Revealed the symphony of life, proteins vibrate like bells
January 17, 2014 in Blog by the Emeralds tree
Finally an article that gladly I share, by italian journal
Even our body has its own music. A veritable symphony of life produced by the vibration of the proteins that, like the strings of a violin, modulate their movements. It is thanks to these movements that proteins can change shape quickly to bind to other proteins and make possible the vital functions in our body such as breathing and the duplication of DNA.
So says a study published in Nature Communications and conducted by a team of researchers led by Andrea Markelz the University of Buffalo in upstate New York. Using a technique that they themselves have developed, the researchers observed for the first time in detail the vibrations of lysozyme, an antibacterial protein found in many animals. The team found that the vibrations, which previously was thought to deteriorate rapidly, in fact persist in the molecules as the “sound of a bell.”
“These small movements – said Markelz – allow the protein to change shape quickly so that you can easily bind to other proteins, a process that is necessary for our body to perform critical biological functions such as absorbing oxygen, other cells repair and replicate the genetic code. “The research opens the door to a new way of studying the fundamental cellular processes that are the ones that make life possible. The technique could be applied in the future to document how natural or artificial inhibitors block the vital functions that proteins perform. “We can now – he concluded Markelz – try to understand the real structural mechanisms underlying these biological processes and how they are controlled.”
Questo post è disponibile anche in: Italian
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