Mitochondria are organelles within eukaryotic cells most commonly known for their role in cellular respiration and the generation of ATP. Mitochondria are unique from other organelles in that they contain their own circular DNA and reproduce independently from the rest of the cell. Interestingly, only maternal mitochondria are passed on to offspring. In order to
University of Massachusetts Medical School researchers, led by Kerafast providing investigator Dr. Abraham L. Brass, have used CRISPR technology to identify human proteins required for Zika virus infection and replication. These proteins now represent potential targets for the development of Zika treatments. Zika is a flavivirus, a family of mosquito-trasmitted viruses that also includes dengue,
Tuberculosis infects almost 10 million people every year and is challenging to treat. Treatment consists of multiple antibiotics taken over several months, partly because of variations in antibiotic tolerance among subpopulations of the tuberculosis-causing bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis.A specific combination of factors that determine why individual mycobacteria of the same genetic background can respond differently to
As you may know, Kerafast recently exhibited at ASM Microbe 2016, a microbiology conference held just down the road from us here in downtown Boston. We enjoyed discussing the latest in unique microbiology reagents with researchers from around the world, and for every booth visitor, we donated $1 to the Foundation for the National Institutes
Biomolecule labeling requires reaction procedures that can be performed under physiological conditions (e.g., neutral pH, aqueous solution, ambient temperature) with low reactant concentrations to ensure non-toxic, low background labeling at reasonable time scales while still preserving biological function. Click chemistry can be an excellent method to accomplish this. Below, we explain how traditional copper-catalyzed click