Advance in understanding actin sheds light on cell function

A tiny chemical modification on one of the most abundant and important proteins in cells, actin, has long been somewhat mysterious, its function not fully understood, but scientists from the Perelman School of Medicine at ...

Bioenergetics of rapid pollen tube growth

Sexual reproduction of plants requires pollen to land on the stigma, which then germinates and grows pollen tubes through the style to deliver sperm cells to the ovule. Pollen tubes are the fastest-growing plant cells known. ...

Using nanopores to detect epigenetic changes faster

Changes known as epigenetic modifications play an important role in cancer development. Being able to analyze them quickly and reliably could contribute significantly to the further development of personalized therapy. A ...

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Acetylation

Acetylation (or in IUPAC nomenclature ethanoylation) describes a reaction that introduces an acetyl functional group into a chemical compound. (Deacetylation is the removal of the acetyl group.)

Specifically, acetylation refers to that process of introducing an acetyl group (resulting in an acetoxy group) into a compound, to be specific, the substitution of an acetyl group for an active hydrogen atom. A reaction involving the replacement of the hydrogen atom of a hydroxyl group with an acetyl group (CH3 CO) yields a specific ester, the acetate. Acetic anhydride is commonly used as an acetylating agent reacting with free hydroxyl groups. For example, it is used in the synthesis of aspirin and heroin.

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