Linker in Biological News

UC San Diego engineer provides insights to decades-old DNA squabble

... along the chain lie side by side on the chromatin fiber also and thus the linker DNA connecting the two needs to maintain a highly bent conformation. Other ... on the chain actually lie on opposite sides of the fiber such that the linker DNA is straight. (The nucleosome is the basic unit of chromatin that ...

Flexible neck in cell-receptor DC-SIGN targets more pathogens

... to adapt to the target surface and maximize the bond. This 5 nanometer conformational change is binding-induced, and made possible by a flexible linker in the neck, the researchers report. "The protein neck region acts as a stiff, but flexible, rod that projects the molecule's binding sites away ...

'Disordered' amino acids may really be there to provide wiggle room for signaling protein

... work. That is, it allows the PDZ binding module to "bite" its own ezrin-binding tail, effectively shutting the protein down. "The flexibility of the linker and its tendency to be more or less disordered are critical for regulating the balance between internal ("autoinhibitory") forces and external ...

Nanoneedle is small in size, but huge in applications

... gold. Molecular cargo is then attached to the gold surface via "linker" molecules. When placed in a cell's cytoplasm or nucleus, the bonds with the linker molecules break, freeing the cargo. With a diameter of approximately 50 nanometers, the nanoneedle introduces minimal intrusiveness in penetrating ...

NYU chemists use computer simulation to enhance understanding of DNA transcription

... and her colleagues, these results revealed that in a low-salt environment, linker DNAs in the array were repelled, preventing array folding and resulting in a bead-like structure. However, under high-salt conditions, screening of linker DNA repulsion allows close contacts and attraction between nucleosomes, ...

Scientists identify molecular cause for one form of deafness

... Filamentous actin (F-actin) is a rod-like protein that provides structural framework in living cells. F-actin is organized into bundles by espin, a linker protein found in sensory cells, including cochlear hair cells. Genetic mutations in espin's F-actin binding sites are linked to deafness in mice and ...

Nanoparticle assembly enters the fast lane

... can greatly slow the assembly process. In the Brookhaven study, researchers introduced partially rigid, double-stranded DNA, which forces interacting linker segments of DNA to extend away from the gold surface, allowing for more efficient assembly. "By using properties of DNA, we can increase ...

ASU researchers 'wire' DNA to identify mutations

... simple setup. You just bring two electrodes together, separate them apart, make the measurement and repeat." In the technique, chemical linker groups that form a tight bond with gold electrodes are attached to the ends of DNA. A drop of a DNA solution is then placed between the two ...

'Smart' nanoprobes light up disease

... steadily returned. Ultimately, the researchers hope to pair a series of quantum dots, each with a unique NIR optical signature, to an index of linker proteases. "There is currently a critical need for methods to simultaneously image the activity of multiple proteases in vivo," said Drezek. "This ...

Quantum dots provide a faster, more sensitive method for detecting respiratory viral infections

... dots are available in a dozen different colors, and antibodies specific to the other four respiratory viruses have been identified and can be used as linker molecules. Such a test would be able to diagnose more than 90 percent of all the cases of viral respiratory infection, he says. The existence of ...

Engineers improve plastic's potential for use in implants by linking it to biological material

... a stable attachment between polypyrrole and biological molecules that T59 would be used to link to. Schmidt's laboratory intends to study T59 as a linker to other molecules in the future, possibly including vascular endothelial growth factor, which stimulates the growth of new blood vessels. In ...

Chemists identify immune system mechanism for methamphetamine binges

... are usually produced only in response to large molecule invaders such as proteins, not to small drug molecules," Janda says. "Glycation acts like a linker that allows [the methamphetamine] to be displayed to the immune system, triggering a vaccine-like reaction." Just as a vaccine is able to remove ...