Volume 1 Issue 6, November 2005

Chemical insight into biological function is the holy grail of structural biology. Small molecules are central players as building blocks, effectors and probes of macromolecular structure and function.

The process of cellular engineering is rapidly accelerating owing to advances in technologies to manipulate DNA and other biomolecules, giving rise to the field of synthetic biology. A meeting was held in August 2005 to present progress in the field and to discuss topics in ethics, safety and security.

Nitrite has now been proposed to play an important physiological role in signaling, blood flow regulation and hypoxic nitric oxide homeostasis. A recent two-day symposium at the US National Institutes of Health highlighted recent advances in the understanding of nitrite biochemistry, physiology and therapeutics.

During the past century, the sea lamprey colonized the Great Lakes of North America and decimated the commercial fishing industry. The isolation and characterization of a migratory pheromone from the sea lamprey expands options for control of this invading species.

In the brain, neurotransmitter-receptor binding represents the moment of stereochemical recognition in which one neuron senses the signal sent by another. Submillisecond time-resolved FTIR spectroscopy now provides a first glimpse of the generative protein-ligand interactions that lead to glutamate receptor ion channel activation.

Kinesins are the molecular motors responsible for movement of vesicles inside cells. Evidence is now presented for how kinesin moves forward, as well as side to side.

Cross-species quorum sensing in bacteria is mediated by a small molecule autoinducer, AI-2. It has now been demonstrated that AI-2–mediated signaling can be sabotaged by bacteria that degrade AI-2.