conducted by the university.

The candidates are required to apply at the official website.

The last date of submissions of online application form for MSc (agriculture)/LLM programme is April 10.

The last date of submissions of online application form for MBBS/BDS programme is June 15.

The last date of submissions of online application form for MA/MTech/Mcom programmes is April 17.

The last date of submissions of online application form for LLM/BRTT/MSc programme is April 18.

The last date of submissions of online application form for MA/BFA programmes is April 12.

The last date of submissions of online application form for BA (Hons)/MPEd programmes is April 19.

Read: NISER, Bhubaneswar admissions 2017: Apply for PhD courses

For information on more courses and admissions,click here.

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UG/PG admission begins at AMU, Aligarh: Check out the details - India Today

MCB

Biochemistry at Illinois has a long tradition of excellence in biochemical research. Many of our undergraduate and graduate students as well as postdoctoral research associates have used their experiences at Illinois to establish careers of responsibility in both academia and the private sector.

I hope that you will take the time to explore our department by investigating our undergraduate and graduate programs so that you can learn about the intellectual opportunities now possible by breakthroughs in this postgenomic era of biology. The future of biochemistry has changed, and we believe that our department is well-positioned to provide training for your future.

Susan Martinis, Head

Dr. Hong Jins lab has solved the atomic structure of a stalled ribosome using state-of-art electron cryo-microscopy. This structure is used to understand how stalled ribosomes are rescued in the cell. The findings were published in Nature in January 2017. Read more...

University of Illinois professors Chad Rienstra (Chemistry), Emad Tajkhorshid, and James Morrissey (Biochemistry) have been awarded a Directors Transformative Research Award from the National Institutes of Health for their highly creative approach to the study of cell membrane lipids. Read more...

To recognize the importance of faculty contributions to science and education and to acknowledge Dr. Sligars mentorship, Dr. Jenner created the Stephen G. Sligar professorship in 2016. The Investiture was held on October 28, 2016 at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. Read more...

Emad Tajkhorshid, professor of biochemistry, biophysics, computational biology, and pharmacology, and his research group are studying the movement of gases across biological membranes, a vital process for powering cells with oxygen and performing photosynthesis, among other things. The group is hoping to closely examine the role of proteins in these processes in order to better understand the impact of gas exchange in living cells and organisms.

Researchers from Case Western Reserve University and the University of Southern California are working together with Tajkhorshid on their project, Molecular Mechanisms and Pathways for Gas Transport Across Biological Membranes and Implications for Physiology and Performance. Read more...

A number of current and recent graduate students and postdoctoral scholars have applied for and won prestigious awards and fellowships. The awardees reflect the breadth of outstanding research at UIUC and the quality of students and researchers attracted to the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology. Read more...

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University of Illinois Department of Biochemistry

"Hands-on" Workshop on Computational Biophysics

This workshop, which runs from April 17-21, 2017, at the Beckman Institute, will be presented by members of the NIH Center for Macromolecular Modeling & Bioinformatics at Urbana-Champaign. Topics will cover instruction in state-of-the-art molecular dynamics simulation and free energy techniques using NAMD, bacterial cells simulation with Lattice Microbes (LM) and biomolecular visualization and analysis with VMD. Morning lecture presentations will introduce fundamental theory and concepts, while afternoon hands-on computer laboratory sessions will allow participants to apply NAMD, LM and VMD directly in a series of guided tutorials. The workshop is designed for all students and researchers in computational and/or biophysical fields who seek to extend their expertise to include biomolecular simulations. Experimentalists and non-specialists are encouraged to attend and will benefit particularly from instruction in the use of QwikMD, a new teaching software incorporating NAMD and VMD that significantly lowers the learning curve for novice users. Enrollment limited to 25 participants. Application deadline: March 10, 2017 Announcement and Applications: http://www.ks.uiuc.edu/Training/Workshop/Urbana2017a/

This is the first atomic structure of the ribosome solved by cryoEM on the U of I campus. Its breathtaking to see how each and every atom in this beautiful molecular machine arranged in three-dimension said Dr. Jin. Using the 3D atomic structure and biochemistry, Jin and team were able to decipher how a protein known as ArfA recognizes a stalled bacterial ribosome and recruits release factor RF2 to catalyze peptide release, a process that leads to rescuing the stalled ribosome in the bacterial cell. Since bacterial and human cells employ completely different strategies to rescue stalled ribosomes, the rescue mechanism of bacteria is a drug target. This is also a collegial collaborative effort, our colleagues in the Beckman Institute, the research team led by Prof. Emad Tajkhorshid, provided us with powerful computational resources, said Dr. Jin. Read the full article here: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature21053.html

Biophysics Professor Paul Hergenrother's discovery from 10 years ago is showing success in treating cancer in dogs today. Human trials to begin soon. http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/01/24/cancer-dog-drugs/

Center Director Satish Nair has been appointed to the I.C. Gunsalus Endowed Professorship in the College of LAS, for his "demonstrated high originality of thought, independence and impact in research, as well as a commitment to quality."

"This is LAS - A look at our year" features several Biophysics faculty members' achievements! See what some of our chemists have been up to this year.

Biophysics Professor Chad Rienstra has been elected 2016 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for distinguished contributions to the development of solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance for structural determination of large biomolecular assemblies relevant to human disease.

Biophysics Professor Klaus Schulten has passed away. He was an integral member of the computational biology program and was highly respected. For more information regarding his work please visit the Theoretical and Computational Biophysics Group.

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About | Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology ...

One major mystery about life's origin is how phosphate became an essential building block of genetic and metabolic machinery in cells, given its poor accessibility on early Earth. In a study published on March 9 in the journal Cell, researchers used systems biology approaches to tackle this long-standing conundrum, providing compelling, data-driven evidence that primitive life forms may not have relied on phosphate at all. Instead, a few simple, abundant molecules could have supported the emergence of a sulfur-based, phosphate-free metabolism, which expanded to form a rich network of biochemical reactions capable of supporting the synthesis of a broad category of key biomolecules.

"The significance of this work is that future efforts to understand life's origin should take into account the concrete possibility that phosphate-based processes, which are essential today, may not have been around when the first life-like processes started emerging," says senior study author Daniel Segr (@dsegre) of Boston University. "An early phosphate-independent metabolism capable of producing several key building blocks of living systems is in principle viable."

Phosphate is essential for all living systems and is present in a large proportion of known biomolecules. A sugar-phosphate backbone forms the structural framework of nucleic acids, including DNA and RNA. Moreover, phosphate is a critical component of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which transports chemical energy within cells, and a compound called NADH, which has several essential roles in metabolism. But it is unclear how phosphate could have assumed these central roles on primordial Earth, given its scarcity and poor accessibility.

In light of this puzzle, some have proposed that early metabolic pathways did not rely on phosphate. In many of these scenarios, sulfur and iron found on mineral surfaces are thought to have fulfilled major catalytic and energetic functions prior to the appearance of phosphate. One notable origin-of-life scenario suggests that the role of ATP was originally assumed by sulfur-containing compounds called thioesters, which are widely involved in protein, carbohydrate, and lipid metabolism. Despite the availability of iron and sulfur on early Earth, concrete evidence supporting these scenarios has been lacking.

To test the feasibility of the "iron-sulfur world hypothesis" and the "thioester world scenario," Segr and his team used computational systems biology approaches originally developed for large-scale analyses of complex metabolic networks. The researchers used a large database to assemble the complete set of all known biochemical reactions. After exploring this so-called "biosphere-level metabolism," the researchers identified a set of eight phosphate-free compounds thought to have been available in prebiotic environments. They then used an algorithm that simulated the emergence of primitive metabolic networks by compiling all possible reactions that could have taken place in the presence of these eight compounds, which included formate, acetate, hydrogen sulfide, ammonium, carbon dioxide, water, bicarbonate, and nitrogen gas.

This analysis revealed that a few simple prebiotic compounds could support the emergence of a rich, phosphate-independent metabolic network. This core network, consisting of 315 reactions and 260 metabolites, was capable of supporting the biosynthesis of a broad category of key biomolecules such as amino acids and carboxylic acids. Notably, the network was enriched for enzymes containing iron-sulfur clusters, bolstering the idea that modern biochemistry emerged from mineral geochemistry. Moreover, thioesters rather than phosphate could have enabled this core metabolism to overcome energetic bottlenecks and expand under physiologically realistic conditions.

"Before our study, other researchers had proposed a sulfur-based early biochemistry, with hints that phosphate may not have been necessary until later," Segr says. "What was missing until now was data-driven evidence that these early processes, rather than scattered reactions, could have constituted a highly connected and relatively rich primitive metabolic network."

Although this non-experimental evidence does not definitively prove that life started without phosphate, it provides compelling support for the iron-sulfur world hypothesis and the thioester world scenario. At the same time, the study calls into question the "RNA world hypothesis," which proposes that self-replicating RNA molecules were the precursors to all current life on Earth. Instead, the results support the "metabolism-first hypothesis," which posits that a self-sustaining phosphate-free metabolic network predated the emergence of nucleic acids. In other words, nucleic acids could have been an outcome of early evolutionary processes rather than a prerequisite for them.

"Evidence that an early metabolism could have functioned without phosphate indicates that phosphate may have not been an essential ingredient for the onset of cellular life," says first author Joshua Goldford of Boston University. "This proto-metabolic system would have required an energy source and may have emerged either on the Earth's surface, with solar energy as the main driving force, or in the depth of the oceans near hydrothermal vents, where geochemical gradients could have driven the first life-like processes."

In future studies, the researchers will continue to apply systems biology approaches to study the origin of life. "My hope is that these findings will motivate further studies of the landscape of possible historical paths of metabolism, as well as specific experiments for testing the feasibility of a phosphate-free sulfur-based core biochemistry," Segr says. "The idea of analyzing metabolism as an ecosystem-level or even planetary phenomenon, rather than an organism-specific one, may also have implications for our understanding of microbial communities. Furthermore, it will be interesting to revisit the question of how inheritance and evolution could have worked prior to the appearance of biopolymers."

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