biochemistry news from FierceBioResearcher

There's new evidence to support the theory that the enzyme protein kinase G offers a promising target in the fight against tuberculosis. The enzyme is secreted by the microbe that triggers TB and is believed to provide essential protection for the bug from the host's immune system, which tracks down and kills most pathogens. Scientists say they have a compound that can block the protein, but were worried about interfering with the action of other proteins also secreted by the microbe. …

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have new information on the structure of a key enzyme in bacteria that could lead to improved antibiotics and less antibiotic resistance. In findings published online in two complementary papers in Nature, the research team describes the differences in an enzyme called RNA polymerase in bacterial cells as opposed to human cells. These differences provide potential new targets for drug design.

"Knowing how RNA …

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research and the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry have developed a technique for integrating membrane proteins into artificial structures. The approach promises a path to developing an artificial "nose" which could be used to safely sniff out bioterror attacks, explosives or drugs. The researchers say that membrane proteins can act as ideal biosensors.

"We now have something akin to an instruction manual on how membrane …