Enzyme Detectives Uncover New Reactions, Products

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Desaturation of Fatty Acids -- introducing a double bond turns bad fat into good fat.
Desaturation of Fatty Acids -- introducing a double bond turns bad fat into good fat.

(PhysOrg.com) -- If your experiment doesn't go the way you expect, take a closer look -- something even more interesting may have happened. That strategy has led scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory to discover a fundamental shift in an enzyme's function that could help expand the toolbox for engineering biofuels and other plant-based oil products. The results will be published online the week of September 8, 2008, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.


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All News summaries for September 08, 2008

New penguin species found in New Zealand

11 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- Australian and New Zealand researchers have used ancient DNA from penguin fossils to make a startling discovery that may change the way we view species extinctions.

Falling home ownership, equity, affect college enrollment

Nov 18, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
Sagging college enrollments may be the next symptom of the sub-prime mortgage mess, according to a University of Michigan economist.

Scientists fight stem rust UG99 before it becomes a threat

Nov 18, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- Wheat breeders and plant pathologists at Montana State University are part of a global effort to develop varieties of wheat resistant to a new fungus. UG99, a stem rust strain that was first discovered in ...

Scientist Unlocking the Secrets of Sea Slug that Lives Like a Plant

Nov 18, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- Photosynthesis generates the oxygen needed for life on earth as well as the biomass for food and biofuel production. The process is driven by the absorption of the sun’s energy by tiny green "bodies" called ...

Archeologists say they found witch doctor skeleton

Nov 18, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
(AP) -- Archeologists believe a 12,000-year-old skeleton found in a grave containing 50 tortoise shells, a leopard pelvis, a cow tail and part of an eagle wing is the remains of a witch doctor.