Category Archives: Uncategorized

This is the first of several posts from Mark Peczuh that I am hosting. In this post, Mark interviews Xavier Salvatella on his research (protein-protein interactions and their implications for disease) and why he works/lives in Barcelona. Enjoy! “It is a bit like Janelia Farm on the Diagonal” We met, unexpectedly, at the entrance to his building in the Barcelona Science Park on the University of Barcelona campus. His building is literally in the shadow of Camp Nou, the home stadium of the famed Football Club of Barcelona better known simply as “Barça”. He was hurriedly arriving to make our appointment in the same way I was. Although it has been a few years, I instantly recognized Xavier Salvatella by his characteristic gait with the torso slightly askew and the welcoming smile. Xavier had reluctantly agreed to be the subject of my first interview – a guinea pig. I am … Continue reading →

Over the next several weeks, I am going to be hosting posts written by Mark Peczuh (pronounced PEEzee – thanks to some brilliant translation of Hungarian at Ellis Island). Mark is an associate professor of chemistry at the University of Connecticut. His research group synthesizes molecules that are used to better understand how proteins interact with sugars. In order to do this, they make sugar molecules with seven-membered rings (instead of the natural six-membered – as in glucose – or five-membered – as in fructose). Some of you may know Mark from Twitter. Mark Peczuh (Photo Credit: UConn Chemistry) Mark is currently on a Fulbright Fellowship in Barcelona. He is working with Toni Planas of the Institute of Chemistry of Sarria at the University of Ramon Llull. Toni is an expert in (and one of the founders of) a field that develops proteins called glycosynthases (proteins that synthesize sugars). Mark … Continue reading →

… The more things change, the more they stay the same. I’m currently reading The Secrets of Alchemy by Lawrence Principe. It’s a really enjoyable book, and I’ve learned so many things from it. I hope to share some of my favorites. But, I’ve just read a bit of Principe’s research in the book that seems poignant for my profession (chemistry) in these times. (In any book, there is always some bit: character, place, situation, or story that seems very relevant to some part of your life … and this book is no different). On communication issues: Let no man trouble to explore this art If he can’t understand the aims and jargon Of alchemists – and if he does, then He is a pretty foolish sort of man Because this art and science is, said he, Indeed a mystery in a mystery And so I conclude: since God in … Continue reading →

“If it bleeds, we can kill it” – Major Dutch Schaefer (This post is an entry in See Arr Oh‘s Chemistry at the Movies Blog Carnival) When Dutch and his band of military mercenaries went stalking the Predator in the jungles of South America, they had no idea what they were going up against. Bio-adaptive camouflage. Laser-based weaponry. Infrared vision. These guys were screwed. Not even Apollo Creed or Jesse “The Body” Ventura had any hope of surviving! So, yeah. This alien is pretty bad-ass. But probably my favorite anatomical feature (ahem) of this thing is its blood. The Predator has this really cool luminescent blood. Being that I’m a nerd (check), that I really enjoy sci-fi (check … really, people, I’m just a statistic), and that I’m a bioinorganic chemist (that means that I study metals in biology, and, specifically, that I study metals in proteins, and, more specifically, … Continue reading →

Someone asked about tryptophan and sleepiness earlier … So I am adding some of the slides from my Chemistry of Cooking Thanksgiving lecture. This is certainly not the final or complete word on the subject, but I thought people might enjoy it anyway. Here are the slides Cheers

Thanks to the CENtral Science blogging crew for putting this together! Rachel has been aggregating the incoming links. Go and have a read. Some great stuff here! Thanksgiving is meant to be a time of gratitude. It is a day set aside to remember all that we have been blessed with and all that we are grateful for. Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate the season’s harvests, a time to recall the first harvest of the original European settlers to America. Well, that’s what Thanksgiving is supposed to be. What Thanksgiving is, however, is something entirely different. It is a day when we pretend to care about the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys. It is a day when we remember just how much we dislike our relatives’ politics. It is a day when you drink one too many high balls and your grandfather starts making boilermakers with Canadian Club and … Continue reading →

See Arr Oh is hosting a ChemCoach blogging carnival over at his site. The hope is that someone, somewhere will find some useful helps and hints as they are pushing for their degrees in chemistry. So … Here goes … Your Current Job I am an assistant professor of chemistry at American University. No, really, I am. They actually gave me my own lab and let me teach this stuff. I have proof. Here and here. What do you do in a standard work day? I think, one of the recurring themes from this blogging carnival is that there is no standard work day. Recently I’ve been devoting 95% of my waking hours to two grants that I am writing. But, I also teach. (Normally, it’s two classes a semester. But, I have this semester off for a research release!) I have undergraduates who work with me in lab. I … Continue reading →

Today the Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded to Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka for their work on G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). GPCRs, for those of you who are new to this topic, are proteins that straddle cell membranes. In some sense, they are one conduit for transferring information from outside of the cell to the inside of the cell. Functionally, when a GPCR interacts with other, very specific, molecules that are outside of the cell, the GPCR reconfigures itself, or at least the portion of the GPCR that is inside of the cell. This changing of shape sets off a cascade of other events within the cell. Thus, the GPCR is capable of reporting to a cell that there are certain molecules lurking outside of its doors. Obviously, this protein function has many implications for advancing technology as well as our basic understanding of how Life works. One of … Continue reading →

In the most current issue of C&E News, Linda Wang has a really important article on the divide between skills gained in graduate education and desired those desired by chemical industries. I suggest that you all read it. Modifying our educational process to better serve our students’ futures is a vital topic for all chemists to undertake. CJ has done a nice job of covering the article and moderating a truly terrific discussion of it on his site. As he continues to do, Chemjobber is THE place to go for discussions on how academia can better students for industry and how industry might better facilitate this process. (See posts here and here and here). I wanted to add my take as well. Below is the comment that I made on Ms. Wang’s post. I also expect to write a shorter version of this as a letter to the editor. Linda, … Continue reading →

Hi all, Just wanted to wrap up some loose ends from the weekend. We’ve had a couple of links trickle in over the past few days, and I wanted to make sure that they got shared (and bookmarked) here. Also, a special congratulations is in order to Dr. Rubidium. Her terrific post on succinylcholine was the featured post over at gizmodo for part of the weekend. I’m extremely proud of her and feel very fortunate that her post was a part of this carnival! I am planning on writing up my thoughts on the blog carnival tomorrow. Here are the links that have come in: 1) Neurodynamics Leigh shared a fantastic post that was written in 2010 describing toxic potency and therapeutic index. It is a very instructive piece that can help a lot of newcomers better understand how toxic effects are measured. 2) Evolving Health There has been a … Continue reading →