#Molecular Pathways

[meteortrails]

oh fun fact if you’re doing food experiments on flies you can use homogenizers to like. squish them and liquefy them until you have homogenized fly soup. and then you can do pcr on the fly soup to see if they ate the food you tagged with one kind of dna or the other. and if you do qpcr (quantitative pcr, the replication materials you put in there are fluorescent so you can measure the fluorescence of your pcr to see what kinds of DNA had the most starting templates) you can see specifically which food they ate more of. it’s actually really cool and it turns out flies can differentiate between foods with leucine (one specific amino acid out of 20!!!) and foods that don’t, even if the food has ALL THE OTHER AMINO ACIDS. crazy shit bro

[er-cryptid]

NAD-Linked Glycerol Dehydrogenase

-- part of oxidoreductase family

-- catalyst is NAD+

-- oxidizes glycerol

-- forms glycerone

[lifepulse]

Drug resistance in multiple myeloma: When cancer cells say "NO" to treatment

Drug resistance is like a game of cat and mouse. Cancer cells are the cat, and researchers are the mouse. The cat is always trying to find new ways to catch the mouse, but the mouse is always trying to find new ways to avoid getting caught.

Read More

[letterealnoce]

My biology background is practically shriveling at the sight of such nonsense, and quite frankly, people who spread this kind of misinformation should be forced to take a rigorous biology course. Let’s set the record straight with actual science.

Humans are unequivocally born with a biological sex, determined by their chromosomal makeup—XX for females and XY for males. This is not some abstract concept; it’s the product of millions of years of evolution. The SRY gene on the Y chromosome activates during embryonic development, triggering the formation of testes, which begin to produce androgens like testosterone. These hormones are not trivial—they orchestrate the entire cascade of male differentiation, from genital formation to the masculinization of the brain and body structure. Without this SRY gene, the fetus follows a default developmental pathway toward female, with the formation of ovaries and subsequent production of estrogens.

✨Now, let’s dive into biochemistry.✨

These hormones—testosterone, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), estrogen, and progesterone—bind to nuclear receptors within cells, altering gene expression in a sex-specific manner. For instance, testosterone promotes the expression of genes that lead to the development of male secondary sexual characteristics like muscle mass, body hair, and even brain function differences. Estrogens, on the other hand, regulate genes involved in female reproductive organs, fat distribution, and the menstrual cycle. These biochemical processes are well-documented and thoroughly researched in the fields of endocrinology and genetics.

To claim there is no such thing as a biologically male or female body is an affront to basic science. The genes we inherit, the hormones that course through our veins, the receptors they activate—all of these biochemical mechanisms define male and female at a molecular level, long before any notion of "gender identity" comes into play. Even our brain structure shows sexually dimorphic traits, influenced by prenatal hormone exposure.

This isn’t just "a belief" or "how one identifies." It’s biology 101. The binary nature of biological sex is rooted in our evolutionary need for sexual reproduction, where males and females contribute different gametes—sperm and eggs, respectively. There are rare intersex conditions, of course, but these are exceptions to the rule, not a new category that invalidates biological sex. Misunderstanding or misrepresenting these basic biological truths to fit a personal or ideological narrative is not only scientifically dishonest but also dangerous for public understanding of biology.

In short, science deals in observable, measurable facts, not feelings. You are born male or female based on your chromosomes, hormones, and anatomy—a reality defined by molecular biology and genetics, not how you "identify." Trying to erase this biological truth reflects a deep ignorance of how life itself functions at the most fundamental level.

This whole concept of gender identity being fluid is nothing but nonsense invented by people who haven’t touched grass in years. You need to step away from the internet and start living in the real world for a bit ;)

[callmedaleelah]

— Pinnacle [ tsukishima kei university au series ]

— so i pay the price of what i lost ; yes it is right that you can handle anything, but you can’t handle everything all at once

author’s notes : no mention of (y/n), written in second person pov, alternative universe, timeskip!tsukishima, college life, not proofread, english is not my first language, long written chapter

[ masterlist ] | [ ask daleelah go to box box 🐭 ]

Winter break felt like a blur of constant assignments, stress, and messages from your mother. You found yourself buried in work, avoiding the outside world—especially your phone, which you knew was filled only with your mom’s relentless reminders to study harder, do better, and aim higher. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi’s contacts had been pushed to the bottom of your recent conversations, untouched since that day in the gym.

You haven’t seen Yamaguchi or Tsukishima since that winter class you skipped to watch their game. That day feels like it happened in a different life—before the semester started to suffocate you, before your every waking moment was consumed by endless biochemistry coursework. You don’t have time to think about anything else anymore, not when every day feels like a battle to keep up with the expectations of your professors and the relentless academic pace.

Classes in the second semester are intense, perhaps even more than you expected. One of your courses, Organic Chemistry II, is particularly demanding. The subject matter dives deep into reaction mechanisms, synthesis pathways, and the stereochemistry of complex molecules. There’s also Molecular Biology, where you’re expected to learn and apply the intricate processes of DNA replication, transcription, and translation. Your third major course, Biophysical Chemistry, focuses on the thermodynamics of biological systems—another subject that stretches your mind to its limit.

It’s only the second week of your new semester in biochemistry, but it feels like you’ve been dragging yourself through months. Everything seems heavier this time—every lecture, every lab session, every assignment. The moment you open your textbooks and class notes, you can feel your brain protesting. There’s an exhaustion that hangs in the air, a feeling like you’re constantly one step behind even when you manage to complete your work on time.

Now, standing outside the lecture hall for Organic Chemistry II, you realized nothing much had changed. The same heavy textbooks, the same tight deadlines, the same competition between your classmates as they all tried to one-up each other. The new semester had brought a new intensity. You were still trying to keep up with your classmates—some of them seemed almost unnaturally gifted, answering the professors’ most complex questions with ease, while you constantly second-guessed yourself, even when you knew the answer.

Professor Saito, a man with a greying beard and an air of calm authority, strode into the room with his usual collected demeanor. His reputation preceded him—tough, no-nonsense, and known for pushing his students to think critically. Today was no different. He picked up a piece of chalk and began scribbling a chemical equation across the board.

Without glancing back, he posed his first question to the room. “Can anyone explain the significance of this reaction in the context of anaerobic respiration in yeast?”

The classroom, filled with second-year students, was eerily silent. Your eyes traced the chemical formula on the board—glucose breaking down into ethanol and carbon dioxide. The answer floated on the surface of your mind, but your heart pounded in your chest as self-doubt crept in. You scanned the room, hoping that one of the top students would break the silence and offer the answer instead. But they remained still, unfazed, as if this question was beneath them.

You bit your lip, feeling the weight of the quiet hanging over you. It was a simple question, one you knew the answer to, but something held you back. You hated this feeling—knowing, yet hesitating, paralyzed by the fear of saying something wrong. The silence stretched on, and finally, despite the knots of anxiety in your stomach, you slowly raised your hand.

Professor Saito turned to face you, his gaze resting on you with a slight lift of his eyebrows. “Yes?”

Your voice wavered as you spoke. “It’s… the fermentation of glucose into ethanol and carbon dioxide,” you said quietly, swallowing back the stammer in your throat. “Yeast uses this anaerobic process to generate energy in the form of ATP when oxygen isn’t available.”

Professor Saito nodded slightly, his expression unreadable. “Correct. And why is this process significant in industrial applications?”

You took a deep breath. “It’s used in brewing to produce alcohol and in baking for the carbon dioxide that helps dough rise.”

He considered your answer for a moment before nodding again. “Yes. Good. Remember, however, that the ATP yield here is significantly lower than in aerobic respiration. That’s the key difference.”

Relief washed over you, and you allowed yourself to relax—just a little. But before you could even savor that small victory, another voice broke the quiet.

“Professor, could you explain the exact mechanism for the stereoselective alkylation of an enolate in asymmetric synthesis?” The voice belonged to Renji, one of the top students in the class. His question was sharp and cutting, a deliberate challenge. “And maybe elaborate on the difference between kinetic and thermodynamic control in that context?”

A ripple of murmurs spread through the room, punctuated by a few suppressed giggles. You stiffened in your seat. The question was far beyond the scope of what you’d covered in class, meant to impress—or worse, embarrass—the professor. Renji’s tone dripped with arrogance, and the way he leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, told you he already knew the answer.

Professor Saito regarded him for a moment, his gaze steady. He began to respond calmly, “In asymmetric synthesis, the stereoselectivity of the alkylation depends on—”

Before he could finish, another voice interrupted. “What about stereoelectronic effects when using Evans' oxazolidinone in highly hindered substrates?” Yumi, another top-tier student, chimed in with a smirk playing at the corner of her lips. She leaned forward slightly, her question laden with the same smug intent—to derail the lesson, to show off her own knowledge.

The air in the room became stifling. You could feel it—the discomfort rippling through the other students, the growing tension as Renji and Yumi sought to outwit the professor rather than learn from him. They weren’t asking to deepen their understanding. No, they were playing a different game, one of one-upmanship and arrogance.

Your stomach twisted with unease as you watched the scene unfold. Professor Saito, usually unflappable, seemed to falter for just a moment. You caught a glimpse of weariness in his eyes as he straightened up, preparing to answer yet another convoluted question. He had always been patient with his students, no matter how difficult the questions, but there was something in the way his shoulders sagged ever so slightly that made your heart ache for him.

You glanced around the room. Some students were fidgeting uncomfortably, others quietly whispering to their neighbors. The whole room had been hijacked by these few who cared more about showing off than learning, and the rest of you were left feeling small, inconsequential. You clenched your fists under the desk, wishing you could say something, do something to stop it, but the words stayed lodged in your throat. What could you say? What could you do?

Professor Saito began explaining the stereoelectronic effects, his voice steady, but you could sense his weariness growing. The air felt oppressive, like the weight of these students’ arrogance had smothered any genuine learning atmosphere. You shifted in your seat, feeling anxiety gnawing at your insides, hating the smug smiles that played on Renji and Yumi’s lips.

Before you could think further, you raised your hand signaling to interrupt the class. Professor Saito caught your motion and stop his explanation. “I’m sorry, Professor, may i speak?” Your voice came out a little shaky but louder than you expected, you can’t stop yourself right now. Every eyes are on you when the professor nodded. You land your gaze to Yumi—her smug faltered as she turned toward your seat. “I don’t see any stereoselective alkylation of enolates in asymmetric synthesis in our syllabus for this entire semester. So, if you’re going to interrupt the class with questions, at least stick to the topic we’re actually supposed to be learning.”

And now you turned to Renji’s seat, his face hardening as the room went deathly quiet. You could feel the eyes of the other students on you, and though your heart pounded in your ears, you pressed on. “And if you’re feeling that generously smart, maybe you should come up there and be the professor yourself. But what do you actually get from trying to make others—let alone the professor—feel small by throwing out questions just to outsmart them?”

Yumi’s smirk vanished, replaced by a look of shock. Renji shifted in his seat, his face hardening, but he remained silent. You could feel the tension swirling in the room, but it wasn’t directed at you anymore—it was directed at the arrogance that had poisoned the air.

Professor Saito stood there for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then, slowly, a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips. He cleared his throat, and the room snapped back to attention.

The room goes quiet, tension crackling in the air. You don’t usually speak up like this, but something about the arrogance in the room pushed you past your breaking point. The student sneers at you, but you don’t flinch. You’ve had enough of people trying to make others feel small just to inflate their own egos.

Professor Saito gives you a small nod of appreciation before continuing his lecture, the class quiet now except for the sound of his chalk against the board.

That evening, you’re back at your desk, struggling to finish another assignment. The words blur together on the screen, and despite your best efforts, you keep having to re-read the same paragraph over and over. You’re exhausted. There’s no other word for it. Even though you’ve tried to catch up on sleep, it never feels like enough. And there’s always another deadline looming, another mountain of work to climb.

Your phone buzzes next to you, but you don’t pick it up. It’s probably your mom again, asking why you haven’t called or berating you for not keeping up with her expectations. You’ve been avoiding her texts and calls lately because you can’t deal with the added pressure. She doesn’t understand how hard this is, how much you’re trying to juggle. Or maybe she does, and just doesn’t care. Either way, you don’t have the energy to explain yourself to her right now.

By the time you finish the assignment and hit submit, it’s nearly 2 AM. You slump back in your chair, staring at the ceiling. Every muscle in your body aches, and there’s a tightness in your chest that hasn’t gone away for days. You feel like you’re sinking deeper into a hole you can’t climb out of.

The thought of opening your phone again fills you with dread, but you do it anyway, more out of habit than anything else. When you do, you see an email from Professor Saito.

Subject: Checking In

I hope this message finds you well. I noticed that you submitted your most recent assignment late last night. While I am aware of the pressures you and many other students are under, I wanted to reach out personally.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed how diligently you’ve participated in my class. I’ve seen how you’ve quietly answered questions, even when you seemed uncertain of yourself. I also noticed how you stepped in during that difficult class discussion the other day and helped refocus the conversation. You have a sharp mind, and I hope you know that.

That said, I am concerned about you. I can tell that you’re pushing yourself hard, and while I appreciate your effort, I also want to remind you that your well-being comes first. I know what it’s like to feel the weight of academic pressure, and I want to encourage you to take care of yourself, too.

If you ever feel overwhelmed or need to talk, please know that my office door is always open to you. You are a valued member of my class, and I believe in your potential.

Take care of yourself, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything.

Warm regards, Professor Saito

As you read the email, you feel a lump form in your throat. You hadn’t realized how much you needed to hear those words until now. For so long, you’ve felt like you were just going through the motions, never sure if you were really doing anything right. But here, someone was telling you that you mattered—that your efforts weren’t invisible.

You close the email and stare at the screen for a long moment. Then, without thinking, you bury your face in your hands. The tears come quickly, a mix of exhaustion, relief, and gratitude. You hadn’t expected this—this kindness, this small bit of recognition in a sea of doubt.

tagslist (free to mention) ; @theweirdfloatything @snowthatareblack @ilovemymomscooking @nayiiryun @knightofmidnight @kozumesphone @scxrcherr

sorry for posting this late, i’ve been super busy with karate practice all weekend—i’ve got a belt test coming up soon, so the training’s been extra intense. i’m exhausted, and my legs hurt so bad i can barely walk, but gotta stay strong and push through! 😣

[mindblowingscience]

A recent study has pinpointed a gene module crucial for enhancing walnut trees' resistance to anthracnose, a widespread fungal disease threatening the walnut industry. The research reveals how the JrPHL8-JrWRKY4-JrSTH2L module regulates disease defense, opening up new opportunities for breeding resistant walnut varieties and promoting sustainable cultivation practices. Anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, poses a significant threat to walnut production, causing severe losses in yield and quality. Traditional control methods are limited, and environmental concerns drive the need for alternative strategies. Transcription factors like WRKYs and MYBs are key in plant immunity, yet the molecular mechanisms behind walnut resistance to anthracnose have remained largely unexplored. Given these challenges, an in-depth study of the molecular pathways in walnut defense is essential.

Continue Reading.

[archaic-stranger]

the biochemistry students

marveling at the complexity of life on the molecular level

the reassuring weight of your favorite pipette in your hand

talking excitedly about a new enzyme you're studying

the background hum of incubators and centrifuges

reciting metabolic pathways until you know them by heart

an organized lab notebook, a record of all your hard work

a new respect for the intricacy of your own body

a chart of biochemical pathways hanging on your wall

chemical structures scribbled down in pen

working steadily and methodically on an important experiment

a row of beakers hung up to dry

sketching peptide side chains in the margins of your notes

understanding how molecular errors can lead to large-scale illness

the satisfaction of a perfectly clean gel

the sound of clinking glassware

mixing up batches of LB or buffer, the components as familiar as your favorite home recipe

a row of neatly labeled eppendorf tubes

memorizing all 20 amino acids

faith in your own abilities

irregular lab hours, writing a paper while you wait for your cells to grow

[stuckinapril]

glycolysis gluconeogenesis glycogenesis krebs cycle electron transport chain fermentation pentose phosphate pathway fatty acid synthesis fatty acid oxidation molecular cloning native gels sds-page gel electrophoresis tissue specific metabolism cholesterol metabolism ketone bodies recombinant dna and biotechnology zeroth law of thermodynamics hydrostatics fluid dynamics fluids in physiology nuclear binding energy and mass defect nuclear reactions consciousness-altering drugs drug addiction and the reward pathway in the brain the role of emotion in retrieving memories retrieval cues neural plasticity james-lange theory cannon-bard theory schachter-singer theory biological bases of behavior genetically based behavioral variation in natural populations psychoanalytic perspective dissociative disorders trauma and stressor related disorders drive reduction theory incentive theory bystander effect social loafing habituation and dishabituation operant conditioning fixed-ratio reinforcement prejudice and bias individual vs institutional discrimination microsociology vs macrosociology theories of demographic change.......................

[willowreader]

Erin is an amazing person to follow if you have long covid. The link to th article is below.

@doc4care on Twitter also has this to say about mitochondrial damage and drugs

And there are simple, effective ways to quiet TLR4 inflammation (metformin, berberine, curcuminoids, low dose naltrexone, low dose lithium). And for quieting the RAGE pathway low molec wght heparin (or if outside IS, sulodexide - essentially, oral heparin - not approved in U.S.)

[smallgodseries]

[image description: A chocolate bar whose in gold foil has been pulled back, revealing bits of its silver underside and the profile of a stunning woman.Her name ‘Thea Bromeaux ‘ is molded in 3 lines onto the tops of the chocolate squares. Text (on the gild and black band around the chocolate bar) reads, “43 ~ The Small God of Chocolate”]

She is a very old god, one whose position in the pantheon has been gentrified in recent years, elevated above her previous heights, but rendered frivolous in the same brushstroke, her holy rites and rituals reduced to gas station cocoa machines and waxy bars studded with nuts and currants, filled with over-sweetened caramel and artificial mint.  She has seen her stature dwindle from something rare and revered into a figure of light mockery and antic children’s pleasures, and she is not overjoyed by this change.  Nor should she be.  Nor would any god, young or old, be pleased to be once so great and glorious, and then remade so small.

But.

But still she is beloved, will always be beloved, is kept in open and in secret. She sweetens the kisses of lovers and enhances the savor of chefs, and with each new generation of believers she looms large as the sky once again.  The childish voice who begs for sweets may not speak with the same slow reverence as a priest who held the secret to extracting her pleasures from the fresh cacao bean, but the faith and the purity of belief is the same.

But.

But still she is important, still she is needed, still she is wanted.  She soothes the pain of loves lost or loves unrequited, clinging to fingertips and sticking to lips, the sweetest cosmetic ever known, home in the hands of her adherents.

But.

But her faith may be dwindled and yet she knows, with all her heart, that it will rise again, as the food scientists and the molecular gastronomists chase her secrets down every convoluted chemical pathway and into every hidden cul-de-sac of flavor.  They will tease her fully into the light, and for some gods, that might spell the end; that might mean passing from belief into knowledge, where no divinity can live.  Fortunately for Thea, the rules are different for the culinary gods, who understand always that they can be understood but never fully comprehended, and whose faithful will always fall to her with nothing more than a single, simple kiss.

[er-cryptid]

Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase

Patreon

[katie5000]

Ok, so I'm still thinking about that Legato hair tweet from last year.

Because I'm a nerd, I had to go down the human hair rabbit hole and read all about hair pigmentation and how it worked. The gist of that is that there are two types of melanin - eumelanin, which is black and brown, and pheomelanin, which is red and orange. Pheomelanin actually arose due to a natural mutation, and this is what gives redheads their distinctive hair color. But could this be made to happen with another color - like blue?

There aren't a lot of things in nature that are blue due to pigmentation, because blue is a difficult color to pull off at the molecular level - a molecule has to be conjugated in just the right way for it to absorb low energy light at the red-orange end of the spectrum and still remain stable. However, there is one well-known molecule that can do it - indigo. Usually indigo comes from a plant, but there are microbes in the human gut that can actually synthesize it from tryptophan - more specifically, the microbes synthesize something called indoxyl, which then turns into indigo when exposed to oxygen. The trick would be getting the gene or genes that do this out of the microbe and into human cells. The cells that handle human pigmentation are called melanocytes, and you have them in your skin as well as your hair. What you would have to do is find a way to get the gene(s) producing the color to confine itself to just the hair while sparing the other pigmented parts of the body. The metabolic pathway that the gene(s) code for would produce the indoxyl, which would be deposited into the hair, which would then turn blue on exposure to air as it grew out of the follicle.

[amber-tortoiseshell]

It's kinda weird to me that the whole point of silver is inhibiting phaeomelanin, but it doesn't turn red cats gray or white like you'd think... but yet the agouti gene doesn't affect red at all... red is so weird lol

Cat's orange is certainly something very unique and not like anything else in other animals.

On the other hand, I strongly believe every interaction or phenotype can be explained if we understand the molecular processes behind the pigment production, the roles of the color genes and the changes brought by their mutations. These things aren't random even if we don't understand them yet.

Agouti probably doesn't affect red because the protein it codes (ASIP) regulates eumelanin production (switches it over to phaeomelanin), and in reds eumelanin is impossible to produce, so there's nothing to regulate. Thus no effect.

And why does inhibitor leave red stripes? Well, I don't know, the exact pathway is still unknown, but the known silver loci are in non-coding, gene regulating areas of the genom, so they are affecting the phenotype through other gene(s). Maybe it's some tabby pattern gene that's only active during the "background" bands' pigmentation! Or maybe the inhibitor effect is only so strong, and to more pigmented stripes keep enough phaeomelanin to visually remain red. Or maybe the phaeomelanin produced in different agouti bands is slightly different, so they react to inhibitor differently. I'm sure we'll get the explanation someday.