In high school, Judith Simcox pored over scientific literature to try to understand the link between her sister’s Down Syndrome and type 1 diabetes. It was the first time she asked a question that didn’t …
News
New Biosensor Highlights Best Biofuel-producing Microbes
In search of the best biofuel-producing microbes, scientists may need to make millions of variants via genetic modifications. But only a handful of these variants are likely to produce large amounts of biofuel. To identify …
Conserving Helium, a Scarce Nonrenewable Resource, and Reducing Costs at NMR Facility
The National Magnetic Resonance Facility at Madison (NMRFAM) housed in the UW–Madison Department of Biochemistry is home to state-of-the-art technology for biomolecular nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and related techniques. The facility’s equipment requires helium, and with …
Ancient Gene Duplication Gave Grasses Multiple Ways to Wait out Winter
If you’ve ever grown carrots in your garden and puzzled over never once seeing them flower, don’t blame a missing green thumb. Carrots, beets and many other plants won’t flower until they’ve gone through winter. …
Scientists Provide New Insight on How Gene Expression is Controlled
New research on transcriptional pausing, which helps control gene expression in cells, will aid in the understanding of the enzyme RNA polymerase — a key player in the process and an important drug target. The lab …
IPiB Welcomes New Student Services Coordinator
The Integrated Program in Biochemistry (IPiB) welcomed Maria S. Katsoulidis as its new student services coordinator in late 2018. She brings more than 15 years of experience in higher education administration and recruiting to the …
Chasing the Tail: Biochemists Zone in on Bacterial Transporter’s Tip as its Secret to Antibiotic Resistance
Nutrients in. Waste out. Everyone and almost every living thing does it, even at the cellular level. It seems like a simple enough concept: to survive, cells have to have a way to move different …
Graduate Alumna Recognized as Trailblazer for RNA Research, Women in Science
Lynne Maquat says she was shy when she first started as a graduate student in the Department of Biochemistry, but since graduating with her Ph.D. in 1979, she’s become a force in the field of …
Biochemistry Emeritus Professor Laurens Anderson Remembered as Renowned Carbohydrate Chemist, Mentor
University of Wisconsin–Madison Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry and Ph.D. alumnus Laurens “Andy” Anderson died on Nov. 6, 2018 at the age of 98. He was a faculty member in the department for 35 years, known as …
A Tale of Three Sams: Talented IPiB Students Share a Name in the Senes Lab
Shouting “Sam” in the lab of University of Wisconsin–Madison biochemistry professor Alessandro Senes won’t get you far. Three talented young scientists will turn their heads: Samantha Anderson, Samson Condon, and Samuel Craven. All three graduate students in …