Chemistry & Biochemistry:
APRIL was so much fun, that I thought I should find a molecule for May. I searched both the Gene database, the structure database, everywhere, without any luck. Finally, I decided to change the search and use the date instead of the name of the month. And here we have it, straight from PubChem. A molecule for May. 05012008 is...
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Posted on May 1, 2008 8:42 AM • 6 Comments •
How to compare mutant and normal protein structures.
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Posted on April 26, 2008 1:21 PM • 2 Comments •
I love using molecular structures as teaching tools. They're beautiful, they're easy to obtain, and working with them is fun. But working with molecular structures as an educators can present some challenges. The biggest problem is that many of the articles describing the structures are not accessible, particularly those published by the ACS (American Chemical Society). I'm hoping that the...
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Posted on April 8, 2008 2:01 PM • 11 Comments •
And so do you.
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Posted on April 4, 2008 12:45 PM • 21 Comments •
How do you go about researching a genetic disease? This multi-part series explores how digital resources can be used to learn about Huntingtin's disease. Reposted and updated from the original DigitalBio. A bit of background Alice's Restaurant is a movie with an unforgettable song that mostly revolves around Arlo Guthrie hanging out with his friends. Somewhere in the movie, the...
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Posted on December 18, 2007 9:45 AM • 1 Comments •
This is a fun puzzle. The pink molecule is a protein and the other molecule is a nucleic acid....
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Posted on December 7, 2007 9:30 AM • 17 Comments •
How do you use science outside of the lab? People say that transferring knowledge and skills from one subject to another represents one of the highest levels of learning. They also say that it hardly ever happens. Perhaps this explains some of the more astounding things that we hear from Nobel Prize winners, like when Francis Crick proposed that Earth...
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Posted on December 4, 2007 10:22 AM • 6 Comments •
The perfect science gift.
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Posted on December 1, 2007 1:36 PM • 5 Comments •
RNA by any other name would smell as sweet. Or would it?
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Posted on November 14, 2007 9:13 AM • 3 Comments •
When purified, it glows with an unearthly light. You can't go "chemical free" and try to escape it. It's part of our bones and it forms the backbone of our DNA. A tool for good, a tool of war, essential for gardening, and infamous as a pesticide; phosphorus is truly an amazing element. Amazing too, are the stories about it's...
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Posted on October 31, 2007 11:14 AM • 3 Comments •
Fun with molecular models!
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Posted on September 11, 2007 11:46 AM • 3 Comments •
It could be geosmin....
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Posted on August 5, 2007 2:20 PM • 3 Comments •
Last Friday, we had another in the series of weird DNA structures. (You can see the first here). I asked the audience to identify the unusual feature in this molecule. Here's the first picture: tags: DNA structure, DNA , molecular structure, biochemistry Here's the answer:...
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Posted on August 3, 2007 10:19 AM • 4 Comments •
I've had some requests for some more molecular puzzles since the last one that I posted (see A DNA puzzle ). One person liked it so much he even blogged about it. So, here's one for you to chew on over the weekend. This puzzle is a variation of an activity in Exploring DNA Structure, a CD/lab book that I...
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Posted on July 27, 2007 4:17 PM • 3 Comments •
The wind storms and heavy rains that hit Seattle recently, demonstrated why a bypass mechanism can be a helpful thing - for both bacteria and motorists. Under the bridge on Mercer, from the Seattle Times...
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Posted on January 4, 2007 8:28 AM • 0 Comments •
What's the difference between a synthetic drug and an antibiotic? Sometimes there's no difference at all. Let's take a look at chloramphenicol and couple of pencillins....
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Posted on November 29, 2006 8:00 AM • 1 Comments •
Here's an experiment you can do at home.
Posted on November 22, 2006 3:17 PM • 0 Comments •
It's a crystalline botanical fashion show.
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Posted on October 4, 2006 2:12 PM • 1 Comments •
Molecular structures are wonderful for science and enjoyable, in their own respect, as works of art. Here are some of my favorite DNA structures.
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Posted on September 19, 2006 1:55 PM • 1 Comments •
Remember that scene in "The Wizard of Oz" when the trees get ticked off and start hurling apples at poor Dorothy?
How do you think real plants defend themselves?
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Posted on September 13, 2006 3:13 PM • 5 Comments •
Why do I love Cn3D? Let me count the ways. What does Cn3D do? (Hint: say "Cn3D" out loud). Seriously, Cn3D is a program that draws lovely pictures of molecular structures by using experimental data from techniques like X-ray crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Surprisingly (to some), and in contrast to many bioinformatics programs, Cn3D is really easy and...
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Posted on September 8, 2006 11:38 AM • 0 Comments •
Ole and Lena's hot dish on a stick probably is explosive if you like to ride on a tilt-a-whirl afterwards. But what do you do if you're far from St. Paul? Never fear. There is more to life than hot dish....
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Posted on September 5, 2006 11:00 AM • 0 Comments •
Have you ever wondered about Cheeze Whiz? why new cars have a distinctive smell? or what makes golf balls so springy?...
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Posted on August 31, 2006 11:08 AM • 4 Comments •
I am a microbiologist and molecular biologist turned tenured biotech faculty turned bioinformatics scientist turned entrepreneur. My passion is developing instructional materials for 21st century biology (Geospiza Education).
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