In a study published online this month in the Journal of Bacteriology, biochemistry professor Michael Cox and his team describe blasting E. coli bacteria with ionizing radiation once a week, causing the bacteria to become radiation resistant. In doing so, they have uncovered genetic mutations and mechanisms underlying this resistance.
Research
Conserving helium, a scarce nonrenewable resource, and reducing costs at NMR facility
The National Magnetic Resonance Facility at Madison’s equipment requires helium, and with worldwide supplies dwindling, has recently installed a helium recovery system to increase sustainability and cut costs.
New biosensor highlights best biofuel-producing microbes
A new study led by Vatsan Raman, an assistant professor of biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, unveils a biosensor that may light the way to the best microbial candidates for biofuel production.
Ancient gene duplication gave grasses multiple ways to wait out winter
Professor Rick Amasino’s group have finally discovered how grasses count the short days of winter to prepare for flowering. Their work is published in the journal eLife.
Scientists provide new insight on how gene expression is controlled
New research on transcriptional pausing, which helps control gene expression in cells, will aid in the understanding of the enzyme RNA polymerase — a key player in the process and an important drug target.
Chasing the tail: Biochemists zone in on bacterial transporter’s tip as its secret to antibiotic resistance
Professor Henzler-Wildman and her team have found that proton and drug movements are not as strictly coupled as they thought in EmrE. This transporter can actually also move drugs and protons across the membrane in the same direction, as well as the opposite direction — introducing the option of moving molecules both into or out of the cell.
Researchers find value in unusual type of plant material
Scientists at UW–Madison and the GLBRC with partners at the Center for Bioenergy Innovationm have shown that a recently-discovered variety of the substance, catechyl lignin, has attributes that could make it well-suited as the starting point for a range of bioproducts.
Raman earns prestigious NIH award to fund research on protein function
Biochemistry assistant professor Srivatsan “Vatsan” Raman has received a Director’s New Innovator Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The $2.2 million-grants fund high-risk, high-reward research performed by early stage investigators.
Staff scientist Rebecca Smith from Ralph Lab brings enthusiasm, ingenuity to bear on tough lignin
Rebecca Smith, a staff scientist in professor John Ralph’s lab, studies lignin.
Biochemists study plants to understand agriculture, energy, cell biology
Studies of plants in the University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of Biochemistry span everything from how they can be grown or consumed for agricultural or bioenergy purposes to a basic understanding of cell biology in plants and animals.