To fit inside the cell nucleus, DNA molecules wrap around tiny protein spindles known as histones. These histones carry an intriguing biochemical code that helps decide a cell’s destiny—...
Apr, 01, 2010
Biomarker research, genetics, and imaging are all coming into play
In 1906, at a small medical meeting in Tübingen, Germany, physician Alois Alzheimer gave a now-famous presentation about a puzzling patient. At age 51, Auguste D.’s memory was failing...
Oct, 01, 2007
Plot shows how functional communities in yeast protein interaction networks change in size and nature at different levels of resolution
Splashes of bold color seem to drip down the page, bringing to mind the paintings of Jackson Pollock. Spurred by the beauty of the image she had created, Anna Lewis,* a graduate student studying...
Apr, 01, 2011
The Salivary Proteome Knowledge Base
If spit could talk, it might tell us whether we’re sick or healthy.
According to David Wong, DMD, DMSc—professor and associate dean of research at the School of Dentistry at the...
Jun, 01, 2005
Automated Function Prediction conference launches a new field
At the birth of a new field, a conference can act as a midwife, making sure the infant enters the world smoothly. Such was the case for the Automated Function Prediction (AFP) conference held at the...
Jan, 01, 2007
Knot-detecting algorithm discovers that proteins are rarely knotted
When you accidentally twist a shoelace, garden hose, or necklace, it can get annoyingly tangled into intractable knots. On the microscopic level, biopolymers—string-like molecules such as DNA...
Oct, 01, 2010
Predicting protein localization
Joe works in a factory; Jane works in a hospital; protein X works in the Golgi apparatus. Just as one might guess a worker’s job by knowing where he or she is employed, biologists can guess a...
Apr, 01, 2006
The fittest organisms survive and produce offspring, according to the Darwinian theory of natural selection. And the changes that make an organism fit happen at the molecular level: when genes mutate...
Oct, 01, 2007
Working in silico, researchers hone in on candidate proteins worthy of laboratory work
By stringing together amino acids in a prescribed sequence that then folds into a defined structure, nature designs proteins to perform specific functions. Nowadays, computational researchers are...
Sep, 01, 2011
The National Cancer Institute launched the Integrative Cancer Biology Program (ICBP) in October 2004, providing a total of $15 million to nine multidisciplinary centers. The goal: to use predictive...
Jun, 01, 2005
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