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| Introduction to Proteomics |
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There's
little doubt that proteomics -- the study of an
organism's complete complement of proteins -- will
have great impact in all areas of the life
sciences in the years to come. And the reason is
clear. "To really understand biological processes,
we need to understand how proteins function in and
around cells since they are the functioning
units," says Hanno Steen, director of the
Proteomics Center at Children's Hospital Boston.
The task of studying the proteome has its
share of challenges. One involves the sheer number
of proteins that need to be identified. The 35,000
genes in the human genome can code for at least
ten times as many proteins; in extreme cases a
single gene alone can code for over 1,000. Another
challenge is that amino acids -- the base units of
proteins -- are so small. Each amino acid is made
from anywhere between 7 and 24 atoms. This is far
beyond the reach of even the most powerful
microscopes.
Which brings us to the
subject of the interactive feature.
How are
researchers able to determine the sequence of
amino acids that make up proteins? One way is by
separating the proteins, breaking them up into
smaller pieces, and using mass spectrometers to,
in effect, "weigh" each amino acid. Each type of
amino acid has a unique mass, making
identification relatively straightforward. By
identifying and sequencing these smaller pieces,
researchers can then determine the identity of the
protein they make up.
That's obviously a
simple explanation of the process. For a more
in-depth explanation, check out our Guide to
Sequencing and Identifying Proteins.
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Credits
Writer/Producer:
Rick Groleau
Subject Matter Expert: Hanno
Steen, PhD
Designer: Peggy
Recinos
Developer: Jeffrey Testa
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Tucker
Collins, MD, PhD
Judah
Folkman, MD
Michael
Freeman, PhD
Mel
Glimcher, MD
Michael
Greenberg, PhD
Michael
Klagsbrun, PhD
Marsha
Moses, PhD
Keith
Solomon, PhD
Hanno
Steen, PhD
Bruce
Zetter,
PhD
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