cytochrome c tagged posts

Whether cells in the human body survive or die under stress depends, among other things, on their mitochondria. Scientists at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Freiburg have now shown that a sudden stop in energy production in mitochondria prevents normal cell death or so-called apoptosis and instead triggers an inflammatory response. The results of this research were published in the journal Immunity.

“We found that mitochondria provide a kind of decision-making aid: they regulate whether a cell undergoes clean, silent apoptosis or releases pro-inflammatory messenger substances,” explains Prof. Dr...

An enzyme was created via directed evolution to make silicon-carbon bonds 15X more efficiently than the best catalysts invented

A new study is the first to show that living organisms can be persuaded to make silicon-carbon bonds – something only chemists had done before. Scientists at Caltech “bred” a bacterial protein to make the humanmade bonds – a finding that has applications in several industries. Molecules with silicon-carbon, or organosilicon, compounds ar

gricultural chemicals, paints, semiconductors, and computer and TV screens. Currently, these products are made synthetically, since the Si-C bonds are not found in nature.

The new study demonstrates biology can be used to manufacture these bonds in ways that are more environmentally friendly and potentially much less expensive...