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It is currently mid-February and while many have been making plans for Valentine's day, I've been making plans for the Annual Biophysical Society Meeting. It might be called a "meeting," but this is not a dozen colleagues around a table or on a Zoom call. This meeting has thousands of attendees from all over the …
This blog is all about proteins, but what even is a protein? Think about how you would define "protein" for a moment. Feel free to comment and share your definition. Now that it's in the open, throw it in the garbage. If you ask Google to "define protein," this is what you will find: "Pro•tein …
Continue reading "What is a protein?? (P.S. science is for you)"
Meet P4-type ATPase, better known as Flippase! Flippase lives and works in the plasma membrane. The plasma membrane is the border between the outside and the inside of the cell made from two layers of phospholipids. (We call the membrane a "phospholipid bilayer.") Phospholipids have heads that enjoy the water, but their tails hate water. …
Meet Voltage-Dependent Anionic Channel! Scientists call it by its nickname, VDAC. VDAC lives in the mitochondria (that's right: the powerhouse of the cell), specifically in the outer membrane. It's the most abundant protein in the outer mitochondrial membrane and it is present in every single mitochondrion on earth. VDAC is found in the outer mitochondrial …
Meet Myosin Binding Protein C! Myosin Binding Protein C's childhood nickname was "C protein," but these days it goes by "MyBP-C." MyBP-C is a regulatory protein in muscle. As its name implies, it binds to myosin, which is the protein responsible for producing the force in a muscle contraction (meet myosin here!). It also binds …
In honor of Plastic Free July, allow me to introduce PETase! PETase is an enzyme that eats plastic. Specifically, it dines on polyethylene terephthalate, the kind of plastic that most "disposable" water bottles are made of. from PDB 5XJH PETase was recently discovered (in 2016) in species of bacteria called Ideonella sakaiensis. It's believed that …
Have you ever been sick with strep-throat? Pneumonia? Food poisoning? A UTI? You visit your doctor and she says your illness is a bacterial infection, so she is prescribing you some antibiotics. She instructs you to take your entire round of antibiotics, all the way to the last dose, even if you start feeling better. …
It often goes by the nickname "APP" for short. APP has been extensively studied because of its association with Alzheimer's disease. Despite being studied so intensely, APP's role is complex and there is a lot that researchers just have not figured out yet. (But I will share some of what we do know!) APP lives …
1. Let them talk. If this person is pursuing a Ph.D., you can safely assume they are enthusiastic about their subject of study. Since these subjects are often quite niche, it is easy to feel like no one else cares about what you love. By letting your loved one talk about their subject to you, …
Continue reading "How to Support Your Loved One as They Pursue a Ph.D."
At the time of writing this, I have finished "18th grade" and I still have quite a few years ahead of me before I am done with school. Typically, as an adult, when you tell someone that you are in school, they will ask two questions: What are you studying/what are you majoring in? (See …
At the time of writing this, I have finished "18th grade" and I still have quite a few years ahead of me before I am done with school. Typically, as an adult, when you tell someone that you are in school, they will ask two questions: What are you studying/what are you majoring in?When will …
Continue reading "What are you studying exactly? (i.e. What is Julia still doing in school? Part 1)"
Julia Migliore 