-
2 months ago | 
asbmb.org | Andrea Lius
Protein kinases, enzymes that add phosphate groups to other proteins, are often dysregulated in diseases. This makes kinase inhibitors popular drugs, although they often target things they aren’t supposed to. To mitigate these off-target effects, scientists like Paul Shapiro are finding ways to target specific functions of a kinase, rather than inhibiting the whole enzyme.
Shapiro was the first speaker on ASBMB Breakthroughs, a new webinar series highlighting research from ASBMB journals.
-
2 months ago | 
asbmb.org | Andrea Lius
My Ph.D. advisor often likens to the pursuit of knowledge to “standing on the shoulders of giants” — the giants being years, decades and centuries’ worth of scientists and their findings that came before us.
When I started my Ph.D. program, I wanted to be a giant. Rather, I believed that I should want to be a giant. Over the years, I tried to dream up the kind of fantasy land that I — as a future giant — would roam around.
“Just pick a kinase,” I thought.
-
Jan 14, 2025 | 
asbmb.org | Andrea Lius
The Paleolithic diet mimics what human ancestors ate before the advent of agriculture. Doctors often prescribe this low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet for their prediabetic patients to help manage weight and glucose levels.
A recent study by Pierre Maechler’s group at the University of Geneva, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, investigated the role of the liver enzyme glutamate dehydrogenase, or GDH, in short-term adaptation to a high-protein diet.
-
Dec 13, 2024 | 
the-scientist.com | Andrea Lius
Attachment of a bacterial protein to the tips of phage tails produces non-infectious, tailless phages. Microbiologists have studied bacterial defense mechanisms against phages for decades.
-
Dec 2, 2024 | 
asbmb.org | Andrea Lius
As a child, Andre Nussenzweig did everything he could to avoid going into science. Both his parents were scientists, and so were many of his relatives. He really wanted to do something different, and his favorite activity was basketball.
“I’m still obsessed with the sports,” Nussenzweig said.
-
Nov 8, 2024 | 
asbmb.org | Andrea Lius
Young proteins are more likely to be degraded. Full automation speeds up sample preparation. Proteomics sheds light on cancer immune suppression. Read about recent papers on these topics published in the journal Molecular & Cellular Proteomics.
The lifetime of proteins spans a wide range from minutes to months. Proteins involved in cell signaling typically turn over quickly to relay time-sensitive information.
-
Oct 29, 2024 | 
asbmb.org | Andrea Lius
The world’s eyes were on Paris earlier this year as the city scrambled to meet a lofty goal: cleaning up the Seine River in time for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Swimming was banned in the Seine for over a century because of how dirty it is, but the French government recently spent over $1 billion to build a giant underground reservoir, known as the basin of Austerlitz, to prevent wastewater from going directly into the river during periods of heavy rainfall.
-
Sep 24, 2024 | 
asbmb.org | Andrea Lius
Rene Arvola decided to pursue an academic career because she likes working with people. When she thinks about working as an academic researcher, she says she doesn’t picture the “let me work in my tower, leave me alone” that many people do.
“The job of a PI is not just the science,” she said. “It’s to support your trainees to do the best work that they can do. Both as people and as scientists. The idea of working with students has always appealed to me.
-
Aug 8, 2024 | 
asbmb.org | Andrea Lius
I was halfway through my junior year of high school when I moved to the United States. When people found out that I wasn’t from here, they’d cock their heads, amused.
“But your English is perfect — you have no accent.”
I’d blush, beaming with pride, thinking, “I just got here, and they already think I belong. How about that?”
Then they’d ask me if I grew up speaking the language.
“No,” I told them, “I just watch a lot of movies and listen to a lot of songs in English.
-
Aug 8, 2023 | 
bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com | Andrea Lius |William A. Altemeier |Dowon An |Maria Kulecka |Oleg Denisenko |Daniel Mar | +5 more
Cell lines and treatmentHuman kidney HEK293 cell lines were grown in DMEM supplemented with glutamine, penicillin, streptomycin, and 10% fetal bovine serum in round-bottom 96-well polystyrene plates at density ~ 200,000 cells per well. For time-point experiments, cells were serum-deprived (0.1% FBS) overnight and at specific time points were treated with either 10% FBS or PBS as we described previously [1].
