Julia R Migliore
As part of their check-up at birth, babies get a prick on the heel. Among many other things, the blood tests for the function of a protein called phenylalanine hydroxylase. (Scientists sometimes call it "PAH" for convenience.) PAH is the first in a sequence of enzymes that break down excess phenylalanine. It speeds up the …
Pregnancy can be detected by looking for the glycoprotein human chorionic gonadotropin, which functions as a hormone. After an egg has been successfully fertilized, the resulting cell multiplies into a mostly hollow ball of cells called a blastula. Trophoblast cells, the cells on the exterior of the blastula, make and secrete hCG when the blastula …
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 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 …
If you look at any of my posts introducing a specific protein, you will always see an image like this one: 3D Model of Hemoglobin Maybe you see these images and ask, "What are all these squiggly lines you keep showing us?" These squiggly lines are three-dimensional representations of proteins. Every protein has a structure, …
You have probably heard of keratin before--it is the protein that makes up your hair and nails. It also makes up hooves, antlers, horns, and feathers. It is classified as a filamentous protein (because it forms filaments). Keratin is found in structures such as horns, hooves, and hair. Keratin filaments look a bit like rope …
Rubisco is found in the chloroplasts of plant cells where it plays a key role in photosynthesis. Rubisco works in the chloroplasts of plant cells Remember that photosynthesis is the process plants (and some bacteria) use to build glucose sugar molecules using CO2 and energy from light. Plants can't just stitch a bunch of raw …
Science Magnifies 