Designer lipocalins

Endonuclease activity in lipocalins.

Several lipocalins contain conserved amino acid sequences similar to the phosphodiester bond cleavage domain of sugar non-specific magnesium-dependent nucleases of the Serratia marcescens type. His-89 and Glu-127 of the S. marcescens endonuclease are believed to have a role in the active catalytic site by the attack of a water molecule at the phosphorus atom of the bridging phosphate. Tear lipo...

Staphostatins resemble lipocalins, not cystatins in fold.

Staphostatins are the endogenous inhibitors of the major secreted cysteine proteases of Staphylococcus aureus, the staphopains. Here, we present the 1.4 A crystal structure of staphostatin B and show that the fold can be described as a fully closed, highly sheared eight-stranded beta-barrel. Thus, staphostatin B is related to beta-barrel domains that are involved in the inhibition or regulation...

‘Designer’ babies

The remaining hurdle to the creation of babies specifically to save the life of an ailing brother or sister was removed in Britain last month by the fertility regulatory body to the delight of afflicted families and alarm of those who fear the advent of a 'designer' baby age. The decision of the UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority gives new hope to the parents of a two-year-old bo...

Designer Manual

Designer Children: