molecules

Desmosomes are intercellular adhesions whose adhesive core is formed by two distinct classes of cadherin molecules -- desmogleins and desmocollins. Nekrasova et al. reveal that these two cadherins are independently transported to the cell surface by two different kinesin motors. This biosights episode presents the paper by Nekrasova et al. from the December 26, 2011, issue of The Journal of Cell Biology and includes an interview with senior author Kathleen Green (Northwestern University...

What’s it really like to be an engineer or a scientist? What do they really do all day? You’re about to find out! Meet the next generation of engineers and scientists in these profiles of young professionals, who may just inspire you to join them. Rommie Amaro tells us what it’s like to be a biophysical chemist.

Olympic athletes have long worn special competition clothing to gain an edge. Science and technology continue to improve on what they wear. Hear from Olympians Chad Hedrick, Steve Holcomb and Erin Hamlin, and Melissa Hines, the director of the Cornell University Center for Materials Research, about how the latest in competition suits will go to work for Team USA in Vancouver.

San Diego State University chemistry professor Andy Cooksy and CyberBridge help bridge the understanding of molecules to Castle Park Middle School students. Through an interactive computer program, students study the structure of molecules and then recreate them using gumdrops and toothpicks.

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George Church (Harvard University) keynote talk for DOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI) '09 Church elaborates on the future direction and development of genomic sequensing and reducing the cost of genomic research, while increasing the efficiency and possibilities, inclusive of developing multivirus resistance genomes. User Meeting on March 26, 2009, with introduction by Len Pennacchio (JGI). George Church (Harvard University) keynote talk for DOE JGI '09 User Meeting on March 26, 2009, with...

Comprehensive characterization of genomic composition in environmental microbial samples has been challenging, because the majority of microorganisms are difficult to culture. Additional challenges include a high degree of genetic diversity between and within species, various level of relative abundance and ubiquitous presence of cell-free DNA. Single cells or single molecules genomic assays hold great promise for tackling these challenges. Recent progresses in the developments of these...

The FLUX CAPACITOR : next generation sequencing technologies provide an unprecedented capacity for surveying the nucleic acid content of cells. This profound sequencing depth may allow in particular for exhaustively sequencing through the large dyanimc range of RNA abundances in the cell, overcoming limitations imposed by current (random) clone selection approaches. However, the very short reads produced by the most cost-effective such technologies make the reconstruction of complete RNA...

An overview of the process of photosynthesis and the biology of plants - function, reproduction and life.

A demosntration of Protein synthesis expressed through dance. The film was directed in 1971 by Robert Alan Weiss for the Department of Chemistry of Stanford University and narrated by Paul Berg, a 1980 Nobel Prize winner for Chemistry. It is imprinted with the "free love" aura of the period, and continues to be shown in biology classes today. It has inspired a series of similar funny attempts at vulgarizing protein synthesis.