Category Archives: Student posts

Hi students, I have alerted the experts to our problem and hope to get our technology problem figured out by Monday.  And so, if over the weekend you happen to receive a request to join the blog, please, if you … Continue reading →

Here is the link to the video I showed in class:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjdPTY1wHdQ

Dynein is a motor protein complex involving many different proteins. Some PDB IDs for different sections of dynein are as follows: LC8/IC/TCTEX complex: 3FM7 IC/LC7 complex: 3L7H Heavy Chain(Legs): 3VKG

While I was working on my project this weekend, I came up with a new idea! Instead of myosin and actin I am now looking at EMILIN-1. This protein is responsible for the formation of elastic fiber. This gave me … Continue reading →

I’ve narrowed my protein choice down to 1JNV. It’s an ATP Synthase protein from E. Coli.   http://www.rcsb.org/pdb/explore/explore.do?structureId=1JNV

In the CATH classification system, the “Mainly Beta” parent node (at the C level) has a child node known as “Sandwich” (at the A level) whose representative domain structures include over 18,000 known structures.  That’s a lot of sandwiches. Looking … Continue reading →

Why it is good to tinker (according to Francois Jacob) In 1977, Francois Jacob, fresh from his pioneering studies of gene transcription with Jacques Monod, delivered a stimulating lecture on the topic of Molecular and Evolutionary Tinkering at UC Berkeley (later published … Continue reading →

I was thinking of building a protein/proteins by folding paper into shapes like these http://www.rcsb.org/pdb/explore/explore.do?structureId=3S4G http://www.rcsb.org/pdb/explore/explore.do?structureId=4AED This origami structure is made up of flowers glued together. The virus looks like it has flowers embedded too!

I am going to make a series of 5 or so T-shirts with chemistry-cat style puns on them using common proteins that people who don’t know a ton about science will (hopefully) still get. I’ll include a simple line drawing … Continue reading →

I love doing jigsaw puzzles so I decided that I would create a protein jigsaw puzzle. 

 I loved DIY projects when I was a kid. In particular, there were these books which showed you how to make little critters from pipe cleaners, beads, etc. My idea is to make a similar book, but with instructions of … Continue reading →

I was excited to find the protein luciferase, which produces light and is found in fireflies.  The colors can change depending on the amino acid attached to the protein.  This fits well with my idea for lights and colors.

I finally have an idea! So one of the proteins I’ve been looking at on the Molecule of the Month site is the tobacco mosaic virus. It was the first virus to be discovered, and it is the cause of … Continue reading →

Since I was thinking about creating an active/outdoor toy, I thought it would be cool to choose a protein that is related to exercise and physical activity.  Myosin and actin, and their role in muscle contraction, came to mind. If … Continue reading →

BMAL2 is a circadian clock protein found in humans, dimerizing with CLOCK. It helps modulate many hormonal feedback mechanisms, and is an essential part of functional sleep/wake cycles and endogenous rhythms. I think it would be fun to either make a … Continue reading →

I think it would be cool to model ATP synthase as a carousel toy like this one. If you twist the top “motor” it causes the bottom “motor” to spin and produce ATP.

Dynein is a motor protein that can walk across microtubules, transporting cargo across the cell. My portrait idea is to create a puppet of dynein that can walk.

So I found a really interesting group of proteins on the molecule of the month website, called the circadian clock proteins.  These proteins create our 24-hour internal cycle that involves when we get hungry, tired, etc. Thanks to the circadian … Continue reading →

Hi everyone, Below is the link for the “Juego de la Liga”. You can just watch the first 2 min of the video 🙂  

This was my favorite childhood toy… Barbie’s very own, luxurious camper van! Shockingly, all the furniture, sleeping bags, extra outfits etc. fit into it when folded. I think making a protein-themed toy with some of the same features would be … Continue reading →

Growing up, my favorite toys were any I could bring in the pool and bathtub, especially the floating islands!

My favorite toy was lite-brite!

My favorite toy growing up was Silly Putty.

My favorite toy was my stuffed dog, Lucky.

Like Madison, my favorite toys were my beanie babies!

When I was little, I loved the original Polly Pockets.

My favorite toys when I was little were my Barbie dolls.

When I was little my favorite toys were stuffed animals. I collected Beanie Babies.

Some of the architectures new to CATH since 1997:   From: Nucleic Acids Res. 2009 January; 37(Database issue): D310–D314. “CATH (class, architecture, topology, homology) is a hierarchical protein domain classification (1) where domains are classified manually by curators, guided by prediction … Continue reading →

I enjoyed playing with play-doh as a child.

As a child I used to enjoy playing with legos.

This set of the twenty amino acid side-chains doesn’t have the names listed.  You can quiz yourself to help you learn the names and predict the chemical properties of these different structures.  Example:  Which are the hydrophilic side-chains?  Which of … Continue reading →

I love everyone’s projects they are all sooo beautiful! I had a lot of fun in this class and just wanted to say thank you all for making it so much fun. :] Congrats to the seniors who are graduating! … Continue reading →

Finally finished. 🙂

Hi Connie, when are you going to set up tomorrow so I know when to bring the easel?  I have a meeting at 9.  But 10 and after I should be good to go.

Sorry, I totally forgot about making this blurb until today. Author: Elvis Nguyen Blurb: Where would we be without ribosomes? Ribosomes are biological structures in the cells consisting of 2 subunits and made up of lots of RNA and dozens … Continue reading →