Engineering the P450 enzyme to perform new reactions

Enzymes, the micro machines in our cells, can evolve to perform new tasks when confronted with novel situations. But what if you want an enzyme to do an entirely different job—one that it would never have to do in a cell? ...

Mathematical model reveals behavior of cellular enzymes

Everything a cell does, from dividing in two to migrating to a different part of the body, is controlled by enzymes that chemically modify other proteins in the cell. Researchers at Princeton University have devised a new ...

Study finds new moves in protein's evolution

Highlighting an important but unexplored area of evolution, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found evidence that, over hundreds of millions of years, an essential protein has evolved chiefly by changing ...

It takes a(n academic) village to determine an enzyme's function

Scientists have sequenced the genomes of nearly 6,900 organisms, but they know the functions of only about half of the protein-coding genes thus far discovered. Now a multidisciplinary effort involving 15 scientists from ...

Twenty-year protein mystery solved with surprising results

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study of the CRYM protein, previously connected with deafness and cancer, has now proven that it has an enzymatic function. This opens up new implications for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric ...

Body clock regulates metabolism

(PhysOrg.com) -- UC Irvine researchers have discovered that circadian rhythms - our own body clock - regulate energy levels in cells. The findings have far-reaching implications, from providing greater insights into the bond ...

Chemists slide a splitting catalyst over DNA for the first time

Chemists from Nijmegen, The Netherlands, have developed a catalyst that binds to DNA, slides over it and splits the molecule in particular places. The researchers were able to do this by synthetically modifying a natural ...

Fundamental discovery casts enzymes in new light

Just as a breeze causes leaves, branches and ultimately the tree to move, enzymes moving at the molecular level perform hundreds of chemical processes that have a ripple effect necessary for life. Protein complexes are often ...

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