The generally accepted method to determine iron content in food is by acid digestion or dry ashing and subsequent flame atomic absorption spectrometry or inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. We have developed an experiment that chemically extracts the iron from an egg yolk and quantifies it using UV-vis absorption…

In this article I review one of the most significant accomplishments of Frank H. Westheimer, one of the most respected chemists of the 20th century. This accomplishment was a series of stereospecific enzymatic oxidation and reduction experiments that led chemists to recognize what we now call the enantiotopic and diastereotopic relationships of…

Previously acquired aversive and appetitive memories are not stable and permanent. The reactivation of such memories by re-exposure to training stimuli renders them vulnerable to disruption by amnestic agents such as the noncompetitive N-methyl-"D"-aspartate receptor antagonist (+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-"SH"-dibenzo{a,d}cyclohepten-5,10imine…

Plant-derived phenolic compounds such as those found in red wine, tea, and certain fruit juices may protect against cardiovascular disease by detoxifying (scavenging) superoxide and other unstable reactive oxygen species. We present a laboratory exercise that can be used to assess the superoxide-scavenging capacity of beverages. Among the…

Developmental differences in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis responsiveness to stressors and ongoing development of glucocorticoid-sensitive brain regions in adolescence suggest that similar to the neonatal period of ontogeny, adolescence may also be a sensitive period for programming effects of stressors on the central nervous system.…

This study examined the historical performance of students at Michigan State University in a two-part biochemistry series Biochem I (n = 5,900) and Biochem II (n = 5,214) for students enrolled from 1997 to 2009. Multiple linear regressions predicted 54.9-87.5% of the variance in student from Biochem I grade and 53.8-76.1% of the variance in…

Although academic achievement is a heritable construct, to date research has yet to explore its molecular genetic underpinnings. Drawing on data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the current longitudinal study investigated the associations between polymorphisms in three dopaminergic genes (DAT1, DRD2, and DRD4) and…

The relation of stress hormones and activity in stress response systems to the development of aspects of cognition and behavior important for educational achievement and attainment is examined from the perspective of the developmental psychobiological model. It is proposed that research in neuroendocrinology supports three general conclusions,…

Background: Although adolescent major depressive disorder (MDD) is acknowledged to be a heterogeneous disorder, no studies have reported on biological correlates of its clinical subgroups. This study addresses this issue by examining whether adolescent MDD with and without melancholic features (M-MDD and NonM-MDD) have distinct biological features…

Quality of mothering relies on the integrity of multiple physiological and behavioral systems and on two maternal factors, one proximal and one distal, that have a great impact on how a mother mothers: postpartum depression and early experiences. To mother appropriately requires the action of systems that regulate sensation, perception, affect,…

We report successfully integrating webinar and blogging into an undergraduate chemistry and biochemistry seminar course. Commercial collaboration software linked speaker-operated slides with two-way voice and video effectively connecting the audience and presenter from different states. Student responses to the technology and seminar content were…

The teaching of biochemistry within medical disciplines presents certain challenges; firstly to relay a large body of complex facts and abstract concepts, and secondly to motivate students that this relatively difficult topic is worth their time to study. Here, nutrient biochemistry was taught within a multidisciplinary module as part of an…

The partnership between a K-12 teacher (Culligan), an NSF GK-12 Teaching Fellow graduate student (Bearden), and a Louisiana Tech faculty member (Mainardi) collaborating in a research and education project is described in this work. The unique grouping of these three researchers allows for maximum dissemination of developed modules. By the end of…

Most general biochemistry textbooks present enzyme inhibition by showing how the basic Michaelis-Menten parameters K[subscript m] and V[subscript max] are affected mathematically by a particular type of inhibitor. This approach, while mathematically rigorous, does not lend itself to understanding how inhibition patterns are used to determine the…

Melting temperatures of oligonucleotides are useful for a number of molecular biology applications, such as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Although melting temperatures are often calculated with simplistic empirical equations, application of thermodynamics provides more accurate melting temperatures and an opportunity for students to apply…