Smith college software kaleidagraph3/16/2024 Some of the meandering valley networks that lace the landscape may indicate that Mars was a warmer, wetter world billions of years ago. Title: Fluvial and hydrothermal studies of the surface of Marsĭr. Ginny Gulick examines erosional features on Mars, looking for the tell-tale signs of running water in Mars’ geological history. This project is suitable for a student interested in enzymes, catalysis, and spectroscopy. Familiarity with Mathematica and/or molecular graphics software would be a plus but is not essential. Some knowledge of basic spectroscopy would be helpful. The ideal candidate would have at least one year each of chemistry, physics, and some knowledge of biochemistry. We will use photochemistry to generate H 2 in the low temperature sample, and we will look for new intermediates using infrared spectroscopy. To settle this debate, we are planning to examine hydrogenases in cryosolvents at low temperatures, down to perhaps -100 ☌. Most mechanisms for hydrogenases assume an enzyme-H 2 complex as a key intermediate, although some proposals skirt the existence of a bound H 2 species, with splitting to hydride and proton directly through a transition state. In hydrogenases, catalysis occurs at a Ni-Fe site, while in hydrogenases the active site is an “H-cluster.” We plan to study both of these enzymes. They also generate intense technological interest for a future hydrogen economy. Along with their metabolic significance, hydrogenases are important targets for novel antiparasitic drugs. The production or consumption of molecular hydrogen (H 2) by the enzyme hydrogenase can be as fast as by the best artificial fuel cells, but using earth-abundant iron (Fe) or nickel (Ni) instead of rare and expensive platinum (Pt). Title: Enzymes That Capture Hydrogen – What is the First Step? This project is suitable for a student interested proteins and life under extreme conditions. Familiarity with Mathematica and/or bioinformatics software would be a plus but is not essential. Depending on scheduling, there may be an opportunity to assist in diffraction experiments at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, and/or in NMR experiments at UC Davis. For the student with a computational bent, normal mode and molecular dynamics calculations will assist in interpretation of the data. This project will involve comparing x-ray diffraction and NMR data on rubredoxins as a function of temperature, to see if the predicted differences in flexibility do in fact exist. Rubredoxins (Rds) are the smallest of all Fe-S proteins – with only about 55 amino acids, their simplicity makes them an ideal system for testing theories about protein structure. To settle this debate, we are planning to examine a set of small proteins called rubredoxins by multiple techniques to compare their dynamics at different temperatures. Some scientists argue that proteins adapted for high temperature or pressure will be stiffer than those that operate under freezing conditions. Information about extremophiles is relevant for biotechnological applications, bioremediation, and in our search for life elsewhere in the universe. Life under other marginal conditions such as high salinity, extremes of pH, desiccation, and radiation, as well as combinations of stressors, has now been found. In the deep ocean, piezophiles have been found living under pressures of >110 Mpa. Psychrophiles can metabolize down to -25☌, while hyperthermophiles grow at up to 122☌. Over the past 4 decades, our knowledge about life that can flourish under extreme conditions has dramatically expanded. Title: Extremophiles – How Do They Do It?
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