The function of chemistry within the scope of biology; the study of the compounds that occur, and the reactions involving them, in living organisms.

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Using ion-exchange chromatography to purify DNA from a cell extract - Is DNA more negatively charged then RNA?

When applying this method we have a glass or plastic column of resin which is positively charged. Then we pour cell extract into the column in order to capture the negatively charged particles which ...
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1answer
26 views

Amino acid characteristics that determine their chemical properties?

What chemical aspect of amino acids results in their having different properties such that the chemical and physical properties of polypeptides vary with both amino acid content and amino acid order? ...
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54 views

Can jellyfish improve Black Sea environment?

According to this study, cited by many popular science magazines, jellyfish and other, smaller animals can contribute to the vertical ocean stir as much as currents do. Black Sea chemistry and ...
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0answers
62 views

Pharmacologically, can tricyclic antidepressants have a side-effect profile similar to neuroleptics?

Torticollis (wryneck, cervical dystonia) is a neurologic movement disorder causing involuntary muscle spasms in the neck. Often, neuroleptics can cause such a side effect. I'm wondering if this ...
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0answers
38 views

What causes adenosine build up in the brain when awake?

Adenosine is an important hormone in sleep regulation. It is postulated that when a person is awake, there is a build up of adenosine in the brain, which inhibits the neurons in the brain, and ...
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0answers
16 views

Does Doxylamine have any Influence on the Monoaminergic System?

Does doxylamine have any affects on the monoaminergic system? Specifically I am interested in adrenergic or serotonergic activity but additional information on its dopaminergic activity won't hurt ...
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0answers
22 views

How do you store membrane proteins?

We're producing some membrane proteins and they aren't amenable to freeze thaws even when we add glycerol. The proteins are solubilized in detergent above the cmc so they should be in micelle form in ...
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0answers
35 views

Do humans have chemosensors for nutrients or chemicals?

I'm reading about chemoreceptors on Wikipedia, and see that the typical ones are mentioned: taste, smell, co2. I would like to learn more about the other kinds of chemoreceptors that humans may ...
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63 views

Virucides - Herbal and otherwise, for HHV6 type virus or any inner-cell virus

Does anyone know where I can find a reliable list of virucides (not anti-virus) that can be used by humans? This virucide must be able to affect viruses that are already inside the cells. St John's ...
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0answers
22 views

Relationship between biomass and net primary productivity

I want to do validation on simulated net primary productivity. But I don't have measured NPP data, Eddy covariance flux measurement data. I have only field measurement biomass data. So can I directly ...
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0answers
35 views

How do omega-3 fatty acids reduce cholesterol at the molecular level?

I have heard that omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are a good way to prevent/reduce cholesterol problems. My question is how do omega-3 fatty acids do that: what are they doing on a chemical level ...
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20 views

What is the translation termination efficiency in mammalian cells?

When I express proteins in bacteria I put at least two stop codons at the end of the gene to increase the termination efficiency. Is this the case in eukaryotic cells too? If I put a single stop codon ...
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0answers
16 views

Can the sulphur content of biological material be reliably calculated from fat, fibre and protein contents (Weender Analysis)?

An often-used analysis of feedstocks for lifestocks is the Weender analysis, which basically divides the volatile solid content into fats, fibre and protein, as well as N-free matter. I found no ...
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0answers
29 views

How to wash the column during protein purification with GST tag?

I have been working with GST tagged proteins for the last 4 years and after loading the cell lysate into the column I was washing it with 20-30 column volumes of PBS and sometimes my proteins were ...
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0answers
35 views

Why does trans fat decrease hdl's?

I understand that cis fats increases hdl's, and unsaturated fat increases ldl's, but trans fat increases hdl's and it decreases ldl's. Why does trans fat do this?
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0answers
18 views

Glutamine analysis

I use to run a method to analyse all the aminoacids in a food sample. For that I have to hydrololyse the sample and in the last stage of the method I read the amino acids with a ion exchange ...
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42 views

Solid phase use in HIV rapid tests

I have another question in regards to my HIV test research. The rapid tests like Orasures Oraquick contains a strip of synthetic peptides that are used to represent proteins found in the envelope ...
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0answers
72 views

Is eating salt dangerous for the brain?

I read somewhere that eating a lot of salt will raise blood pressure, which will in turn damage brain tissue. This is because water molecules gather around salt ions, thus making it harder for the ...
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0answers
50 views

When should endocytosis inhibitors be used in cell binding assays?

I'm beginning to do some cell-binding assays and I would like for my proteins to not be endocytosed by my mammalian cells. Typical suggestions are for the cells to be kept on ice and that the binding ...
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0answers
23 views

How do cells slowly degrade 5,5'-dibromo-4,4'-dichloro-indigo?

5,5'-dibromo-4,4'-dichloro-indigo is the product of X-gal cleavage, often used as a reporter with B-galactosidase. I've made the (unreferenced) observation that it seems as though the blue product ...
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0answers
57 views

What are usable Sum formulas for Proteins?

I'm looking for something like this: $C_{13}H_{25}O_7N_3S$ . Obviously it's not about knowing the exact shape or composition of a specific protein, but knowing the relative contents of major chemical ...
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0answers
20 views

What are sulphur contents of diverse biological materials (mostly plants and excrements)?

This is a follow up to my unanswered question: How much sulphur can I assume in protein, in starch, in fat, in feces, in eggs, in meats? Or in specific plants? What ranges? Are there any tables about ...