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Optogenetics. Optogenetics is a biological technique to control the activity of neurons or other cell types with light. This is achieved by expression of light-sensitive ion channels, pumps or enzymes specifically in the target cells. On the level of individual cells, light-activated enzymes and transcription factors allow precise control of ...
Chirality (chemistry) Two enantiomers of a generic amino acid that are chiral. (S)-Alanine (left) and (R)-alanine (right) in zwitterionic form at neutral pH. In chemistry, a molecule or ion is called chiral (/ ˈkaɪrəl /) if it cannot be superposed on its mirror image by any combination of rotations, translations, and some conformational changes.
Macroscopic examples of chirality are found in the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom and all other groups of organisms. A simple example is the coiling direction of any climber plant, which can grow to form either a left- or right-handed helix. In anatomy, chirality is found in the imperfect mirror image symmetry of many kinds of animal bodies.
Fluorescence imaging is a type of non-invasive imaging technique that can help visualize biological processes taking place in a living organism. Images can be produced from a variety of methods including: microscopy, imaging probes, and spectroscopy. Fluorescence itself, is a form of luminescence that results from matter emitting light of a ...
Fluorescence is used in the life sciences generally as a non-destructive way of tracking or analysing biological molecules. Some proteins or small molecules in cells are naturally fluorescent, which is called intrinsic fluorescence or autofluorescence (such as NADH, tryptophan or endogenous chlorophyll, phycoerythrin or green fluorescent protein).
An example of a protein that displays different function in different oligomeric states is pyruvate kinase which exhibits metabolic activity as a tetramer and thyroid hormone–binding activity as a monomer. Changes in the concentrations of ligands or substrates may cause a switch in a protein's function.
Optical rotation, also known as polarization rotation or circular birefringence, is the rotation of the orientation of the plane of polarization about the optical axis of linearly polarized light as it travels through certain materials. Circular birefringence and circular dichroism are the manifestations of optical activity.
Biomolecular condensate. In biochemistry, biomolecular condensates are a class of membrane -less organelles and organelle subdomains, which carry out specialized functions within the cell. Unlike many organelles, biomolecular condensate composition is not controlled by a bounding membrane.