The amino acid dipeptide: Small but still influential after 50 years

The amino acid dipeptide: small but still influential after 50 years.

T he conformation of a polypeptide chain can be described with good accuracy in terms of a unique set of values of backbone torsion angles—two for each amino acid residue— called φ and ψ (Fig. 1); bond lengths and bond angles are given fixed canonical values, and the peptide bond linking successive residues also is fixed as a planar structure. As was shown by Ramachandran and coworkers nearly 5...

50 Years Old and Still Alive: Eigenproblems

Determination of the Amino Acid Sequence of an Unknown Dipeptide

A dipeptide of unknown amino acid composition was subjected to acid hydrolysis and heat to permit breakage of peptide bonds in the sample resulting in each individual amino acid constituent. Chromatography was then employed with a proper solvent system to compare a set of known amino acid standards against the unknown hydrolyzed sample to determine the two amino acids present in the unknown dip...

Microtubule dynamics: 50 years after the discovery of tubulin and still going strong

Still evolving (after all these years).

[1] Humans are willful creatures. No other species on this planet has gained so much mastery over its own fate. We have neutralized countless threats that once killed us in the millions: we have learned to protect ourselves from the elements and predators in the wild; we have developed cures and treatments for many deadly diseases; we have transformed the small gardens of our agrarian ancestors...