BioQuakes

AP Biology class blog for discussing current research in Biology

Author: gparkasite

Suleman Hussain’s Journey into Biomedical Research

Antigens are foreign substances which induce an immune response in the body, especially the production of antibodies. The antibodies then latch on to the foreign substance in an attempt to mark them to be destroyed. This ability to bind to specific molecules makes antigens ideal probes in cell research, where they are used to latch onto, and thus help isolate and identify, molecules of interest in and on cells. Suleman Hussain, a researcher in the lab of Daniel Higginson and Simon Powell at MSK, discovered a novel and efficient way of preparation, fixation, and embedding of tissue for electron microscopy.

His research proved that Antibodies raised against aldehyde-fixed antigens improve sensitivity for post-embedding electron microscopy. To prove their hypothesis, he and his team immunized rabbits with antigen pre-fixed with glutaraldehyde (GA, which is commonly used in electron microscopical investigations). The results were consistent with their hypothesis, thus marking the discovery that will improve future biomedical research in terms of efficiency.

Despite all of his accomplishments, Suleman Hussain has experienced numerous hardships due to his sexuality. Being a member of the LGBTQ community, Hussain had trouble finding himself. He lived in India where homosexuality was criminalized so he kept his true self under covers, hidden from the rest of the world. Hussain grew up Muslim so to this day, his family still doesn’t know that he’s gay or that he’s married. “But I have grown more comfortable and more confident in myself. At this point, if they somehow find out then I’m ready for it.”

The reason why visibility of LGBTQ people in science is so important is because we serve as examples to gay teens, who go through a lot. For them to be inspired to do what they are really capable of, that’s what motivates me to be visible. It’s become much easier now overall than what it was before, but still there are a lot of homeless LGBTQ teens and higher rates of suicide too. So in that sense it’s very important for them to have examples.

-Suleman Hussain

A New and Horrifying Effect of COVID-19

The COVID-19 virus has been terrorizing innocent people from all corners of the world. The symptoms and effects of the virus have proven to be devastating especially for young children and the elderly. If that wasn’t bad enough, scientists have recently discovered that COVID-19 is linked to erectile dysfunction.

Read More

E. coli is Beneficial to Plants?

An enzyme is a biological catalyst and is almost always a protein. It speeds up the rate of a specific chemical reaction in the cell. The enzyme is not destroyed during the reaction and is used over and over. A cell contains thousands of different types of enzyme molecules, each specific to a particular chemical reaction. Studies of scientists in the past focused on improving the photosynthesis of plants using the Rubisco, an enzyme that attracts carbon from carbon dioxide to create sucrose. However, Rubisco occasionally catalyzes a reaction with oxygen and CO2 from the air. By doing so, it creates a toxic byproduct and wastes energy, therefore making photosynthesis inefficient/unsafe.

“You would like Rubisco to not interact with oxygen and to also work faster,” said Maureen Hanson, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Plant Molecular Biology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Scientists at Cornell, Maureen Hanson and Myat Lin, wanted to solve this problem. the conclusion they reached was to utilize E.coli. In order to do this, the researchers took Rubisco from tobacco plants and engineered it into E. coli. Their objective was to make mutations to try to improve the enzyme and then test it in E. coli in a quick and efficient way.

File:E. coli Bacteria (16578744517).jpg

Colorized scanning electron micrograph of Escherichia coli, grown in culture and adhered to a cover slip.

The fact that bacteria reproduces at a quick rate is an important in their experiments. The researchers were abler to test an altered Rubisco in E. coli and get results the next day. This is a huge improvement compared to normal Rubisco, which normally takes a few months for noticeable results.

The work by another group that engineered tobacco Rubisco into E. coli led to very weak expression of the enzyme. In plants, Rubisco is composed of eight large and eight small subunits. A single gene encodes each large subunit, but many genes encode each small subunit. The complex process of enzyme assembly and the presence of multiple versions of the enzyme in plants has made it very hard to experiment with Rubisco. By doing this, they attained expression of the enzyme in E. coli that matched what was found in plants.

With this newfound ability to develop new mutations of Rubisco in E.coli, researchers can pick out the improved mutations and distribute them to a crop plant which could help improve the economy immensely. The Rubisco in E.coli will help the photosynthesis of the plants, allowing them to produce more glucose as well as oxygen gas.  This will lead to an increase in cell respiration. The chemical energy released by respiration can be used by the plant for cellular activities such as protein synthesis or cell division. The plant will ultimately grow to be bigger, healthier, and in the crops case, more tasty.

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén

Skip to toolbar