Discussed is the discovery which may help to explain epidermal growth factor effects on the cell skeleton. The role of a protein called profilin in the regulation of the microfilament system is described. (CW)

Comparison of plasma levels of beta-endorphin (BE) found that levels in 8 adult autistic patients were lower than levels in 17 healthy controls, for both morning and evening measurements. Plasma BE concentrations were also significantly lower for 13 developmentally disabled patients than levels for normal controls. (JDD)

Describes the developmental process used to visualize the calcium ATPase enzyme of the sarcoplasmic reticulum which involves evaluating scientific information, consulting scientists, model making, storyboarding, and creating and editing in a computer medium. (Author/CCM)

Reviews papers on problem-based learning that appear in this journal from 1993-2000. (YDS)

Ligand binding is generally explained in terms of the equilibrium constant K[subscript d] for the protein-ligand complex dissociation. However, both theoretical considerations and experimental data point to the life span of the protein-ligand complex as an important, but generally overlooked, aspect of ligand binding by macromolecules. Short-lived…

An experiment using methyle methanethiosulfonate (MMTS) and phenylmethylsulfonyl flouride (PMSF) to specifically modify the cysteine and serine residues in the active sites of papain and subtilism respectively is demonstrated. The covalent modification of these enzymes and subsequent rescue of papain shows the beginning biochemist that proteins…

Tobacco is one crop that accumulates cadmium, making smokers susceptible to higher levels of the metal in their bodies. The findings suggest that even a low-level exposure to a heavy metal like cadmium is likely to cause a change in the functions of neurons in the brain and the behavioral response to drugs of abuse.

A convenient, inexpensive, environment friendly, and regioselective conversion of an aziridine to an oxazolidinone is developed by using iodide salt and CO[2] in water. A description is provided, on the way in which this series of experiments will show students how to change experimental conditions to obtain mainly one desired regiosomer of a…

Antimicrobial textiles can be categorized into two groups, biocidal and biostatic materials, according to their functions. Biostatic functions refer to inhibiting growth of microorganisms on textiles and preventing the materials from biodegradation and biocidal materials are able to kill microorganisms, thus eliminating their growth, sterilizing…

The development of enzymes as biocatalysts for industrial use and the emergence of directed evolution in the invention of advanced biocatalysts are discussed and illustrated. Thus, directed evolution has bridged the functional gap between natural and specially designed biocatalysts.

The neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) has been accorded an important role in supporting learning and memory processes in the hippocampus. Cholinergic activity in the hippocampus is correlated with memory, and restoration of ACh in the hippocampus after disruption of the septohippocampal pathway is sufficient to rescue memory. However, selective…

Cyclic AMP pathway plays an essential role in formation of long-term memory (LTM). In some species, the nitric oxide (NO)-cyclic GMP pathway has been found to act in parallel and complementary to the cAMP pathway for LTM formation. Here we describe a new role of the NO-cGMP pathway, namely, stimulation of the cAMP pathway to induce LTM. We have…

In many regions of the brain, including the mammalian cortex, the strength of synaptic transmission can be bidirectionally regulated by cortical activity (synaptic plasticity). One line of evidence indicates that long-term synaptic potentiation (LTP) and long-term synaptic depression (LTD), correlate with the phosphorylation/dephosphorylation of…

Previous findings indicate that the noradrenergic, dopaminergic, and cholinergic innervations of the basolateral amygdala (BLA) modulate memory consolidation. The current study investigated whether memory enhancement induced by post-training intra-BLA infusions of a [beta]-adrenergic or muscarinic cholinergic agonist requires concurrent activation…

This report describes the effects of making audio podcasts of all lectures in a large, basic biochemistry course promptly available to students. The audio podcasts complement a previously described approach in which a tablet PC is used to annotate PowerPoint slides with digital ink to produce electronic notes that can be archived. The fundamentals…