Tropical Molecules
The BeANs Lab participated in a collaborative project between NTU and Molecular Frontiers produced by Untamed Science. The project highlights molecules found in the tropics, namely luminescent/fluorescent protein, crustacean shells, capsaisin, and a cool mammoth DNA decoding work.
Glowing Mushrooms - The Chemistry of Light
Jonas and Louise came to the BeANs Lab to film some props for this video on 19 December 2012 because we work on proteins and use fluorescent proteins to tag other proteins that are usually colorless. Fluorescent tagging has been helping scientists visualize the colorless proteins and their locations in a cell.
Thanks to Ali Miserez for introducing us to them!
The fluorescent proteins have revolutionized science that Osamu Shimomura, Martin Chalfie, and Roger Y. Tsien were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2008.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2008 - Who won it and why
Crushing Crustaceans
This video features some works on crustacean-derived materials by Ali Miserez of NTU School of Materials Science and Engineering. The materials, as they turn out, are composed of protein - very tough proteins! Only imagination limits what one can do with them!
Hot & Spicy - The Chemistry of Chili
The molecule that gives chili its hot and spicy taste is called capsaisin. What remedy will work if we have too much of it? Should we drink iced water like what most people do? Hmmm... Check out the video below!
Bringing Back the Mammoth - Decoding Extinct DNA
Geneticist Stephan Schuster of Penn State who is a founding member of and on the Research Directorate Board at Singapore Center on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE), together with Webb Miller, sequenced the DNA of a 20,000 year-old wolly mammoth. He was featured on The Time 100 - The World's Most Influential People in 2009. So, "Will we ever...clone a mammoth?" Listen to what Stephan has to say!
In May 2013, a 10,000-year-old frozen mammoth was found in Siberia with liquid blood in her stomach! What does it mean for mammoth cloning?!
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