MetaFilter posts tagged with protein

Learn.Genetics

netbros — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:35:03 -0800

grumblebee's post about cell size and scale the other day was quite fascinating. Pulling back to the home for that site, the Genetic Science Learning Center at the University of Utah delivers educational materials on genetics, bio-science and health topics ranging from stem cells to gene therapy, and from epigenetics to heredity. Explore the neurobiology of normal and addicted brains and the genetic contribution to this chronic disease.

Darwin, extended

digaman — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 18:50:28 -0800

The "blind watchmaker" may not be as blind as we thought. A team of scientists at Princeton University discovers that organisms are not only evolving, they're evolving to evolve better, using a set of proteins to "steer the process of evolution toward improved fitness" by making tiny course corrections.

God schmod. I want my monkey man.

cjorgensen — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 07:37:06 -0800

"We'll breed him and we'll see if his kids glow, too!" Meet Mr. Green Genes: (No, not that Mr. Green Jeans) Pic. Pic. The Best Week Ever doesn't get it. This cat isn't Zappa's daddy either. previously. previously. previously.

Nobel Prize Chemistry 2008: The notorious GFP

NikitaNikita — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 09:38:35 -0800

The 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to scientists who advanced the use of jellyfish green florescent protein, or GFP (previously), an indispensable tool in molecular biology. The man who discovered the GFP gene, however, is doing something quite different these days. More links: Several GFP derivatives of many different colors have been made, although I personally wouldn't encourage kids make bacteria/agar plate art, though. (more ">here, and Tsien's wreath for a department holiday party here. Such proteins not only allow the tagging of specific proteins, but also allow real-time imaging (read: movies!) of proteins moving about a cell in response to a stimulus. Martin Zimmer's page on GFP with more info, and a link to this, uhhh... [opinion withheld] "Notorious GFP" video. Profile pages on the winners: Roger Tsien, Martin Chalfie, and Osamu Shimomura.

But Mom, it's for science!

Koko — Sat, 10 May 2008 17:15:26 -0800

foldit is a new computer game scientists have created that lets YOU help them make science!! Similar in spirit to the SETI@home project, and expanding on the idea of the Rosetta@Home project (which is also like the SETI project), this one requires active participation to work. And according to its creators, you could win a Nobel Prize!! But you have to get the top score, so start clicking, Nerdlinger! via digg

Protein Sculpture

prostyle — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 09:01:05 -0800

Julian Voss-Andreae is a German-born sculptor based in Portland, Oregon. In his youth he painted for a number of years, but then changed course and studied physics at the universities of Berlin and Edinburgh. After his graduate research participating in a seminal quantum physics experiment in Vienna, Voss-Andreae moved to the U.S. in 2000 with his passion for art rekindled. He graduated from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in 2004 with a BFA in sculpture. While still in Art College, Voss-Andreae developed a novel kind of sculpture based on the structure of proteins, the building blocks of life. Voss-Andreae’s work has been commissioned internationally and was published in journals such as Leonardo and Science Magazine, one of the world’s leading science journals.

Ruling reptiles taste just like chicken. For a reason.

jfuller — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 09:02:59 -0800

Put down that McChicken sandwich, punk, and back away slowly. OK, now run! The chicken is T. Rex's closest known living relative.

50s...RIBOSOME!

Turtles all the way down — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 07:03:07 -0800

Only rarely is there an opportunity to participate in a molecular 'happening'. On an open field at Stanford University in 1971, several hundred students convened to undulate and impersonate molecules undergoing protein synthesis by a ribosome. Narrated by Nobel laureate Paul Berg and performed by a cast of very groovy cats. (via)

Espoo2 — Mon, 05 Aug 2002 21:10:41 -0800

Researchers discover how cancer spreads in the body. They have discovered that a key protein molecule - called Src - helps to loosen the structure of tissues surrounding a tumour, opening the way for cancer cells to spread around the body.

Steven Den Beste — Sat, 17 Feb 2001 17:03:14 -0800

Well, if SETI@HOME is too much of a long-shot for you, then how about something absolutely certain to result in important findings? GENOME@HOME is trying to search the results of the human genome sequencing project to find the place in the genome where certain important proteins are encoded, and FOLDING@HOME is trying to figure out how proteins are folded to become enzymes, where shape is more important than chemistry.

FOLDING@HOME is working on some of the critical proteins of HIV, among other things. HIV has been sequenced and from that they know the amino acid sequences of the enzymes it makes. But without understanding their shapes it's not possible to figure out how they work. This represents one of the best applications of volunteer distributed computing I can think of. With 40,000 participants, FOLDING@HOME has already had successes, including one of the HIV enzymes. (Courtesy of Firing Squad)

tiaka — Wed, 30 Aug 2000 06:00:36 -0800

Immortality Protein May Offer Cancer Vaccine. You know, I'm glad they're making progress, but once the 'cure' is found, I can't daydream about being this smart, intelligent doctor, (something right out of a soap), that creates the cure for cancer, and woos all the la-a-dies... then again there is always being that evil-twin and start cloning, with that, you won't need to wooo anyone, they're your toys! mwahahaha!