Chemistry posts
- February 24, 2013
- 07:14 AM
- 209 views
Memantine and autism
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
As part of their review of autism research in 2012, the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (shortened to the very catchy SFARI) had an interesting blogpost on all things drug development with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in mind.It was an interesting entry insofar as they had categorised the various medicines potentially indicated for some of the symptoms of ASD according to the stage of drug development including some formulations that have previously been fodder for this blog........ Read more »
Chez MG, Burton Q, Dowling T, Chang M, Khanna P, & Kramer C. (2007) Memantine as adjunctive therapy in children diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorders: an observation of initial clinical response and maintenance tolerability. Journal of child neurology, 22(5), 574-9. PMID: 17690064
- February 19, 2013
- 03:20 AM
- 210 views
Why Do Most Tomatoes Taste So Bland?
by Andrew Porterfield in United Academics
Have you ever noticed that buying a tomato (or a number of other fruits and vegetables) that has anything resembling taste can be very difficult? It’s not just because it’s winter. Most tomatoes sold in supermarkets are bred to be bland, and some scientists are trying to find a way back to good taste.... Read more »
Tieman D, Bliss P, McIntyre LM, Blandon-Ubeda A, Bies D, Odabasi AZ, Rodríguez GR, van der Knaap E, Taylor MG, Goulet C.... (2012) The chemical interactions underlying tomato flavor preferences. Current biology : CB, 22(11), 1035-9. PMID: 22633806
- February 18, 2013
- 07:37 PM
- 213 views
Amino acids and autism in China
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
Many happy returns @ Paul WhiteleyQuestioning Answers is 2 years old today (19th February 2013). Happy Birthday to 'me', or should that be 'it'?Still a relative newcomer to the blogosphere but still churning out posts on all things autism research and beyond. Just in case you thought that I did actually bake a cake for the occasion, I didn't. But if I had have done (and yes a man can make a cake), it would have looked like the cake shown alongside. So please loyal readers, take an imaginary bite........ Read more »
Tu WJ, Chen H, & He J. (2012) Application of LC-MS/MS analysis of plasma amino acids profiles in children with autism. Journal of clinical biochemistry and nutrition, 51(3), 248-9. PMID: 23170055
- February 18, 2013
- 08:36 AM
- 149 views
NCSU Biochemistry is going EXTREME!
by Clay Clark in Biochem Blogs
In our Protein Journal Club this semester, we are studying proteins from extremophiles. As their name suggests, extremophiles are organisms that can survive under extreme conditions. These extreme conditions include acidic or basic environments, severe hot or cold environments, lack of … Continue reading →... Read more »
Aghajari Nushin, Haser Richard, Feller Georges, & Gerday Charles. (1998) Crystal structures of the psychrophilic α-amylase from Alteromonas haloplanctis in its native form and complexed with an inhibitor. Protein Science, 7(6), 1481-1481. DOI: 10.1002/pro.5560070626
Aghajari Nushin, Feller Georges, Gerday Charles, & Haser Richard. (1998) Structures of the psychrophilic Alteromonas haloplanctis α-amylase give insights into cold adaptation at a molecular level. Structure, 6(12), 1503-1516. DOI: 10.1016/S0969-2126(98)00149-X
Feller Georges. (2010) Protein stability and enzyme activity at extreme biological temperatures. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 22(32), 323101. DOI: 10.1088/0953-8984/22/32/323101
Gilis Dimitri. (2006) In Silico Analysis of the Thermodynamic Stability Changes of Psychrophilic and Mesophilic α-Amylases upon Exhaustive Single-Site Mutations. ChemInform, 37(31). DOI: 10.1002/chin.200631215
- February 13, 2013
- 04:32 PM
- 266 views
Dog poo turning green – the power of science
by Cobb & Hecht in Do You Believe In Dog?
Hey Julie,Thanks for the run down on ScienceOnline and ‘Lend a Paw’ month. I completed the survey about my cat’s behaviour, it was quick and easy to do. I also liked your stroking video, but I’ll get back to that later, right now I need to tell you how dog poo (I think you usually say ‘poop’ in the USA?) is turning green.Dog poo is turning greenIt’s turning green and it’s thanks to the power of science. Or perhaps it’s the science of power? It’s easy to ........ Read more »
Miller Rohan, & Howell Gwyneth V.J. (2008) Regulating consumption with bite: Building a contemporary framework for urban dog management. Journal of Business Research, 61(5), 525-531. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2007.07.006
Wells D. L. (2006) Factors Influencing Owners' Reactions to Their Dogs' Fouling. Environment and Behavior, 38(5), 707-714. DOI: 10.1177/0013916505284794
Okoroigwe E.C., Ibeto C.N., & Okpara C.G. (2010) Comparative Study of the Potential of Dog Waste for Biogas Production. Trends in Applied Sciences Research, 5(1), 71-77. DOI: 10.3923/tasr.2010.71.77
Nemiroff Leah. (2007) Design, Testing and Implementation of a Large-Scale Urban Dog Waste Composting Program. Compost Science , 15(4), 237-242. info:other/http://montrealndgdogrun.org/image/downloads/compost studies.pdf
- February 6, 2013
- 10:21 AM
- 293 views
Birds, Vitamin E, and the Race Against Time: A Guest Post
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
By Alyssa DeRubeis The long and tapered wings on this young Peregrine Falcon means it was built for some serious speed! Photo by Alyssa DeRubeis.Maybe you’ve been put under the false assumption that humans are cool. Don’t get me wrong; our bodies can do some pretty neat physiological stuff. But I’m gonna burst your bubble: humans are lame. Just think of how fast we can run compared to a Peregrine Falcon in a full stoop: 27 MPH versus 242 MPH. Keep thinking about all the cool things birds c........ Read more »
Møller, A., Biard, C., Karadas, F., Rubolini, D., Saino, N., & Surai, P. (2011) Maternal effects and changing phenology of bird migration. Climate Research, 49(3), 201-210. DOI: 10.3354/cr01030
Møller AP, Erritzøe J, & Karadas F. (2010) Levels of antioxidants in rural and urban birds and their consequences. Oecologia, 163(1), 35-45. PMID: 20012100
Cohen, A., McGraw, K., & Robinson, W. (2009) Serum antioxidant levels in wild birds vary in relation to diet, season, life history strategy, and species. Oecologia, 161(4), 673-683. DOI: 10.1007/s00442-009-1423-9
- February 4, 2013
- 05:29 PM
- 232 views
7,000 years of cheese!
by sedeer in Inspiring Science
Cheese may be a gourmet’s delight and a major industry these days, but it was probably originally just a good …Continue reading »... Read more »
Salque, M., Bogucki, P., Pyzel, J., Sobkowiak-Tabaka, I., Grygiel, R., Szmyt, M., & Evershed, R. (2012) Earliest evidence for cheese making in the sixth millennium bc in northern Europe. Nature, 493(7433), 522-525. DOI: 10.1038/nature11698
Evershed, R., Payne, S., Sherratt, A., Copley, M., Coolidge, J., Urem-Kotsu, D., Kotsakis, K., Özdoğan, M., Özdoğan, A., Nieuwenhuyse, O.... (2008) Earliest date for milk use in the Near East and southeastern Europe linked to cattle herding. Nature, 455(7212), 528-531. DOI: 10.1038/nature07180
- February 3, 2013
- 05:34 PM
- 127 views
Antiepileptic exposure and offspring autism risk
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
The great autism research spotlight continues to focus its gazerbeam on the very earliest days of being for any clues governing why some children might go on to develop autism. I've kinda lost count of how many times I've talked about maternal exposure for this or that having been linked to an elevated risk of offspring autism; ranging from maternal inflammation to parental occupational exposure to the possibility that maternal medication history during pregnancy might singularly or cumulatively........ Read more »
Bromley, R., Mawer, G., Briggs, M., Cheyne, C., Clayton-Smith, J., Garcia-Finana, M., Kneen, R., Lucas, S., Shallcross, R., Baker, G.... (2013) The prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders in children prenatally exposed to antiepileptic drugs. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery . DOI: 10.1136/jnnp-2012-304270
- February 1, 2013
- 06:24 AM
- 184 views
Acyl-carnitine profiles and autism
by Paul Whiteley in Questioning Answers
No doubt alongside quite a few others, I was interested to read the latest paper from Richard Frye and colleagues* (open-access) discussing the potential links between an animal model of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and real-world ASD in a particular cohort of participants.This is not the first time that I've talked about (a) the work of Dr Frye - as per my [don't panic] post on folate receptor autoantibodies in cases of autism (see here) and (b) some of the difficulties attached to translatin........ Read more »
Frye RE, Melnyk S, & Macfabe DF. (2013) Unique acyl-carnitine profiles are potential biomarkers for acquired mitochondrial disease in autism spectrum disorder. Translational psychiatry. PMID: 23340503
- January 29, 2013
- 07:31 PM
- 42 views
Microstructure of Film Coated Tablets
by Axel Zeitler in Pharmaceutical Solid State Research Cluster (PSSRC)
Since 2007 when terahertz pulsed imaging (TPI) was first developed to non-destructively measure the coating thickness of pharmaceutical tablets there has been intense research in the PSSRC into how this technique can help improve the quality of pharmaceutical coatings and thus make controlled release technology based on coatings of single dosage forms attractive to industry.... Read more »
Zeitler, J., Shen, Y., Baker, C., Taday, P., Pepper, M., & Rades, T. (2007) Analysis of coating structures and interfaces in solid oral dosage forms by three dimensional terahertz pulsed imaging. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 96(2), 330-340. DOI: 10.1002/jps.20789
Brock, D., Zeitler, J., Funke, A., Knop, K., & Kleinebudde, P. (2012) A comparison of quality control methods for active coating processes. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 439(1-2), 289-295. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2012.09.021
- January 25, 2013
- 10:47 AM
- 229 views
How to Cross the Deep Sea: Stepping Stones of Mollusk Poop
by Elizabeth Preston in Inkfish
The seafloor has no shortage of spiky wildlife or hairy mysteries. One such mystery is logistical: where do the animals that live around deep-sea vents and cold seeps come from?
On the black and generally barren bottom of the ocean, food is scarce. Hydrothermal vents and cold seeps—places where methane, sulfides and other chemical goodies leak out of the seafloor—are like desert oases. Whole communities of weird creatures that live on these chemicals rather than the sun cluster around t........ Read more »
Bienhold C, Pop Ristova P, Wenzhöfer F, Dittmar T, & Boetius A. (2013) How deep-sea wood falls sustain chemosynthetic life. PloS one, 8(1). PMID: 23301092
- January 24, 2013
- 09:45 PM
- 174 views
Proton’s radius is 4% smaller than the previous estimates of 0.88 femtometers
by Usman Paracha in SayPeople
Scientists have reassured that the proton is 4% smaller than the previous research findings.
This research has been published online in the journal Science.
Although the new research has decreased the weight of the proton but the same new research has increased the chances of finding the new particles and/or forces.
Before 2010, there were only two methods for measuring the size of the proton. One was firing the electron beams at protons and measuring the deflection, and the other metho........ Read more »
Antognini, A., Nez, F., Schuhmann, K., Amaro, F., Biraben, F., Cardoso, J., Covita, D., Dax, A., Dhawan, S., Diepold, M.... (2013) Proton Structure from the Measurement of 2S-2P Transition Frequencies of Muonic Hydrogen. Science, 339(6118), 417-420. DOI: 10.1126/science.1230016
- January 22, 2013
- 05:47 PM
- 164 views
How to Build a Neuron: Step 5
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
And now, the final step in how to build your computational model of a neuron: Add Synaptic Channels. All the steps in this series can be found here.Synapses connect neurons (source)So you already have a neuron, and you've added intrinsic channels to it. The next thing you want to do is add synaptic channels so you can hook this neuron up to other cells.The main synaptic channels you want to add are the excitatory channels: NMDA and AMPA and the inhibitory channel GABA. These channels don't have ........ Read more »
Evans RC, Morera-Herreras T, Cui Y, Du K, Sheehan T, Kotaleski JH, Venance L, & Blackwell KT. (2012) The effects of NMDA subunit composition on calcium influx and spike timing-dependent plasticity in striatal medium spiny neurons. PLoS computational biology, 8(4). PMID: 22536151
- January 22, 2013
- 08:29 AM
- 169 views
Radical Tails: Antioxidants Can Prevent Regeneration
by Jalees Rehman in The Next Regeneration
One of the most important take home messages of this work is that we need get rid of the common “oxidants are bad guys and antioxidants are good guys” myth. Oxidants can be harmful in some context, but they can also serve as important regenerative signals. Indiscriminate use of antioxidants can actually impair these important endogenous signals. Instead of consuming large quantities of non-specific antioxidants, we need to use antioxidants in a very targeted, context-specific and per........ Read more »
Love, N., Chen, Y., Ishibashi, S., Kritsiligkou, P., Lea, R., Koh, Y., Gallop, J., Dorey, K., & Amaya, E. (2013) Amputation-induced reactive oxygen species are required for successful Xenopus tadpole tail regeneration. Nature Cell Biology. DOI: 10.1038/ncb2659
- January 22, 2013
- 04:09 AM
- 199 views
ToxBank: the next generation toxicology
by egonw in Chem-bla-ics
Before I moved to my current position in Maastricht, I had the great pleasure to work with Prof. Roland Grafström (check his pathway bioinformatics done with his then PhD Rebecca) and Prof. Bengt Fadeel at the Karolinska Institutet. During this year I part-time worked on ToxBank and part-time on nano-QSAR, and worked on semantics, predictive toxicology, and Open Data. This blog post is about the ToxBank work.
I promised firework, and the first rockets are heading upw........ Read more »
Kohonen, P., Benfenati, E., Bower, D., Ceder, R., Crump, M., Cross, K., Grafström, R., Healy, L., Helma, C., Jeliazkova, N.... (2013) The ToxBank Data Warehouse: Supporting the Replacement of In Vivo Repeated Dose Systemic Toxicity Testing. Molecular Informatics. DOI: 10.1002/minf.201200114
- January 21, 2013
- 05:59 PM
- 164 views
Flying bacteria: the chemists of the clouds
by sedeer in Inspiring Science
A while ago I wrote about how bacteria make their way into clouds, where they act as seeds around which …Continue reading »... Read more »
Vaitilingom, M., Deguillaume, L., Vinatier, V., Sancelme, M., Amato, P., Chaumerliac, N., & Delort, A. (2012) Potential impact of microbial activity on the oxidant capacity and organic carbon budget in clouds. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(2), 559-564. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1205743110
- January 21, 2013
- 04:50 PM
- 236 views
Four-stranded ‘quadruple helix’ DNA structure proven to exist in human cells
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
In 1953, Cambridge researchers Watson and Crick published a paper describing the interweaving ‘double helix’ DNA structure – the chemical code for all life.
Now, in the year of that scientific landmark’s 60thAnniversary, Cambridge researchers have published a paper proving that four-stranded ‘quadruple helix’ DNA structures – known as G-quadruplexes – also exist within the human genome. They form in regions of DNA that are rich in the building b........ Read more »
Fred Lewsey. (2013) Four-stranded ‘quadruple helix’ DNA structure proven to exist in human cells. University of Cambridge. info:/
- January 20, 2013
- 01:30 PM
- 249 views
New Key to Organism Complexity Identified
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
The enormously diverse complexity seen amongst individual species within the animal kingdom evolved from a surprisingly small gene pool. For example, mice effectively serve as medical research models because humans and mice share 80-percent of the same protein-coding genes. The key to morphological and behavioral complexity, a growing body of scientific evidence suggests, is the regulation of gene expression by a family of DNA-binding proteins called “transcription factors.” Now, a t........ Read more »
Lynn Yarris. (2013) New Key to Organism Complexity Identified. Berkeley Lab News Center. info:/
- January 20, 2013
- 12:00 PM
- 261 views
New nanotech fiber: Robust handling, shocking performance
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
Rice University’s latest nanotechnology breakthrough was more than 10 years in the making, but it still came with a shock. Scientists from Rice, the Dutch firm Teijin Aramid, the U.S. Air Force and Israel’s Technion Institute this week unveiled a new carbon nanotube (CNT) fiber that looks and acts like textile thread and conducts electricity and heat like a metal wire. In this week’s issue of Science, the researchers describe an industrially scalable process for making the thre........ Read more »
Jade Boyd. (2013) New nanotech fiber: Robust handling, shocking performance. Rice University News. info:/
- January 19, 2013
- 01:27 PM
- 177 views
LMAYQ: Why do I like that?
by TheCellularScale in The Cellular Scale
Again it is time for me to answer some questions. As always, these are real true 'search terms' that have resulted in some one finding The Cellular Scale. While some questions (like 'how do you build a model of a neuron') are answered by this blog, the ones I answer is these LMAYQ posts are almost certainly not. All the questions and answers in this series can be found in the Let Me Answer Your Questions index.Drawing by Grave Unicorn1. "Why do I like ketamine so much?"This is actually a pretty ........ Read more »
Kapur S, & Seeman P. (2002) NMDA receptor antagonists ketamine and PCP have direct effects on the dopamine D(2) and serotonin 5-HT(2)receptors-implications for models of schizophrenia. Molecular psychiatry, 7(8), 837-44. PMID: 12232776
De Luca MT, & Badiani A. (2011) Ketamine self-administration in the rat: evidence for a critical role of setting. Psychopharmacology, 214(2), 549-56. PMID: 21069515
Swami V, & Tovée MJ. (2012) The impact of psychological stress on men's judgements of female body size. PloS one, 7(8). PMID: 22905153
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