NASA Experiment Reveals: Life Signs Could Survive Near Surfaces of Enceladus and Europa
NASA researchers have found that amino acids, potential indicators of life, could survive near the surface of Europa and Enceladus, moons of Jupiter and Saturn…
Amino Acid News
An amino acid is an organic compound that serves as the building block for proteins and plays a crucial role in various biological processes. Each amino acid consists of a central carbon atom (alpha carbon), an amino group, a carboxyl group, a hydrogen atom, and a variable side chain or R group that determines the specific characteristics and functions of the amino acid. There are twenty standard amino acids encoded by the genetic code, each differing in their side chain properties, which influence the structure and function of proteins. Amino acids participate in the synthesis of proteins by linking together in a specific sequence through peptide bonds, forming polypeptides, which then fold into functional proteins. They are also involved in other critical roles such as neurotransmitter transport and biosynthesis of other biomolecules.
New Algorithm Enhances Enzyme Performance by Exploiting Evolutionary History
A new enzyme engineering method uses evolutionary data to enhance enzyme performance, promising significant advances in health care and industrial applications. Researchers have developed a…
Scientists Elucidate Key Mechanism to Cell Growth
Researchers at Osaka University uncover the mechanism by which cysteine activates a crucial regulator of cell growth in yeast. Amino acids serve as life’s fundamental…
Princeton Scientists Discover Overlooked Parts of Proteins That Are Critical to Fundamental Functions of Life
Recent research shows that proteins’ intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) are critical for chromatin regulation and gene expression. Mutations in these IDRs affect cellular functions, especially…
Never Before Detected – Organic Molecule Essential for Life Found in Interstellar Space
Tryptophan is among the 20 vital amino acids necessary for protein synthesis, crucial for life’s evolution on Earth. This amino acid has many spectral features…
Scientists Discover Amino Acid Essential for Life in Interstellar Space
Dr. Susana Iglesias-Groth from The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) has used Spitzer space observatory data to uncover signs of the amino acid tryptophan…
Engineers Create Bacteria That Can Synthesize an Unnatural Amino Acid
The results, which have been published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology, lay the groundwork for the future development of unique vaccines and immunotherapies. Amino…
Accelerating Drug Development With New Way of Identifying Proteins
All living cells contain proteins with different functions, depending on the type of cell. Researchers have discovered a way to identify proteins even without looking…
Scientists Discover “A New Way That Biology Works”
Neurons’ signaling can be altered by mirror-image molecules. With the help of some sea slugs, chemists from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have found that one…
Glycine Unmasked: A Game-Changing Discovery in Depression and Anxiety Treatment
Researchers at the Wertheim UF Scripps Institute have found that the amino acid glycine can send a “slow-down” signal to the brain, potentially contributing to…
Ancient Proteins Offer New Clues About the Origin of Life on Earth
Researchers have used laboratory simulations to recreate the conditions of early Earth and have discovered that the evolution of ancient proteins into all forms of…
Unraveling the Origins of the Building Blocks of Life: The Role of Interstellar Clouds
The researchers replicated the conditions of an interstellar cloud and an asteroid to gain a deeper understanding of how carbonaceous chondrites acquired amino acids. A…
MIT Biologists Glean New Insight Into Repetitive Protein Sequences
Computational analysis reveals that many repetitive sequences are shared across proteins and are similar in species from bacteria to humans. Approximately 70 percent of all…
Scientists Discover a Surprising Culprit Worsens Stroke
Neuroscientists make a surprising brain discovery. According to research, a set of amino acids that normally maintain brain function play a crucial role in the…
Scientists Discover That a Certain Nutrient Promotes Anti-Aging
According to the study, the amino acid taurine could be employed in anti-aging therapies. Our cells produce potentially toxic by-products known as “free radicals” when…
Researchers Find That Eating a Certain Protein Is Related to Developing Depression
A new study shows, in humans, mice, and flies, that elevated plasma levels and a diet rich in the amino acid proline cause a more…
Essential Amino Acid Supplements Could Prevent Dementia
Consuming Amino LP7, a specific combination of essential amino acids, could inhibit the development of dementia, shows a study from Japan. Protein intake is known…
Protein’s ‘Silent Code’ Affects How Cells Move – “On a Global, Philosophical Level, This Expands Our Understanding of Genetic Code”
A University of Pennsylvania-led study shows how, despite having nearly identical amino acid sequences, two forms of the protein actin differ in function due to…