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Research in Microbiology Jun 2014
Topics: Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; Genetics, Microbial; History, 20th Century; Molecular Biology; Operon
PubMed: 24859146
DOI: 10.1016/j.resmic.2014.05.018 -
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology... 2014
Topics: Biochemistry; Education; Molecular Biology; New York
PubMed: 24740931
DOI: 10.1002/bmb.20796 -
Frontiers in Bioscience (Landmark... Jan 2018This overview addresses phenomena in cell- and molecular biology which are puzzling by their fast and highly coordinated way of organization. Generally, it appears that... (Review)
Review
This overview addresses phenomena in cell- and molecular biology which are puzzling by their fast and highly coordinated way of organization. Generally, it appears that informative processes probably involved are more on the biophysical than on the classical biochemical side. The coordination problem is explained within the first part of the review by the topic of endogenous electrical phenomena. These are found e.g. in fast tissue organization and reorganization processes like development, wound healing and regeneration. Here, coupling into classical biochemical signaling and reactions can be shown by modern microscopy, electronics and bioinformatics. Further, one can follow the triggered reactions seamlessly via molecular biology till into genetics. Direct observation of intracellular electric processes is very difficult because of e.g. shielding through the cell membrane and damping by other structures. Therefore, we have to rely on photonic and photon - phonon coupling phenomena like molecular vibrations, which are addressed within the second part. Molecules normally possess different charge moieties and thus small electromagnetic (EMF) patterns arise during molecular vibration. These patterns can now be measured best within the optical part of the spectrum - much less in the lower terahertz till kHz and lower Hz part (third part of this review). Finally, EMFs facilitate quantum informative processes in coherent domains of molecular, charge and electron spin motion. This helps to coordinate such manifold and intertwined processes going on within cells, tissues and organs (part 4). Because the phenomena described in part 3 and 4 of the review still await really hard proofs we need concerted efforts and a combination of biophysics, molecular biology and informatics to unravel the described mysteries in "physics of life".
Topics: Animals; Biology; Biophysical Phenomena; Cells; Humans; Molecular Biology; Research; Technology
PubMed: 28930581
DOI: 10.2741/4625 -
The EMBO Journal Dec 2016The emergence of proteomics has led to major technological advances in mass spectrometry (MS). These advancements not only benefitted MS-based high-throughput proteomics... (Review)
Review
The emergence of proteomics has led to major technological advances in mass spectrometry (MS). These advancements not only benefitted MS-based high-throughput proteomics but also increased the impact of mass spectrometry on the field of structural and molecular biology. Here, we review how state-of-the-art MS methods, including native MS, top-down protein sequencing, cross-linking-MS, and hydrogen-deuterium exchange-MS, nowadays enable the characterization of biomolecular structures, functions, and interactions. In particular, we focus on the role of mass spectrometry in integrated structural and molecular biology investigations of biological macromolecular complexes and cellular machineries, highlighting work on CRISPR-Cas systems and eukaryotic transcription complexes.
Topics: Macromolecular Substances; Mass Spectrometry; Molecular Biology
PubMed: 27797822
DOI: 10.15252/embj.201694818 -
Nucleic Acids Research Jan 2020The 2020 Nucleic Acids Research Database Issue contains 148 papers spanning molecular biology. They include 59 papers reporting on new databases and 79 covering recent... (Review)
Review
The 2020 Nucleic Acids Research Database Issue contains 148 papers spanning molecular biology. They include 59 papers reporting on new databases and 79 covering recent changes to resources previously published in the issue. A further ten papers are updates on databases most recently published elsewhere. This issue contains three breakthrough articles: AntiBodies Chemically Defined (ABCD) curates antibody sequences and their cognate antigens; SCOP returns with a new schema and breaks away from a purely hierarchical structure; while the new Alliance of Genome Resources brings together a number of Model Organism databases to pool knowledge and tools. Major returning nucleic acid databases include miRDB and miRTarBase. Databases for protein sequence analysis include CDD, DisProt and ELM, alongside no fewer than four newcomers covering proteins involved in liquid-liquid phase separation. In metabolism and signaling, Pathway Commons, Reactome and Metabolights all contribute papers. PATRIC and MicroScope update in microbial genomes while human and model organism genomics resources include Ensembl, Ensembl genomes and UCSC Genome Browser. Immune-related proteins are covered by updates from IPD-IMGT/HLA and AFND, as well as newcomers VDJbase and OGRDB. Drug design is catered for by updates from the IUPHAR/BPS Guide to Pharmacology and the Therapeutic Target Database. The entire Database Issue is freely available online on the Nucleic Acids Research website (https://academic.oup.com/nar). The NAR online Molecular Biology Database Collection has been revised, updating 305 entries, adding 65 new resources and eliminating 125 discontinued URLs; so bringing the current total to 1637 databases. It is available at http://www.oxfordjournals.org/nar/database/c/.
Topics: Computational Biology; Data Management; Databases, Genetic; Genomics; Humans; Molecular Biology; Web Browser
PubMed: 31906604
DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkz1161 -
International Journal of Molecular... Apr 2013Molecular biology is a rapidly evolving field that has led to the development of increasingly sophisticated technologies to improve our capacity to study cellular... (Review)
Review
Molecular biology is a rapidly evolving field that has led to the development of increasingly sophisticated technologies to improve our capacity to study cellular processes in much finer detail. Transcription is the first step in protein expression and the major point of regulation of the components that determine the characteristics, fate and functions of cells. The study of transcriptional regulation has been greatly facilitated by the development of reporter genes and transcription factor expression vectors, which have become versatile tools for manipulating promoters, as well as transcription factors in order to examine their function. The understanding of promoter complexity and transcription factor structure offers an insight into the mechanisms of transcriptional control and their impact on cell behaviour. This review focuses on some of the many applications of molecular cut-and-paste tools for the manipulation of promoters and transcription factors leading to the understanding of crucial aspects of transcriptional regulation.
Topics: Animals; Gene Expression Regulation; Humans; Models, Biological; Molecular Biology; Promoter Regions, Genetic; Transcription Factors; Transcription, Genetic
PubMed: 23567272
DOI: 10.3390/ijms14047583 -
Folia Histochemica Et Cytobiologica 2015
Topics: Biomedical Research; Microscopy; Molecular Biology
PubMed: 26484586
DOI: 10.5603/FHC.2015.0028 -
Journal of Molecular Biology Feb 2017
Topics: Computational Biology; Databases, Protein; Macromolecular Substances; Molecular Biology
PubMed: 28025039
DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2016.12.018 -
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology... Mar 2021Our climate is changing due to anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases from the production and use of fossil fuels. Present atmospheric levels of CO were last seen 3...
Our climate is changing due to anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases from the production and use of fossil fuels. Present atmospheric levels of CO were last seen 3 million years ago, when planetary temperature sustained high Arctic camels. As scientists and educators, we should feel a professional responsibility to discuss major scientific issues like climate change, and its profound consequences for humanity, with students who look up to us for knowledge and leadership, and who will be most affected in the future. We offer simple to complex backgrounds and examples to enable and encourage biochemistry educators to routinely incorporate this most important topic into their classrooms.
Topics: Climate Change; Curriculum; Humans; Molecular Biology
PubMed: 32833339
DOI: 10.1002/bmb.21422 -
Cell Aug 2020Rosalind Franklin provided the key data for deriving the double helix structure of DNA. The English chemist also pioneered structural studies of colloids, viruses, and...
Rosalind Franklin provided the key data for deriving the double helix structure of DNA. The English chemist also pioneered structural studies of colloids, viruses, and RNA. To celebrate the 100 anniversary of Franklin's birth, I summarize her work, which shaped the emerging discipline of molecular biology.
Topics: Biographies as Topic; DNA; History, 20th Century; Molecular Biology; RNA; Viruses; X-Ray Diffraction
PubMed: 32730810
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.07.028