The bacterium E. coli is the workhorse of the molecular biology lab. The biotechnology industry has grown up around using this common bacterium, an intestinal bacterium common to warm blooded animals, to multiply or expand a sequence or segment of…
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How Are Fatty Acids Formed Into Lipids? Lipids are formed in the body through a process known as esterification; a reaction where an acid and an alcohol combine to form an ester. In this reaction, the alcohol is always glycerol. …
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Molecular dynamics is a tool for simulating the interactions between atoms or molecules. It utilizes basic Newtonian physics, by treating bonds and angles as springs, to approximate the motions of molecular structures. Because it is computational, it allows researchers to…
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Proteins are extremely large molecules made up of smaller amino acid chains. Most proteins can contain up to three hundred amino acids although there are some which are much smaller, and a few much larger. Because amino acids often contain…
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Amino acids are the building blocks of all proteins. Living cells use 20 specific amino acids in their proteins although a few others, e.g. GABA, serve other functions such as acting as neurotransmitters. Rather than concentrate on the properties of amino…
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A chromosome is basically a specific strand of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) that is tightly coiled up into into an individual package rather than the long strand form that it is usually found as. Chromosomes are found in the nucleus of…
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Stem Cells- A Moral Dilemma The world we live in is an era of constant discovery. Science has made many groundbreaking discoveries capable of vastly contributing to the world around us, from splitting atoms to manufacturing vaccines for some of…
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Marsupials are one of three broad groups in which mammals are classified, the other two being placental mammals and egg-laying mammals. The term comes from the Greek word for pouch on account of the fact that certain members of this…
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Enzymes are proteins that enable or increase the rate of chemical reactions in the body. But where are they produced and how do they work? They work as catalysts in a chemical reaction and that means that they get involved…
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Mammals and thermo-regulation Mammals are a class of animals which belongs to vertebrates who breathe air and is characterized by the presence of mammary glands in their females and sweat glands and hair in both genders. Humans are also part…
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