domenica 31 agosto 2008
IBIOCAT JUNIOR ZONE: A tour around the amazing world of jazz (NOT ONLY FOR KIDS!!)
IBIOCAT Musical Entertainment: A tour around the amazing world of Jazz
Green Thought for Today August 31, 2008
(Source: Wikipedia)
Laura Cipollina- IBIOCAT, Divisione Marketing e Commerciale
giovedì 28 agosto 2008
IBIOCAT Humor- A musical parody for you: "The brain chemicals"
sung to the tune of Old MacDonald Had a Farm ("Nella vecchia fattoria" for Italy)
Acetylcholine in my brain
B-R-A-I-N
Acetylcholine in my brain
B-R-A-I-N
It's most abundant -- aids in memory and thought
abundant, abundant, memory and thought
Acetylcholine in my brain
B-R-A-I-N
Norepinephrine in my brain
B-R-A-I-N
Norepinephrine in my brain
B-R-A-I-N
Short term to long term - improves mood
short term, long term improves mood
Norepinephrine in my brain
B-R-A-I-N
Dopamine is in my brain
B-R-A-I-N
Dopamine is in my brain
B-R-A-I-N
Physical movement, improves mood
Physical movement, improves mood
Dopamine is in my brain
B-R-A-I-N
Serotonin in my brain
B-R-A-I-N
Serotonin in my brain
B-R-A-I-N
smooth muscle movement - improves mood
smooth muscle movement - improves mood
Serotonin in my brain
B-R-A-I-N
There is GABA in my brain
B-R-A-I-N
There is GABA in my brain
B-R-A-I-N
Keeps us calm; neurons don't fire at once
Keeps us calm; neurons don't fire at once
There is GABA in my brain
B-R-A-I-N
Endorphins are in my brain
B-R-A-I-N
Endorphins are in my brain
B-R-A-I-N
Makes one feel good; helps one concentrate
feels good - concentrate
feels good - concentrate
Endorphins are in my brain
B-R-A-I-N
Laura Cipollina- IBIOCAT, Divisione Marketing e Commerciale
martedì 26 agosto 2008
COOL SITE August 27, 2008 - "The Delights of Chemistry "
from Department of Chemistry, University of Leeds, UK
"Chemistry lies right at the heart of all science. Chemistry controls the way our bodies work, it controls our atmosphere and environment and is the driving force for much that is successful in British industry today. Chemistry impacts on all aspects of our lives."
Professor Philip Kocienski, Head of Chemistry, University of Leeds.
Laura Cipollina- IBIOCAT, Divisione Marketing e Commerciale
THE IBIOCAT'S BOOK CORNER- Biocatalysis and Bioenergy
With the high price of petroleum and researchers worldwide seeking new means of producing energy, this comprehensive book on biocatalysis for bioenergy and biofuel applications is very timely. It combines information on state-of-the-art advances and in-depth reviews of the latest achievements in biocatalysis and bioenergy, emphasizing biodiesel, bioethanol, and industrial products. The advantages of biocatalysis include high specificity, efficiency, energy conservation, and pollution reduction. Biocatalysis and Bioenergy details advances in the field, with:
Information on enzyme catalysis, biotransformation, bioconversion, fermentation, genetic engineering, and product recovery;
The prospect of using biocatalysis for the production of energy has great potential due to its cost-effectiveness, the fact that it does not require a limited resource such as oil, and its potential universality of application and use globally. This is the definitive reference for biochemists and biochemical engineers, bioprocess and bioenergy scientists, physical and oil chemists (oleochemists), microbiologists, industrial microbiologists, molecular biologists, metabolic engineers working in biocatalysis, bioethanol, and biodiesel fuels, DOE scientists working on renewable energy, and other professionals in related fields.
sabato 23 agosto 2008
IBIOCAT Humor - A musical parody for you: "Metabolise" by Aimee Hartnell
Original Words and Music by Dino Fekaris and Freddie Perrin
First glucose gains phosphate from ATP hydrolysis
Then it's isomerised, and then turned into fructose bisphosphate
Which then relates
To two 3C carbohydrates
Each gains phosphate (with phosphorylase),
They're oxidised by NAD+ (with a dehydrogenase)
And in the last three steps they're made into pyruvate, finally,
And there's a net gain of two molecules of lovely ATP…
It's aerobic respiration
(Not as efficient - but more controlled than combustion)
It's got to get all twelve hydrogens oxidised,
To turn six carbons into six carbon dioxides;
To oxidise! Metabolise!
Oh it starts off in the cytosol, where sugar's glycolysed
The TCA cycle goes on
In a mitochondrion
Metabolise - metabolise…!!
(musical bit)
Pyruvate loses CO2 (forms NADH)
Its ethanoyl group forms acetyl coenzyme A
4C oxaloacetate joins on to make 6C citrate,
Eight steps go round;
And two more CO2 are found;
One ATP each cycle gains,
Reduced coenzymes make more in the electron transport chain:
Four from two FADH2, ten NADH - and each yields three:
Altogether from one glucose that's 38 ATP
It's aerobic respiration
(Not as efficient - but more controlled than combustion)
It's got to get all twelve hydrogens oxidised,
To turn six carbons into six carbon dioxides;
To oxidise! Metabolise!
Oh it starts off in the cytosol, where sugar's glycolysed
The TCA cycle goes on
In a mitochondrion
Metabolise - metabolise….!!! "
(repeat till bored...!)
venerdì 22 agosto 2008
Biocatalysis in the News - "Microwave Activation of Enzymatic Catalysis"
Researchers at North Carolina State University have discovered a new method for "switching on" enzymatic reactions with precise energy delivery, by using microwave radiation. Dr. Alex Deiters, assistant professor of chemistry, and Dr. Bob Kelly, Alcoa Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, along with other NC State researchers, found that hyperthermophilic enzymes - proteins that thrive in extremely hot environments - could be activated at temperatures far below those normally required for biocatalysis, the process by which enzymes chemically transform organic compounds. Their findings appear in the online edition of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.The use of enzymes as "biocatalysts" is nothing new - biocatalysis is important in everything from brewing beer to the creation of pharmaceutical components. Applying heat to the enzymes causes them to activate a chemical reaction; however, when temperatures become too high, the proteins can become "denatured," and the reaction can produce undesirable by-products. The researchers theorized that the unique properties of the hyperthermophiles and the use of microwave radiation as a heat source might help them avoid this pitfall."Using microwaves means that you are only heating up what you want to heat up," says Kelly. "You're focusing the energy much more specifically and rapidly, and the process can occur at a much lower temperature". Hyperthermophilic enzymes are particularly well-suited to the process, because they are less likely to denature when exposed to the rapid heating from the microwave radiation.The results bore out the researchers' expectations: the hyperthermophilic enzymes were activated when irradiated by microwaves, and at a much lower temperature than would normally be required to cause the reaction."The microwaves will allow us to be much more precise in our ability to induce these reactions, and to stop them quickly before denaturing occurs" Deiters says. "This is another tool we can use to maximize the utility of biocatalysis."Future work will show if using microwave radiation to activate enzymes below their typical reaction temperature will create energy-saving benefits for researchers using biocatalytic processes.
Douglas D. Young, Jason Nichols, Robert Kelly, and Alexander Deiters, "Microwave Activation of Enzymatic Catalysis". J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2008; 130 (
Laura Cipollina -IBIOCAT, Divisione Marketing e Commerciale
giovedì 21 agosto 2008
Green Thought for Today August 21, 2008
Max Planck
Karl Ernst Ludwig Marx Planck, better known as Max (Kiel, April 23, 1858 – Göttingen, October 4, 1947), was a German physicist. Although being a very gifted musician (he took singing lessons and played piano, organ and cello, and composed songs and operas), he chose to study physics and is now often considered to be the founder of quantum theory for which he won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918. Several years after studying at the University of Munich, he became a professor at Berlin University where he developed his ideas and established a new professorship for Albert Einstein. The two scientists became friends and met frequently to play music.
Read more about Max Planck's: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Planck
Laura Cipollina- IBIOCAT, Divisione Marketing e Commerciale
mercoledì 20 agosto 2008
Save the date! September 7-10, 2008 - ESBES 7- 7th European Symposium on Biochemical Engineering Science - Faro, Portugal
The ESBES Symposium Series has developed to the leading platform for the community over the last years which provides the opportunity for biochemical scientists and engineers but also for researchers of adjacent fields to exchange their experiences.
Topics: Bioreaction Engineering, Biocatalysis and Biotransformation, Bioseparation; M3C Modelling, Monitoring, Measurement & Control; Solid State Bioprocession; Biomedical and Tissue Engineering; Engineering Challenges for Biotechnology Industry; Biofuel Engineering and Sustainability; Miniaturisation in Bioengineering and Nanobiotechnology; Biothermodynamics.
Download the Scientific programme
Laura Cipollina- IBIOCAT, Divisione Marketing e Commerciale
martedì 19 agosto 2008
Biocatalysis in the News - Researchers Create Safer Alternative to Heparin
Robert Linhardt has spent years stitching together minuscule carbohydrates to build a more pure and safer alternative to the commonly used and controversial blood thinner heparin. At the national conference of the American Chemical Society on August 17, 2008, Linhardt announced that his research team may have accomplished this task by building the first fully synthetic heparin. Their creation is the largest dose of heparin ever created in the lab. Linhardt, who is the Ann and John H. Broadbent Jr. '59 Senior Constellation Professor of Biocatalysis and Metabolic Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (located in Troy New York), was on the international team that identified the suspected contaminant in the Chinese heparin, a structurally similar carbohydrate called oversulfated chondroitin sulfate. "When we found the contamination, it was another sign that the way we currently manufacture heparin is simply unsafe," he said. "Unlike the current heparin that is harvested from possibly disease carrying animals in often very poor conditions, our fully synthetic heparin will be created in a pharmaceutical manufacturing environment from fermentation to packaging. This will give drug manufacturers extreme control over the safety and purity of the product."The carbohydrate backbone for the new heparin comes from the bacteria E. coli. The use of the common and easily grown bacteria makes this version of heparin much easier and faster to produce, according to Linhardt. The team used a process called chemoenzymatic synthesis that used specialized synthetic chemicals and natural enzymes expressed in E. coli to replicate the normal biosynthesis of natural heparin within the cell.The dose that Linhardt and his team were able to produce with this method was a million times higher than any other alternative created to date. He will now continue to work with his partners to take the milligram dose that they have developed and expand it to kilograms. "Ultimately, drug companies are going to need to produce tons of this drug to keep up with global demand," he said. "Such levels of productions are further down the road. We think that in five years, it is very possible that this drug could reach human clinical trials." The milligram-scale synthesis of heparin will be published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Read more: http://news.rpi.edu/update.do?artcenterkey=2480
Laura Cipollina- IBIOCAT, Divisione Marketing e Commerciale
lunedì 18 agosto 2008
IBIOCAT Junior Zone - "The Atoms Family", a creation by Kathleen Crawford (1994)
Do you like this story? Read it in full:
http://sciencespot.net/Media/atomsfam.pdf
Enjoy!
Laura Cipollina- IBIOCAT, Divisione Marketing e Commerciale
martedì 12 agosto 2008
FESTIVAL DELLA MENTE 2008 (Va Edizione) - Il primo festival europeo dedicato alla creatività- Sarzana (La Spezia), 29-30-31 agosto 2008
Il programma della quinta edizione prevede oltre 60 appuntamenti di cui 22 laboratori per bambini e ragazzi.
Ritorna, dopo il sorprendente successo di pubblico dello scorso anno, la sezione approfonditaMente, una serie di incontri-lezioni-laboratori sui temi del design, religione, ambiente, cucina, poesia, retorica, e arte, della durata di circa due ore e mezzo, per un numero limitato di persone, così che si possa creare un rapporto più stretto e efficace tra pubblico e relatore.
I protagonisti della quinta edizione:
gli storici dell'arte Giovanni Agosti e Francesco Poli; il regista Roberto Andò; il fotografo Ferdinando Scianna; gli antropologi Marc Augé, Marco Aime e Franco La Cecla; le psicoanaliste Simona Argentieri e Silvia Vegetti Finzi; il magistrato Giuseppe Ayala; il giornalista inglese Misha Glenny; il neuroscienziato Bruno G. Bara; la divulgatrice scientifica Sylvie Coyaud; lo chef Carlo Cracco; il poeta Maurizio Cucchi; il biblista Paolo De Benedetti; gli storici Carlo Ginzburg e Alessandro Barbero; l'enigmista Stefano Bartezzaghi; il giornalista enogastronomico Allan Bay; i filosofi Remo Bodei, Armando Massarenti, Vito Mancuso, Laura Boella, Salvatore Natoli; lo scienziato Edoardo Boncinelli, la grecista Eva Cantarella; il critico e giornalista culturale Antonio Gnoli; lo scrittore e giornalista Carlo Grande; gli architetti Emiliano Armani e Andrew Todd; l'etologo Danilo Mainardi; il logico Matteo Motterlini; lo scrittore Giulio Mozzi; il matematico Piergiorgio Odifreddi; l'attore, regista e scrittore Moni Ovadia; lo storico del design Vanni Pasca Raymondi; lo scrittore e storico della letteratura Walter Siti; il violoncellista e compositore Giovanni Sollima; il pianista e compositore Cesare Picco; il giardiniere e scrittore Umberto Pasti; l'editor e traduttore Davide Tortorella; lo scrittore Vittorio Sermonti; l'attore e regista Toni Servillo.
E ancora, per i più piccoli: Fabia Bellese con Editoriale Scienza; lo stilista Stephan Janson; Chiara Mainetti con Fondazione Mondadori; Matefitness; Cittàdellarte Fondazione Pistoletto con Associazionedidee; l'illustratore Alessandro Sanna; l'artista Marta Dell'Angelo con la studiosa di neuroestetica Ludovica Lumer.
THE IBIOCAT’S BOOK CORNER- Enzyme Biocatalysis: Principles and Applications
Principles and Applications
Illanes, Andrés (Ed.)
Springer
ISBN: 978-1-4020-8360-0
124,95 €, $189.00, SFr. 207.50, £94.00
"The book is intended to provide a sound basis for enzyme reactor design based on kinetic principles, and give an updated vision of the potentials and limitations of enzyme biocatalysis, especially with respect to recent applications in processes of organic synthesis. The book is structured in the form of a textbook that goes from basic principles of enzyme structure and function to reactor design for homogeneous systems with soluble enzymes, and heterogeneous systems with insolubilized enzymes. It contains an introductory chapter that gives an updated overview of enzyme technology, a chapter on enzyme production focused on large-scale operations, two chapters devoted to homogeneous and heterogeneous enzyme kinetics and a chapter on enzyme reactor design and operation based on enzyme kinetics principles, mass transfer limitations and enzyme inactivation. The book is complemented with case studies of biocatalytic processes of industrial relevance or potential, written by experts in those fields. Applications of proteases, acylases, lipases, aldolases and dehydrogenases in reactions of organic synthesis, and peroxidases in the degradation of recalcitrant organic compounds, are used as selected examples to illustrate the realities and potentials of enzymes as process catalysts.
Written for:
Researchers and students in biochemistry, biotechnology, genetic engineering; an excellent book for those working in the field of enzyme technology"
Please note that this information is taken from:
http://www.springer.com/chemistry/biotech/book/978-1-4020-8360-0
Laura Cipollina-IBIOCAT, Divisione Marketing e Commerciale
domenica 10 agosto 2008
IBIOCAT Musical Entertainment - August 10, 2008
Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils;
The motions of his spirit are dull as night
And his affections dark as Erebus:
Let no such man be trusted. Mark the music".
Completed 1902, first performance October 18, 1904 at Köln (Cologne). The complete symphony is scored for a large orchestra, but the Adagietto is scored for harp and strings only. "Surely the most beautiful music the composer ever set to paper, it serves as perhaps the supreme example of Mahler's mastery of orchestration. Most of the orchestra is idled, but rather than choosing a conventional string ensemble, he adds a single harp to provide an underpinning of motion to the lazily soaring melody. This simple change is pure genius, producing a sonority that has never been matched before or since. Closing the eyes and relaxing in the concert hall, one can easily imagine a peaceful sunset in the mountains the composer loved, bringing a perfect end to the day's solitude and the last true happiness he would know" (Geoff Kuenning, 1994).
venerdì 8 agosto 2008
IBIOCAT Science&Art - RALFONSO "Dance With The Wind"- Kinetic sculpture for Olympic Park Beijing, China 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDtvdl3-hD4
Learn more about Ralfonso's kinetic sculptures:
~ Select among 15 movies at:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ralfonso
~ See a comprehensive overview about Ralfonso on Wikipedia at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralfonso_Gschwend
~ Ralfonso is also President of the international Kinetic Art Organization (KAO)
http://www.kinetic-art.org
~ Check-out Ralfonso's website to view many more of his creations at:
http://www.ralfonso.com
(Information taken from http://www.asci.org/artikel988.html)
Laura Cipollina- IBIOCAT, Divisione Marketing e Commerciale