2011
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The ribosome (from ribo nucleic acid and the Greek soma , meaning "body") is a large and complex molecular machine, found within all living cells, that serves as the primary site of biological protein synthesis (translation). Ribosomes link amino acids together in the order specified by messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules. Ribosomes consist of two major subunits—the small ribosomal subunit reads the mRNA, while the large subunit joins amino acids to form a polypeptide chain. Each subunit is composed of one or more ribosomal RNA (rRNA) molecules and a variety of proteins. The sequence of DNA encoding for a protein may be copied many times into messenger RNA (mRNA) chains of a similar sequence. Ribosomes can bind to an mRNA chain and use it as a template for determining the correct sequence of amino acids in a particular protein.
Ribosome
Professor Nenad Ban, distinguished Croatian scientist ETH Professor Nenad Ban, Timm Maier, Marc Leibundgut and Simon Jenni (left to right) were so successful with their work on the structural analyses of fatty acid synthases in mammals and fungi that they had two publications in the same issue of "Science". See The architecture of fatty acid factories .
Nenad Ban's scientific work is regarded as a milestone in biochemical research
Researchers led by ETH professor Nenad Ban have now completed the three-dimensional structure of the ribosome from a higher organism. This structure will increase the understanding of this cellular “protein factory” and facilitate the development of novel drugs. The machinery that reads genetic information within a cell and translates it into corresponding proteins, the so-called ribosome, is among the most complex cellular enzymes known in biology. It has been studied for decades. Ten years ago, scientists have solved the first three-dimensional structure of this complex from prokaryotes (ie. bacteria).
Detailed view of a crucial enzymatic complex revealed
University of Zagreb
The University of Zagreb ( Croatian : Sveučilište u Zagrebu , Latin : Universitas Studiorum Zagrabiensis ) is the largest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of Southeastern Europe . As of 2011, University of Zagreb is ranked among the 500 Best Universities of the world by the Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities . [ edit ] History [ edit ] Academy
Five years ago, Professor Mirko Gojic, a researcher at the University of Zagreb in Croatia, wondered what his small team of researchers could do to lower the price of ‘smart metals’: a type of high-tech materials that can remember their original cold-forged shape, returning the pre-deformed shape by heating – a property that makes them crucial in a series of industries. The idea was there, but problems quickly aroused from lack of money and key equipment. Thanks to the support of EUREKA, the product is now almost finalised and could be rolled out within the next two years.
Shape memory materials ready for mass production
Croatian Researchers Develop Cheaper Shape Memory Alloys
By Cameron Chai The project has been led by a researcher at Zagreb University, Professor Mirko Gojic and it has received tremendous support from EUREKA. Shape memory materials for use in smartphones and high-tech gadgets The titanium and nickel based alloy utilized to make shape memory materials is expensive and hence researchers have begun searching for cheaper alternatives. Shape memory alloys can be manufactured in several sizes and shapes for a wide range of applications.Ruđer Bošković Institute
The Ruđer Bošković Institute (RBI; Croatian : Institut Ruđer Bošković , pronounced [instǐtuːt rûd͡ʑɛr bɔ̂ʃkɔʋit͡ɕ] , IRB ) is a research institute located in the Šalata neighborhood of Zagreb , Croatia , founded in 1950, which studies the sciences. It is the largest Croatian research institute in the fields of the natural sciences and technology. The name of the institute, which honours the scientist Ruđer Bošković , was put forth by one of its founders, physicist Ivan Supek . The institute has a multidisciplinary character: it employs 550 academics and students from the fields of experimental and theoretical physics , chemistry and materials physics , organic and physical chemistry , biochemistry , molecular biology and medicine , environmental and marine research and computer science and electronics.
Primary authors These authors contributed equally to this work. Dea Slade & Mark S. Dunstan
The structure and catalytic mechanism of a poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase : Nature
Scientists have succeeded in purifying a protein found in bacteria that could reveal new drug targets for inherited breast and ovarian cancers as well as other cancers linked to DNA repair faults. The study is published . The team, based at The University of Manchester’s Paterson Institute for Cancer Research and the Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre, are the first to decipher the structure of a protein called PARG – which plays an important role in DNA repair and acts in the same pathway as PARP. PARP inhibitors have been showing great promise in clinical trials for patients with breast, ovarian and prostate cancers caused by mutations in genes called BRCA1 and BRCA2. They work by blocking the action of PARP – a protein that chemically tags areas of DNA damage to highlight them to the cell’s DNA repair machinery. PARG removes these chemical tags after the DNA damage has been repaired.
Bacteria shed light on new drug targets for inherited cancers - myScience / news from the lab/ news 2011
Progeria
Progeria (also known as Hutchinson Gilford Progeria Syndrome , [ 1 ] [ 2 ] and Progeria syndrome [ 2 ] ) is an extremely rare genetic disease wherein symptoms resembling aspects of aging are manifested at a very early age. The word progeria comes from the Greek words "pro" ( πρό ), meaning "before", and "gēras" ( γῆρας ), meaning "old age". The disorder has a very low incident rate, occurring in an estimated 1 per 8 million live births. [ 3 ] Those born with progeria typically live to their mid teens and early twenties. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] It is a genetic condition that occurs as a new mutation, and is rarely inherited. Although the term progeria applies strictly speaking to all diseases characterized by premature aging symptoms, and is often used as such, it is often applied specifically in reference to Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS).When Zoey Penny was only 4 weeks old, her parents noticed that the skin on her belly was hard to the touch. What they thought was a rash began to spread to her thighs and back. Months passed without an answer, as doctors and specialists ran batteries of tests on her little body. In March 2010, she was finally diagnosed with Hutchinson–Gilford Progeria Syndrome, an extremely rare and fatal genetic disorder which causes children to age eight to 10 times the normal rate. The word progeria comes from the Greek word meaning "prematurely old." "Zoey is 20 months old and only weighs 14 pounds," said her grandfather, John Marozzi, of Boonton Township, N.J.