Recombinant Protein News

Why moths make sexy friends

Researchers showed that tobacco budworm moth (Heliothis virescens) females hang out with the more attractive moths from their species. In insects, attraction is determined by the levels of pheromones released by the moth. So while the mates arrive on the scene after being attracted to the pheromones released by "sexier" females, the plainer females can take advantage and get their own eggs fertilized in the fray.

Sexy females help 'Plain Jane' moths snag their mates. Elizabeth Pennisi, Science, 2017. 10.1126/science.aap7860

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Ecstasy declared a "breakthrough therapy" to cure PTSD

The first study that analyzed the use of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) or, "ecstasy", was published by Mithoefer et al. in 2011. This was followed by phase II trials. Overall, about a hundred people suffering from PTSD for an average of about 18 years were studied. After a year, about 61 of the 90 remaining participants no longer had PTSD. FDA has not cleared way for phase III trials, and the trial methodologies are being evaluated.

Kai Kupferschmidt. All clear for the decisive trial of ecstasy in PTSD patients. By Aug. 26, 2017 doi:10.1126/science.aap7739

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This hands-free instrument lets you compose music with thoughts

Deuel et al. developed a novel instrument called an encephalophone which can be used to synthesize music using the blinking of eyes by visual cortex signaling and the posterior dominant rhythm (PDR). The instrument can also be controlled by thoughts using mu rhythms. Novice individuals were able to play music using both methods, with the accuracy of notes about 67% by PDR signaling and 57% by mu signaling. The accuracy was better when the instruments was played by individuals with musical training. Due to the easy of use for novice users, the encephalophone is an advance over the other such instruments made previously, and could be helpful for rehabilitation of individuals with motor function disabilities.

Thomas A. Deuel, Juan Pampin, Jacob Sundstrom and Felix Darvas. The Encephalophone: A Novel Musical Biofeedback Device using Conscious Control of Electroencephalogram (EEG). Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 201, Volume 11. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00213

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How CRISPR was used to encode and replicate a movie in living bacteria

Scientists recently encoded a primitive movie into bacterial DNA. But how exactly did they do it? They tried two strategies- a rigid strategy (hand ^R), where a different base specified each of the four pixel colors, and a flexible strategy (hand ^F), where a nucleotide triplet code specified 21 possible pixel colors. The hand ^F technique reproduced the movie more accurately, and was more error-free with low sample numbers. Various sets of sequences containing the pixel information nucleotides and PAM sequence were electroporated into bacteria expressing the Cas1-Cas2 integrase system. The movie was completed by sequential addition of pixel information. The study paves way for new research encoding more complex information scaffolds into the genetic material, and using living materials as molecular recorders of information.

Seth L. Shipman, Jeff Nivala, Jeffrey D. Macklis & George M. Church. CRISPR–Cas encoding of a digital movie into the genomes of a population of living bacteria. Nature, 2017. doi:10.1038/nature23017

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Ancient origin of domestic cats

Genetic analysis shows that cats were domesticated around 6500 BC. The data indicates that the African wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica) may have been ancestral to most species for domesticated cats. Due to their ability to keep out rodents in order to preserve food stocks, cats were adopted and moved by farmers and traders to different parts of the world. Soon after, they gained popularity as pets in Egypt, and ancient DNA was recovered from mummified cats. The genetic data also shows that earlier cats had a mackeral, or striped pattern much like the one seen in old Egyptian murals. The blotched tabby pattern appeared later in their evolution, around 1300 AD.

Claudio Ottoni, Wim Van Neer, Bea De Cupere, Julien Daligault, Silvia Guimaraes et al. (2017) The palaeogenetics of cat dispersal in the ancient world. Nature Ecology & Evolution 1, Article number: 0139 (2017) doi:10.1038/s41559-017-0139

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The data indicates that the African wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica) may have been ancestral to most species for cats that moved with anthropogenic dispersal. Due to the central location of Egypt as a trade center, farmers, traders and merchants started domesticating cats to keep out rodents to preserve food stocks. Cats gained popularity as pets here, although it is not known if this as a second domestication event compared to one that occurred Near East. The genetic data shows that earlier cats had a mackeral, or striped pattern. The blotched pattern appeared later in the evolution, around 1300 AD.

Conserved motions from birds to arboreal dinosaurs

Using Pacific parrotlets as models, scientists studied the mechanical energy balances when the birds foraged for food. They observed that leg impulses in the birds minimized mechanical energy needed for the motion. The model developed with this study predicts that with a single proto-wingbeat, arboreal dinosaurs could have powered a long jump that would enable them to effectively traverse small distances. For both modern day birds and their ancestors, the energy saved by these long jumps would help allocate more energy towards metabolism and reproduction, thus improving survival. This model can also be used to predict and optimize locomotive efficiencies of bimodal robots moving in cluttered spaces.

Diana D. Chin and David Lentink. How birds direct impulse to minimize the energetic cost of foraging flight. Science Advances 2017 Vol. 3, no. 5, e1603041 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1603041

New product launch

GenScript launches over 300 antibodies and conjugates to meet your needs for western blotting, ELISA, IF, IHC, flow cytometry and more! Check out our updated catalog here.

At GenScript, we understand the value of your time. That's why we provide superior quality, one stop-shop products for you to run protein gels fast and then stain them in under ten minutes. Let's make research easy!

The DNA polymerase for all seasons

It's all about the "where" for qRT-PCR data

When analyzing the correlation between mRNA abundance and the translated protein abundance across human tissues, Franks et al. found that post-transcriptional modification had a statistically significant impact. They observed that there was a good correlation when comparing the abundance of disparate mRNAs within the same tissue. But the correlation decreased upon comparing the same mRNA across different tissues due to tissue-specific differences in post-transcriptional modifications.

Franks A, Airoldi E, Slavov N (2017) Posttranscriptional regulation across human tissues. PLoS Comput Biol 13(5): e1005535. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005535

New product launch

GenScript launches over 300 antibodies and conjugates to meet your needs for western blotting, ELISA, IF, IHC, flow cytometry and more! Check out our updated catalog here.

To help you reach cost-effective solutions for high quality PCR, GenScript offers a variety of PCR reagents.

The DNA polymerase for all seasons

Key Features

• Stable at room temperature up to a month
• Stable at 37 °C for up to 14 days
• Enhanced amplification
• Longer enzyme half-life

Connection between metabolic pathways and intelligence?

Human intelligence, in part, is controlled by genetics (inheritability is about 0.54). Sniekers et al. contributed to bring the number of genes known to control intelligence up to 52. What do some of these genes do? The gene FOXO3 is a protein in the insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1 signaling pathway. The gene is associated with oxidative stress response, triggering apoptosis, and has been linked to longevity. Another gene identified, CSE1, is also associated with apoptosis. CSE1 also has a function in regulating cell proliferation. In addition, nine genes influencing intelligence were previously found to have association with schizophrenia and three with Alzheimer's disease. At least nine other genes had some type of a role in regulating neuronal function. Four other genes identified: WNT4, NEGR1, DCC, and SH2B1, were associated with obesity. This study increases interest in the genes shared between metabolic pathways and intelligence.

Sniekers et al. Genome-wide association meta-analysis of 78,308 individuals identifies new loci and genes influencing human intelligence. Nature Genetics (2017) doi:10.1038/ng.3869

New product launch

GenScript launches over 300 antibodies and conjugates to meet your needs for western blotting, ELISA, IF, IHC, flow cytometry and more! Check out our updated catalog here.

To start saving time in your research, explore GenScript's one stop-shop solutions for all your protein purification needs. Let's make research easy!

How synthetic photosynthesis could power future homes

In an innovative research project, Logan et al. used a combination of titanium with organic molecules (N-alkyl-2-aminoterephthalates) to generate light harvesting antennae. The molecules successfully absorbed blue light and reduced CO₂ to form formate and formamide molecules. The novel technology holds promise for sustainable energy production while cleaning up the atmosphere of greenhouse gases. With additional innovation and optimization, the energy produced as a part of this reaction could one day be diverted to additional downstream applications, such as generating electricity for homes.

Matthew W. Logan, Suliman Ayad, Jeremy D. Adamson, Tristan Dilbeck, Kenneth Hanson and Fernando J. Uribe-Romo. Systematic variation of the optical bandgap in titanium based isoreticular metal–organic frameworks for photocatalytic reduction of CO2 under blue light. J. Mater. Chem. A, 2017. DOI: 10.1039/C7TA00437K

New product launch

GenScript launches over 300 antibodies and conjugates to meet your needs for western blotting, ELISA, IF, IHC, flow cytometry and more! Check out our updated catalog here.

Which facial features do babies definitely inherit?

To quantitate the inheritability of different facial features, Tsagkrasoulis et al. developed a novel landmarking procedure using high-resolution 3D photographic imaging and a novel algorithm. Studying about 1,000 female twins, they determined that the chin, inner corners of the eye, the upper lip, the tip of the nose and cheekbones are most strongly inherited. The interactive model displaying the quantitative inheritance potential of different features can be found here https://heritabilitymaps.info/

Dimosthenis Tsagkrasoulis, Pirro Hysi, Tim Spector & Giovanni Montana. Heritability maps of human face morphology through large-scale automated three-dimensional phenotyping. Scientific Reports 7, Article number: 45885 (2017) doi: 10.1038/srep45885

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Crystal formation in space is affected by membrane glycoproteins

Water forms crystals in supercool temperatures. But cellular membranes protect cells from immediately succumbing to the cold. Glycoproteins are one of the antifreeze compounds in biological membranes, attributed to preventing fish from freezing in sub-freezing water. The addition of glycoproteins into water which was then exposed to supercool temperature and microgravity at the International Space Station changed the way ice crystals formed. Contradictory to expectations, ice crystals formed three to five times faster when water contained glycoproteins. However, the faster-formed crystals were small and numerous. These had an overall effect of lowering formation of large crystals, in part explaining the antifreeze function of glycoproteins.

Yoshinori Furukawa, Ken Nagashima, Shun-ichi Nakatsubo, Izumi Yoshizaki, Haruka Tamaru, Taro Shimaoka, Takehiko Sone, Etsuro Yokoyama, Salvador Zepeda, Takanori Terasawa, Harutoshi Asakawa, Ken-ichiro Murata & Gen Sazaki Oscillations and accelerations of ice crystal growth rates in microgravity in presence of antifreeze glycoprotein impurity in supercooled water. Scientific Reports 7, Article number: 43157 (2017) doi:10.1038/srep43157

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Male and female poplar trees have different responses to UV-B stress

As altitudes increase, so does the proportion of the solar ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation that reaches the earth. Alpine trees that grow in high altitudes suffer UV-B radiation-induced damage to their biomolecules and compromising of essential life processes such as photosynthesis, reproduction and seed set. Trees counter this damage by different metabolic responses. Using proteome studies, scientists have found that in response to UV-B, the male trees of Populus cathayana invest more energy towards synthesizing stress-responsive proteins and enzymes for amino acid metabolism. The females, on the other hand, down-regulated their investment into stress-responsive proteins upon UV-B exposure. This results in higher adaptability for male trees in high altitude areas, and a consequently skewed sex ratio compared to the 1:1 ratio found in low altitude areas.

Yunxiang Zhang, Lihua Feng, Hao Jiang, Yuanbin Zhang and Sheng Zhang. Different proteome profiles between male and female Populus cathayana exposed to UV-B Radiation. Frontiers in Plant Science. Vol 8 | Article 320. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2017.00320

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Scientists use CRISPR/Cas9 technology to turn blue-green algae into "cell factories"

Cyanobacteria are the perfect platforms for carbon sequestration into biofuels and other industrially important chemicals. They are photoautotrophic, grow in seawater and offer a virtually unlimited scale-up potential. Generation of foreign metabolites using algae requires the introduction of synthetic enzymes or pathways into the algal genome by genetic transformation. But many marine algae are oligoploid, making them difficult to transform with homogeneity. Scientists now show that the CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome engineering is an effective way to "knock-in" genes into hard to transform algae. Due to the high efficiency of the Cas9 system, scientists from National Tsing Hua University were able to excise multiple locations in the genome of marine algae Synechococcus elongatus simultaneously. After multiple rounds of transformation combined with increasing selective pressure, they observed an accelerated recovery of homogenous recombinants. Further, by using a donor plasmid containing the desired gene cassettes with flanking homologous sequences, the researchers engineered S. elongates strains that sequestered succinate. Succinate is used as a stabilizer in food and pharmaceutical industries and as a precursor in the chemical industry. This development highlights the promise of the CRISPR/Cas9 genome engineering approach to overcome the technical barriers in scientific discovery.

Hung Li, Claire R. Shen, Chun-Hung Huang, Li-Yu Sung, Meng-Ying Wu, Yu-Chen Hu. CRISPR-Cas9 for the genome engineering of cyanobacteria and succinate production. Metabolic Engineering 38, 293–302 (2016) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27693320

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