Discovery of an Enzyme May Help Create Better Biofuel

Article: http://www.news.wisc.edu/22033

Aug. 15, 2013 

This article describes how people thought they understood how plants created lignin, a compound that helps plants have structure.  Researchers discovered a gene in plants that helps create an enzyme that is key to lignin synthesis, or putting together lignin compounds.  John Ralph, a professor of biochemistry and biological systems engineering, said "This is the first new gene in the [lignin] pathway that's been discovered in ten years."  The enzyme caffeoyl, shikimate, esterase, or CSE that the gene produces is important in the creation of lignin.  When scientists grew mutant plants without the gene, the amount of lignin dropped by 36%.  If the plant has less lignin, then it would be easier to break down and therefore be a better biofuel.  By manipulating this gene, scientists will most likely be able to create a better biofuel than before.  

This relates to biology class because it shows how enzymes affect living organisms-- what we studied.        

Energy for Runnning

http://www.runningforfitness.org/book/chapter-7-eating-drinking-and-running/energy-while-running

Author: Owen Barder

Source: Running for Fitness Blog

Date: Dec 2013

This article explains how your body breaks down/burns energy for extended periods of strenuous exercise, like, in the case of the article the running a marathon.

Barder explains how, as we learned in class, our energy comes from three major macromolecules: carbohydrates, lipids, and sometimes proteins. Running, which is an aerobic activity, burns mostly carbohydrates and lipids. Low intensity running begins by burning mostly fat, but as the intensity goes up, so does the amount of carbohydrates burned. These two macromolecules do not store/burn energy in the same way though, which has led runners to develop strategy for storing and relaeasing energy in the most efficient way possible.  

Throughout the post, Barder discusses tips and strategies like “carbo-loading" which is where runners eat a lot of carbohydrates the night before a marathon so their stores of carbohydrates. He also explains the importance long, slow training runs which teach the body to rely on lipids for a longer period time of exercise instead of glycogen (a carbohydrate), a more limited source. He also discusses how and when to get energy during long runs in the context of the carbohydrate capacity of the blood. By using Barder's scientific strategies, runners can perform their best.

ribozymes

http://exploringorigins.org/ribozymes.html

This Article is about ribozymes. In class we have been studying enzymes and their application in the human body. Enzymes act as a catalyst. It allows for 2 substances to mix easier without affecting the output materials. There are tons of different types of enzymes and each one breaks down a different substance. The one similarity? They are all proteins. Proteins are building blocks in your body. They are the stuff that does stuff. Not all proteins are enzymes. Some proteins are muscles, or bones, or other organs. For a long time, scientists thought that proteins were the only thing that did applications in your body, but they were debunked by 2 scientists named Sidney Altman and Thomas Cech. These two proposed that ribosomes could break down other materials as well as proteins. These scientists found that some RNA as catalytic properties and can act like an enzyme. These were called Ribozymes.
Ribozymes aren't more powerful or more common than normal enzymes, but it's interesting how a ribosome, which is used to make proteins, actually can do some of the same stuff.

Cellular self-destruct has deep roots through evolution

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141016192824.htm

Date: October 16th 2014
Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution (Oxford University Press)

       This article explains the importance of the the protein caspase-8, a protein responsible for triggering the death of a cell in a process known as apoptosis.

       The researchers had taken the protein and triggered it in a variety of animals, the protein had triggered the elaborate death pattern in all of the tests, mammals and non-mammals The protein can be triggered in any animal in the animal kingdom. This shows how the protein functions universally through the evolutionary pathway. It turns out that this protein is important in evolution because it allowed animals to get rid of sick, inefficient or dangerous cells, It also reacts with another protein called FADD. The key protein reaction produced can be observed throughout the animal kingdom too.

      This relates to what we learned in class by covering how animal cells evolved to work the way they do, and shows more detail on how animal cells function.