Category Archives: Biochemistry

This summer, from June 18 through Aug. 24, Western will host 10 students from across the country to participate in the Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program.

Spiegel, who is involved in REU, said this program benefits Westerns community by making the department and university more visible to other institutions and expanding Western's already vibrant research culture. Students need to be exceptional academically, show interest in research in their personal statements and we look for students who wouldnt have this opportunity otherwise, he said.

The main purpose of the REU program is to give students the opportunity to experience authentic research not found anywhere else, according to Westerns chemistry department's website.

Many students involved in the REU are from community colleges and small liberal arts universities, which may not have the funding or facilities to provide this kind of experience, Spiegel said.

REU programs at other institutions around the country work in a broad range of scientific fields, but at Western the focus is on chemistry, according to the chemistry department's website. During the 10-week program, Western provides students with a $4,500 stipend, a $1,000 allowance for meals and a reimbursement on travel expenses.

Nathan Drake, a Western student and biochemistry major, is head of support for the REU program.

Students are able to ask him questions they dont feel as comfortable asking their assigned faculty members, such as the best place to get coffee, supplies for living situations and can utilize him as a tour guide to make the transition easier, Drake said.

Charlie Snyder, an REU participant from Skidmore College in New York, is working with John Gilbertson to find a metal complex that can turn carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide, she said. Snyder said she thinks this the extensive lab experience will build her skills and improve her resume.

Visiting students work either with existing groups or individually, and always with a faculty member as a mentor. The research focuses on the field of synthetic chemistry, biochemistry and materials chemistry, Spiegel said. Being humbled by undergraduates' enthusiasm and raw intelligence are Spiegels favorite parts about working with the students, he said.

Washington benefits from this program because qualified students are better prepared for a high-tech, competitive workforce after graduation. Many program alumni get jobs in the Seattle area, Spiegel said.

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Grant brings student researchers to Western

PINE BROOK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Ezose Sciences Inc. announced today that Scott A. Siegel, Ph.D., Vice President, Business Development, has been named Chief Operating Officer, a new position at the company.

Dr. Siegel will assume broad responsibility for operations at Ezose, which focuses on glycomics research to identify biomarkers for use in drug development and disease management, and to characterize biotherapeutic glycoforms. He will also continue to lead Business Development. In his new role he will continue to report to Kiyoshi Nagata,Ph.D., Chairman andChief Executive OfficerofEzose.

Scott has made Ezose a partner of choice for healthcare companies and academic institutions that seek to realize the promise of glycomics in their R&D programs, said Dr. Nagata. At the same time, his talents and energies have already supported various operational activities at Ezose. We look forward to the still broader contributions he will make in his new position.

The naming of a chief operating officer, together with the other appointments we are announcing today, demonstrates our commitment to helping our partners establish glycomics as a basic tool in their biomedical research.

Dr. Siegel brings to his role more than 25 years of experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Before joining Ezose in 2009 he was Vice President of Corporate Development for Redpoint Bio, a publically traded biotechnology company. Earlier, he held various positions in New Business Development and Worldwide Strategic Marketing at Johnson & Johnson. He has served in R&D capacities at Phytera, Inc., Centocor, Inc., and Becton Dickinson and Co., and as Adjunct Associate Professor of Microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Siegel is one of the inventors of Remicade (Infliximab), a therapy for rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory disorders.

Dr. Siegel earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, and completed his postdoctoral studies in the Department of Pharmacology at Yale University School of Medicine.

In other recent appointments, Ezose named:

About Glycomics

Glycomics is the study of glycans, the sugar chains that during the biochemical process known as glycosylation become attached to many proteins expressed by human cells. The particular glycans involved may crucially determine the function of the resulting glycoprotein and its role in health and disease.

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Ezose Sciences Announces Appointment of Chief Operating Officer

ScienceDaily (June 22, 2012) Once considered merely a passive link between proteins that matter, Grb2 -- pronounced "grab2" -- actually lives up to its nickname with its controlling grip on an important cell signaling pathway, scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report in the June 22 issue of Cell.

"Grb2 is a switch that controls normal signaling through the fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR)," said the paper's senior author, John Ladbury, Ph.D., professor in MD Anderson's Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

"Perhaps the best way to think about it is that Grb2 controls cell homeostasis (stable state) before a growth factor binds to FGFR, activating this molecular pathway," Ladbury said.

In addition to discovering a fundamental aspect of FGFR signaling, the researchers' discovery points to a potential explanation of why genomic alterations found in breast, bladder and gastric cancers and melanoma might promote cancer formation and growth, Ladbury noted.

FGFR has a docking station to receive growth factors on the cell surface, and another internal region that passes the growth factor signal on to proteins inside the cell by attaching phosphate groups to them.

FGFR employs phosphorylation to regulate a number of important processes, including the cell cycle, cell proliferation and migration. When some of these pathways become overactive, they can contribute to cancer growth and survival.

Like "a car idling in neutral" ready to go

Grb2's full name reflects its location: growth factor receptor-bound protein 2. In the great rush of molecular signaling pathway mapping in the 1990s, Ladbury noted that Grb2 was labeled an "adaptor protein," one that has no activity of its own apart from connecting to other proteins.

Mapping ran way ahead of figuring out each protein's function in a signaling pathway, Ladbury said, and scientists are still catching up in that area.

"When you think about it, why would a cell bother to produce a protein that plays only a passive role linking one protein to another?" Ladbury said. He and his colleagues found that's simply not the case with Grb2.

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Grb2 holds powerful molecular signaling pathway in check

Public release date: 21-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Angela Hopp ahopp@asbmb.org 240-283-6600 American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Supertasting describes the ability to strongly detect food flavors such as bitter and sweet, and it can affect a person's food preferences. For example, supertasters are often averse to green vegetables because their bitter taste is amplified. Supertasters may also prefer foods lower in sugar and fat. Approximately one out of four people is a supertaster, and a supertaster's avoidance of sweet and fatty foods may have protective cardiovascular effects.

Christopher Nosrat and colleagues at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Pennsylvania have developed a new mouse model that may be useful to study supertasting. The team's work was reported in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Nosrat's group developed mice whose taste buds overexpress brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a growth factor for neurons and a protein that is important for the distribution of nerves to sensory organs, such as taste buds. These mice had larger taste buds, an increased number of taste cells per taste bud, and a greater supply of nerves in the taste buds compared with the control mice. These features suggest that the mice could be a model for supertasters, whose tongues have an increased number of fungiform taste buds (a specific kind of taste bud on the front and sides of the tongue that detects the five basic tastes).

"By generating the supertaster rodent model," Nosrat reports, "we are able to study the supertasting phenomenon in detail." Furthermore, brain-derived neurotrophic factor is important for proper development of the nervous system, Nosrat explains, and this mouse model can facilitate the development of therapies for nerve injuries in which taste signaling to the brain has been damaged.

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From the article: "Targeted taste cell-specific overexpression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in adult taste buds elevates phosphorylated TrkB protein levels in taste cells, increases taste bud size, and promotes gustatory innervation" by Irina V. Nosrat, Robert F. Margolskee, and Christopher A. Nosrat. See it online: http://www.jbc.org/content/287/20/16791.

Corresponding author: Christopher A. Nosrat, Center for Adult Cancer Research, University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis; email: canosrat@gmail.com.

About the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

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A new model to understand the supertasting phenomenon

21st June, 2012

Power Impian International Sdn. BHd., a subsidiary of Power Root Group has cooperated with Mibelle Biochemistry to launch an innovative anti-aging product, Impian SemCell at Swiss Garden Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, on 24 May 2012 and MOU signing ceremony has been held between Power Impian International Sdn. Bhd., Chemical Solutions Sdn. Bhd. and Mibelle Biochemistry for the exclusiveness agreement of latest innovative skin care formulation, DermCom Forte to Power Impian.

PhytoCellTec Malus Domestica was the result of scientific research by Dr. Fred Zulli from Mibelle Biochemistry. According to the research, Swiss Apple Stem Cell (PhytoCellTec Malus Domestica) is able to increase the vitality of body stem cell up to 92% thus is good for improving overall body health and youthfulness.

Since its launch in November last year, Power Impian have received a lot of positive feedback and testimonies for anti-aging benefit as well as health regained benefit such as reduced skin scars for allergic problem, improved skin radiance and fairer skin etc. From the testimony feedback, the consumer can have the significant changes for the skin problem and health problem within a short period time of consumption.

To answer the ever growing demand and to fit the needs of everyone, Power Impian has now cooperated again with Mibelle Biochemistry and Chemical Solutions Sdn. Bhd. to further formulate a qualitative and innovative skin care product series enhanced with DermCom Forte, one natural active ingredient formulation for skin care cosmetic which is just launched in Barcelona in last month and has been awarded silver prize. This active ingredient has been studied and came out with a lot of supportive data from Dr. Fred Zulli. With this new and unique formulation supported by the latest technology and clinical study, this upcoming skin care product series will be the superb quality choice and would perform satisfactorily in the market.

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Power Impian leads with revolutionary skin care trend

Editor's Choice Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry Article Date: 20 Jun 2012 - 11:00 PDT

Current ratings for: 'How Protein Clumps Are Pulled Apart'

In humans, amyloid fibers form biological nanostructures that house pigments and other molecules, and may also play an important role in long-term memory. These fibers are one of the most stable protein-based structures in nature, so when they are harmful in diseases, such as Parkinson's, they are extremely difficult for cells to break down.

As a result, Martin Duennwald and AnaLisa Echeverria, at the Boston Biomedical Research Institute, and James Shorter, assistant professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of Pennsylvania, set out to find ways to promote beneficial amyloid fiber assembly or to reverse its pathogenic assembly, at will. The study is published in PLoS Biology.

Yeast have a protein called Hsp104 that can quickly disassemble amyloid fibers, and this activity is significantly enhances by a group of small heat shock proteins. However, humans and other animals do not have the Hsp104 protein, thus raising the question of whether human cells are also capable of disassembling amyloid fibers?

In this study, the researchers found that when Hsp104 is absent, the yeast small heat shock proteins work together with other proteins to disassemble amyloid fibers. The proteins slowly remove each subunit one by one from the tips of the fibers. The team were surprised by this activity as these proteins are best known for their role in preventing protein clumping.

Shorter explained:

According to the researchers, the proteins of the amyloid-disaggregating machinery in yeast are also present in humans. Therefore, human small heat shock proteins are able to work together with other proteins to disassemble amyloid fibers, even without Hsp104.

They state that these findings could lead to the development of new therapies for different neurodegenerative disorders.

Their aim is to activate the machinery in humans to pull apart disease-causing amyloid fibers where and when needed by increasing the expression of heat shock proteins.

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How Protein Clumps Are Pulled Apart