BIOCHEMISTRY

Mitochondria are the engines that drive cellular life, but these complex machines are vulnerable to a wide range of breakdowns, and hundreds of their component parts remain a functional mystery.

Dave Pagliarini, director of metabolism for the Morgridge Institute for Research and UW-Madison associate professor of biochemistry, is working to identify the more than 200 proteins associated with mitochondria that currently have no defined function. Completing this process will give science a complete map of mitochondrial function and help discover the origins of more than 150 poorly...

Scientists now have a tool to study kinases — cellular machines that function as “information relays” to transfer signals or messages from one molecule to another — thanks to research from the Ansari Lab in the Department of Biochemistry. Kinases also work as “spark plugs” to kick start other complex cellular machines, such as those that decipher the genome to transcribe RNA from DNA.

Since kinases play a large role in many cellular processes, when things go wrong in their inner workings, real health issues arise. Genetic mutations that cause kinases to malfunction can lead to...

The atomic structure of an elusive cold virus linked to severe asthma and respiratory infections in children has been solved by a team of researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Purdue University.

The findings are published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and provide the foundation for future antiviral drug and vaccine development against the virus, rhinovirus C.

After almost four decades with the Department of Biochemistry, senior contracts specialist Patricia Mings is set to retire June 30. Having worked closely with Hector DeLuca as his assistant, she departs with many memories of the department’s rich history.

“After working with Hector for almost 37 years and in every department building except the newest one, we’ve been through a lot together and have become close,” she says. “When I started here I was the same age as many of the lab members but as I leave I’m more like a grandma to them.”

The Integrated Program in Biochemistry (IPiB) Student-Faculty Liaison Committee announced its officers for 2016-17 at their ice cream social on Wednesday, June 8. The committee serves as a connection between students and faculty to foster input and collaboration.

“SFLC is really interested in fulfilling the needs of graduate students in IPiB,” says Kim Haupt, the outgoing chair and now a 2016-17 career chair. “The strength of the IPiB graduate program is reflected in the existence of the SFLC organization and the support we get from the faculty. We are all working together to make...

Vatsan Raman, a CALS assistant professor of biochemistry, is one of two University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists selected to receive a 2016 Shaw Scientist Award from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. 

“It’s quite a story,” says Caruccio. “UW-Madison had a researcher who spent his career trying to understand this strange and unexpected phenomenon — DNA jumping from place to place inside a single cell. Eventually, Bill Reznikoff discovered the enzyme responsible for that, which would have been a landmark by itself. But then this small biotech company in Madison picked up on the enzyme, made an improvement, used it to speed up next-generation sequencing, and was sold to the maker of the fastest gene sequencers on the market."