Monthly Archives: April 2017

This was news a few months ago but the Weihong Qiu lab in the Physics/Biophysics lab observed and reported that kinesin can walk backwards. It was previously thought that kinesin could only walk forward, in fact the Hoogenraad Lab video … Continue reading →

Let me introduce Erythrocruorin, giant hemoglobin made from earthworms. This hemoglobin is HUGE, it is comprised of 144 globin chains and its skeleton is comprised of 12 globin chains. Each of these chains can carry oxygen and with its 3-fold … Continue reading →

TMV is the first virus to be discovered and is found to be mostly made of protein. It is supposed to be very stable and can survive for years within a cigar or cigarette. TMV’s helical shape kind of reminds … Continue reading →

Actinomycin, discovered in Streptomyces antibioticus in 1940, is the first natural antibiotic that has anti-cancer activity. Unfortunately, actinomycin does not specifically kill cancer cells, so it too toxic for general use. This molecule works by intercalating into the DNA double … Continue reading →

Proteasomes break down other proteins. They help keep the cell free of damaged proteins as well as allowing the cell to  recycle parts of proteins that it no longer uses. In this image, the yellow and red core is where … Continue reading →

This is the P-Glycoprotein found in many cells of the human body. It’s role is to search for toxic molecules and eject them from the cell to be disposed. Using ATP, the P-Glycoprotein targets mostly hydrophobic toxic molecules in its … Continue reading →

Sodium-potassium pumps create and maintain electrochemical gradients, pumping potassium ions into the cell and sodium ions out of the cell. The established gradient is a crucial part of sending electrical nerve signals and regulating the osmotic pressure in cells. When the … Continue reading →

Aquaporin creates a channel for water molecules to pass through a membrane, so this molecules pops up when talking about osmosis. Aquaporin can be found in many organisms, from bacteria to eukaryotes and is made up of 4 identical chains.  The molecule … Continue reading →

This week please post a protein example from the Molecule of the Month and include an idea of how the dynamics of that protein could be conveyed artistically! Here’s a quick rundown of the artwork we looked at on Tuesday … Continue reading →