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82-757: The contract for the establishment of the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory was signed on March 6, 1964, between the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and Michigan State University. The institute was initially funded by the AEC's Division of Biology and Medicine, which saw a need for improving the state of plant sciences in the United States. The Division aimed to create a new program at one or more universities where student interest in plant research could be fostered. The contract signed between AEC and Michigan State University provided for

164-589: A $ 10,000 project to observe local animal populations and the effects of secondary succession on abandoned farmland around the nuclear plant. In 1961, AEC chairman Glenn T. Seaborg established the Technical Analysis Branch (to be directed by Hal Hollister) to study the long-term biological and ecological effects of nuclear war. Throughout the early 1960s, this group of scientists conducted several studies to determine nuclear weapons' ecological consequences and their implications for human life. As

246-725: A comprehensive research program in plant biology and related education and training at the graduate and postgraduate levels. The program was to draw strongly on related disciplines such as biochemistry , biophysics , genetics , microbiology , and others. In 1966, personnel of the new program - called MSU-AEC Plant Research Laboratory at that time - moved into their new quarters in the Plant Biology Laboratories building at Michigan State University. The first research projects generally focused on problems specific to plants, such as cell growth and its regulation by plant hormones , cell wall structure and composition, and

328-427: A fixed rate for purchasing ore through one of the mills in the area. This prompted individuals to discover and produce the ore, which the government would then buy. The AEC was the only legal buyer of uranium from the beginning of the program in 1947 through 1966. From 1966 to the end of the program in 1970, the AEC continued to buy uranium to support the market until private industry could develop sufficiently. Because

410-444: A multimer. When a multimer is formed from polypeptides produced by two different mutant alleles of a particular gene, the mixed multimer may exhibit greater functional activity than the unmixed multimers formed by each of the mutants alone. In such a case, the phenomenon is referred to as intragenic complementation (also called inter-allelic complementation). Intragenic complementation has been demonstrated in many different genes in

492-528: A national agency on funding bio-environmental research in the Arctic. Research took place at Cape Thompson on the northwest coast of Alaska, and was tied to an excavation proposal named Project Chariot . The excavation project was to involve a series of underground nuclear detonations that would create an artificial harbor, consisting of a channel and circular terminal basin, which would fill with water. This would have allowed for enhanced ecological research of

574-476: A relatively long half-life. Typically, the obligate interactions (protein–protein interactions in an obligate complex) are permanent, whereas non-obligate interactions have been found to be either permanent or transient. Note that there is no clear distinction between obligate and non-obligate interaction, rather there exist a continuum between them which depends on various conditions e.g. pH, protein concentration etc. However, there are important distinctions between

656-498: A result of exposure to radon gas in uranium mines. The AEC was connected with the U.S. Department of Defense by a "Military Liaison Committee"'. The Joint Committee on Atomic Energy exercised congressional oversight over the AEC and had considerable power in influencing AEC decisions and policy. The AEC's far-reaching powers and control over a subject matter which had far-reaching social, public health, and military implications made it an extremely controversial organization. One of

738-512: A result, during the 1950s and 1960s, the U.S. government placed emphasis on the development and potential use of "clean" nuclear weapons to mitigate these effects. In later years, the AEC began providing increased research opportunities to scientists by approving funding for ecological studies at various nuclear testing sites, most notably at Eniwetok , which was part of the Marshall Islands . Through their support of nuclear testing,

820-405: A role: more flexible proteins allow for a greater surface area available for interaction. While assembly is a different process from disassembly, the two are reversible in both homomeric and heteromeric complexes. Thus, the overall process can be referred to as (dis)assembly. In homomultimeric complexes, the homomeric proteins assemble in a way that mimics evolution. That is, an intermediate in

902-417: A single polypeptide chain. Protein complexes are a form of quaternary structure. Proteins in a protein complex are linked by non-covalent protein–protein interactions . These complexes are a cornerstone of many (if not most) biological processes. The cell is seen to be composed of modular supramolecular complexes, each of which performs an independent, discrete biological function. Through proximity,

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984-474: A tenure-track faculty member, and has around 150 employees. Its twelve tenure-track faculty also hold appointments in academic departments and programs at Michigan State University. The Plant Research Lab is solely a research institute and does not grant academic degrees to its students. Consequently, graduate students at the Plant Research Lab are appointed to both the institute and at least one of

1066-414: A variety of organisms including the fungi Neurospora crassa , Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe ; the bacterium Salmonella typhimurium ; the virus bacteriophage T4 , an RNA virus and humans. In such studies, numerous mutations defective in the same gene were often isolated and mapped in a linear order on the basis of recombination frequencies to form a genetic map of

1148-632: Is that polypeptide monomers are often aligned in the multimer in such a way that mutant polypeptides defective at nearby sites in the genetic map tend to form a mixed multimer that functions poorly, whereas mutant polypeptides defective at distant sites tend to form a mixed multimer that functions more effectively. The intermolecular forces likely responsible for self-recognition and multimer formation were discussed by Jehle. The molecular structure of protein complexes can be determined by experimental techniques such as X-ray crystallography , Single particle analysis or nuclear magnetic resonance . Increasingly

1230-533: Is to understand photosynthesis in 'real life,' how it is regulated by changes in the natural environment and in response to environmental challenges. The long-term goal uniting these research areas is to improve photosynthetic efficiency and to develop new industrial technological applications. As of 2020, the Plant Research Lab had over 900 alumni worldwide, many of whom have assumed important academic, industrial, and governmental positions. Since its inception, 18 Plant Research Lab scientists have been elected members of

1312-588: Is weak for binary or transient interactions (e.g., yeast two-hybrid ). However, the correlation is robust for networks of stable co-complex interactions. In fact, a disproportionate number of essential genes belong to protein complexes. This led to the conclusion that essentiality is a property of molecular machines (i.e. complexes) rather than individual components. Wang et al. (2009) noted that larger protein complexes are more likely to be essential, explaining why essential genes are more likely to have high co-complex interaction degree. Ryan et al. (2013) referred to

1394-506: The Armed Forces Special Weapons Project (AFSWP); previously Lilienthal had opposed his appointment. Lilienthal was told to "forgo your desire to place a bottle of milk on every doorstop and get down to the business of producing atomic weapons." Nichols became General Manager of the AEC on 2 November 1953. The AEC was in charge of developing the U.S. nuclear arsenal, taking over these responsibilities from

1476-472: The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 , which for the first time made the development of commercial nuclear power possible, and resolved a number of other outstanding problems in implementing the first Atomic Energy Act. The act assigned the AEC the functions of both encouraging the use of nuclear power and regulating its safety . The AEC's regulatory programs sought to ensure public health and safety from

1558-668: The Federal Energy Administration (FEA), the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA), the Federal Power Commission (FPC), and various other federal agencies. In creating the AEC, Congress declared that atomic energy should be employed not only in the form of nuclear weapons for the nation's defense, but also to promote world peace , improve the public welfare and strengthen free competition in private enterprise. At

1640-769: The Hanford site in Washington. In 1953, the AEC ran several studies on the health effects of radioactive iodine in newborns and pregnant women at the University of Iowa . Also in 1953, the AEC sponsored a study to discover if radioactive iodine affected premature babies differently from full-term babies. In the experiment, researchers from Harper Hospital in Detroit orally administered iodine-131 to 65 premature and full-term infants who weighed from 2.1 to 5.5 pounds (0.95 to 2.49 kg). In another AEC study, researchers at

1722-613: The Manhattan Project 's Los Alamos Laboratory , physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer voiced strong opinions to the AEC, as chairman of its general advisory board of nuclear scientists, against development of the "super" or hydrogen bomb along with Lilienthal. Subsequently, Lilienthal left the AEC at the White House's request in 1950 and Oppenheimer's appointment to the board was not renewed in 1952. With them removed, President Truman announced his decision to develop and produce

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1804-614: The National Technical Information Service (NTIS), and through public domain digitization projects such as the Technical Report Archive & Image Library , which are available via HathiTrust . Protein complexes A protein complex or multiprotein complex is a group of two or more associated polypeptide chains . Protein complexes are distinct from multidomain enzymes , in which multiple catalytic domains are found in

1886-499: The U.S. Congress to foster and control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S. Truman signed the McMahon/Atomic Energy Act on August 1, 1946, transferring the control of atomic energy from military to civilian hands, effective on January 1, 1947. This shift gave the members of the AEC complete control of the plants, laboratories, equipment, and personnel assembled during

1968-461: The U.S. National Academy of Sciences , a prestigious honor for scientists in the United States; 21 have been elected American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows; and 23 have been elected American Society of Plant Biologists Fellows. DOE-funded collaborative projects drive the research conducted at the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory. The projects involve all twelve labs at

2050-601: The University of Nebraska College of Medicine fed iodine-131 to 28 healthy infants through a gastric tube to test the concentration of iodine in the infants' thyroid glands. During the 1960s and early 1970s, the Atomic Energy Commission came under fire from opposition concerned with more fundamental ecological problems such as the pollution of air and water. Under the Nixon Administration, environmental consciousness grew exponentially and

2132-402: The conformational ensembles of fuzzy complexes, to fine-tune affinity or specificity of interactions. These mechanisms are often used for regulation within the eukaryotic transcription machinery. Although some early studies suggested a strong correlation between essentiality and protein interaction degree (the "centrality-lethality" rule) subsequent analyses have shown that this correlation

2214-413: The 1950s, such concerns led the AEC to build a large ecology research group at their Oak Ridge National Laboratory , which was instrumental in the development of radioecology . A wide variety of research efforts in biology and medicine took place under the umbrella of the AEC at national laboratories and at some universities with agency sponsorship and funding. As a result of increased funding as well as

2296-497: The AEC exceptional freedom in hiring its scientists and engineers, AEC employees were exempt from the civil service system. The AEC's first order of business was to inspect the scattered empire of atomic plants and laboratories to be inherited from the U.S. Army. Because of the great need for security, all production facilities and nuclear reactors would be government-owned, while all technical information and research results would be under AEC control. The National Laboratory system

2378-474: The AEC gave ecologists a unique opportunity to study the effects of radiation on whole populations and entire ecological systems in the field. Prior to 1954, no one had investigated a complete ecosystem with the intent to measure its overall metabolism, but the AEC provided the means as well as the funding to do so. Ecological development was further spurred by environmental concerns about radioactive waste from nuclear energy and postwar atomic weapons production. In

2460-417: The AEC provided the most conspicuous example of the benefit of atomic age technologies to biology and medicine. Shortly after the Atomic Energy Commission was established, its Division of Biology and Medicine began supporting diverse programs of research in the life sciences, mainly the fields of genetics, physiology, and ecology. Specifically concerning the AEC's relationship with the field of ecology, one of

2542-636: The AEC to the new Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which began operations on January 19, 1975. Promotional functions went to the Energy Research and Development Administration which was later incorporated into the United States Department of Energy. Lasting through the mid-1970s, the AEC, along with other entities including the Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society,

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2624-789: The AEC, support was often given to research in these fields indirectly as an extension of their efforts for peaceful applications of nuclear energy. The AEC issued a large number of technical reports through their technical information service and other channels. These had many numbering schemes, often associated with the lab from which the report was issued. AEC report numbers included AEC-AECU (unclassified), AEC-AECD (declassified), AEC-BNL ( Brookhaven National Lab ), AEC-HASL (Health and Safety Laboratory), AEC-HW (Hanford Works), AEC-IDO (Idaho Operations Office), AEC-LA (Los Alamos), AEC-MDCC (Manhattan District), AEC-TID (Technical Information Division), and others. Today, these reports can be found in library collections that received government documents, through

2706-632: The AEC. The AEC was abolished by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 , which assigned its functions to two new agencies: the Energy Research and Development Administration and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission . On August 4, 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Department of Energy Organization Act , which created the Department of Energy . The new agency assumed the responsibilities of

2788-597: The MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory under a contract with the Department of Energy. The institute director reports to both to Michigan State University's College of Natural Sciences and the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences program. The Plant Research Lab is located on Michigan State University's East Lansing campus and has groups in both the Plant Biology Laboratory and Molecular Plant Sciences buildings. The institute consists of twelve research laboratories, each headed by

2870-779: The Manhattan Project, and various universities funded or conducted human radiation experiments . The government covered up most of these radiation mishaps until 1993, when President Bill Clinton ordered a change of policy. Nuclear radiation was known to be dangerous and deadly (from the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945), and the experiments were designed to ascertain the detailed effect of radiation on human health. In Oregon, 67 prisoners with inadequate consent to vasectomies had their testicles exposed to irradiation. In Chicago, 102 volunteers with unclear consent received injections of strontium and cesium solutions to simulate radioactive fallout. For many years,

2952-531: The Northeast, although a similar lab in Southern California did not eventuate. On 11 March 1948 Lilienthal and Kenneth Nichols were summoned to the White House where Truman told them "I know you two hate each other’s guts". He directed that "the primary objective of the AEC was to develop and produce atomic weapons", Nichols was appointed a major general and replaced Leslie Groves as chief of

3034-943: The Plant Research Lab and rely on their diverse areas of expertise to tackle key problems too large to study in individual labs. The research addresses some of today's most challenging scientific questions, with implications for renewables , food sustainability , and medical and industrial technologies. In addition to the collaborative projects funded by the DOE, individual laboratories conduct molecular research in diverse areas, including algal biofuels , plant resistance to biotic and abiotic threats, secretory membrane dynamics, dynamics of energy organelles ( ie , mitochondria , peroxisomes , and chloroplasts ), and molecular genetic and biochemical analyses of photomorphogenesis . The Plant Research Lab has also developed innovative technologies and methods to help address new research questions. Current examples include: Michigan State University operates

3116-459: The Plant Research Lab thus found itself supported by the newly formed Energy Research and Development Administration , which in turn, was consolidated into the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in 1978. The institute's name was modified in step with the changes at the federal level, finally settling on its current name, MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory. The DOE broadened the laboratory's mandate to look at basic plant processes, especially regarding

3198-416: The U.S. were stricken, and many planned nuclear plants were canceled. By 1974, the AEC's regulatory programs had come under such strong attack that Congress decided to abolish the agency. Supporters and critics of nuclear power agreed that the promotional and regulatory duties of the AEC should be assigned to different agencies. The Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 transferred the regulatory functions of

3280-414: The affiliated academic departments or programs, the latter of which grant Ph.D. degrees. Postdoctoral associates are appointed to the Plant Research Lab with Michigan State University privileges, such as healthcare and funding. United States Atomic Energy Commission The United States Atomic Energy Commission ( AEC ) was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by

3362-413: The agency grew. The AEC was chiefly held responsible for the health problems of people living near atmospheric test sites from the early 1960s, and there was a strong association of nuclear energy with the radioactive fallout from these tests. Around the same time, the AEC was also struggling with opposition to nuclear power plant siting as well as nuclear testing. An organized push was finally made to curb

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3444-409: The arctic regions of the globe made ideal locations in which to pursue ecological research, especially since at the time there was minimal human modification of the landscape. All investigations conducted by the AEC produced new data from the Arctic, but few or none of them were supported solely on that basis. While the development of ecology and other sciences was not always the primary objective of

3526-402: The area in conjunction with any nuclear testing that might occur, as it essentially would have created a controlled environment where levels and patterns of radioactive fallout resulting from weapons testing could be measured. The proposal never went through, but it evidenced the AEC's interest in Arctic research and development. The simplicity of biotic compositions and ecological processes in

3608-406: The basic science of photosynthetic organisms, including the exploration of photosynthetic processes across multiple scales of biological organization, ranging from subcellular (e.g. photoactive compounds , enzymes , protein complexes and bacterial microcompartments , the thylakoid membrane ), to the overall integration of photosynthesis in cells and organisms in their environments. Another aim

3690-461: The biosynthesis of cell wall components, establishing a genetic system for the nitrogen-fixing actinomycete Frankia , studying the molecular basis of flower induction , studying membrane - tethered transcription factors , and others. In 2006, the Plant Research Lab's research mission was redirected to match the new priorities of the DOE's Office of Basic Energy Sciences (DOE-BES) . The DOE program

3772-414: The bound state. This means that proteins may not fold completely in either transient or permanent complexes. Consequently, specific complexes can have ambiguous interactions, which vary according to the environmental signals. Hence different ensembles of structures result in different (even opposite) biological functions. Post-translational modifications, protein interactions or alternative splicing modulate

3854-399: The channel allows ions to flow through the hydrophobic plasma membrane. Connexons are an example of a homomultimeric protein composed of six identical connexins . A cluster of connexons forms the gap-junction in two neurons that transmit signals through an electrical synapse . When multiple copies of a polypeptide encoded by a gene form a complex, this protein structure is referred to as

3936-476: The complex members and in this way, protein complex formation can be similar to phosphorylation . Individual proteins can participate in a variety of protein complexes. Different complexes perform different functions, and the same complex can perform multiple functions depending on various factors. Factors include: Many protein complexes are well understood, particularly in the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast). For this relatively simple organism,

4018-430: The complexes formed by such proteins are termed "non-obligate protein complexes". However, some proteins can't be found to create a stable well-folded structure alone, but can be found as a part of a protein complex which stabilizes the constituent proteins. Such protein complexes are called "obligate protein complexes". Transient protein complexes form and break down transiently in vivo , whereas permanent complexes have

4100-494: The discovery that most complexes follow an ordered assembly pathway. In the cases where disordered assembly is possible, the change from an ordered to a disordered state leads to a transition from function to dysfunction of the complex, since disordered assembly leads to aggregation. The structure of proteins play a role in how the multiprotein complex assembles. The interfaces between proteins can be used to predict assembly pathways. The intrinsic flexibility of proteins also plays

4182-423: The diversity and specificity of many pathways, may mediate and regulate gene expression, activity of enzymes, ion channels, receptors, and cell adhesion processes. The voltage-gated potassium channels in the plasma membrane of a neuron are heteromultimeric proteins composed of four of forty known alpha subunits. Subunits must be of the same subfamily to form the multimeric protein channel. The tertiary structure of

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4264-485: The drafters of the McMahon Act, James R. Newman , famously concluded that the bill made "the field of atomic energy [an] island of socialism in the midst of a free-enterprise economy". Before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was created, nuclear regulation was the responsibility of the AEC, which Congress first established in the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 . Eight years later, Congress replaced that law with

4346-591: The environment was brought to the forefront of a growing public controversy that had been building since 1965. In search for an ideal location for a large-yield nuclear test, the AEC settled upon the island of Amchitka , part of the Aleutian Islands National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. The main public concern was about their location choice, as there was a large colony of endangered sea otters in close proximity. To help defuse

4428-425: The first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970. Along with rising environmental awareness came a growing suspicion of the AEC and public hostility for their projects increased. In the public eye, there was a strong association between nuclear power and nuclear weapons, and even though the AEC had made a push in the late 1960s, to portray their efforts as being geared toward peaceful uses of atomic energy, criticism of

4510-609: The first approved funding grants went to Eugene Odum in 1951. This grant sought to observe and document the effects of radiation emission on the environment from a recently built nuclear facility on the Savannah River in South Carolina. Odum, a professor at the University of Georgia, initially submitted a proposal requesting annual funding of $ 267,000, but the AEC rejected the proposal and instead offered to fund

4592-405: The gene. Separately, the mutants were tested in pairwise combinations to measure complementation. An analysis of the results from such studies led to the conclusion that intragenic complementation, in general, arises from the interaction of differently defective polypeptide monomers to form a multimer. Genes that encode multimer-forming polypeptides appear to be common. One interpretation of the data

4674-418: The geometry and stoichiometry of the complexes. Proper assembly of multiprotein complexes is important, since misassembly can lead to disastrous consequences. In order to study pathway assembly, researchers look at intermediate steps in the pathway. One such technique that allows one to do that is electrospray mass spectrometry , which can identify different intermediate states simultaneously. This has led to

4756-466: The government itself was not producing ore, it claimed that it had no obligation to regulate miner safety. A congressional report published in 1995 concluded that, "The government failed to act to require the reduction of the hazard by ventilating the mines, and it failed to adequately warn the miners of the hazard to which they were being exposed." The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990 sought to compensate miners and families who developed cancer as

4838-582: The growth of plants as a renewable resource , with the focus of research shifting to modern plant molecular biology . During that period, Plant Research Lab scientists were among the pioneers who introduced the use of the model plant , Arabidopsis thaliana , into plant biology. Starting in the 1990s, the Plant Research Lab initiated a culture of group projects, which combined the talents of Plant Research Lab faculty members with scientists from other departments at Michigan State University, in order to tackle difficult and risky research projects. Projects included

4920-431: The hazards of nuclear power without imposing excessive requirements that would inhibit the growth of the industry. This was a difficult goal to achieve, especially in a new industry, and within a short time the AEC's programs stirred considerable controversy. Stephanie Cooke has written that: the AEC had become an oligarchy controlling all facets of the military and civilian sides of nuclear energy, promoting them and at

5002-465: The human interactome is enriched in such interactions, these interactions are the dominating players of gene regulation and signal transduction, and proteins with intrinsically disordered regions (IDR: regions in protein that show dynamic inter-converting structures in the native state) are found to be enriched in transient regulatory and signaling interactions. Fuzzy protein complexes have more than one structural form or dynamic structural disorder in

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5084-659: The hydrogen bomb. The first test firing of an experimental H-bomb (" Ivy Mike ") was carried out in the Central Pacific on November 1, 1952, under President Truman. Furthermore, U.S. Navy Admiral Lewis W. Strauss was appointed in 1953 by the new President Eisenhower as the Chairman of the AEC, to carry out the military development and production of the H-bomb. Lilienthal wanted to give high priority to peaceful uses, especially with nuclear power plants . However, coal

5166-408: The increased opportunities given to scientists and the field of ecology in general, a plethora of new techniques were developed which led to rapid growth and expansion of the field as a whole. One of these techniques afforded to ecologists involved the use of radiation, namely in ecological dating and to study the effects of stresses on the environment. In 1969, the AEC's relationship with science and

5248-577: The issue, the AEC sought a formal agreement with the Department of the Interior and the U.S. state of Alaska to help transplant the colony of sea otters to other former habitats along the West Coast. The AEC played a role in expanding the field of arctic ecology . From 1959 to 1962, the Commission's interest in this type of research peaked. For the first time, extensive effort was placed by

5330-453: The observation that entire complexes appear essential as " modular essentiality ". These authors also showed that complexes tend to be composed of either essential or non-essential proteins rather than showing a random distribution (see Figure). However, this not an all or nothing phenomenon: only about 26% (105/401) of yeast complexes consist of solely essential or solely nonessential subunits. In humans, genes whose protein products belong to

5412-438: The physiology of flower formation; other research projects addressed general biological problems, such as the regulation of enzyme formation during development and cellular and genetic aspects of hormone action. In the 1970s, federal funding of the Plant Research Lab changed hands a number of times. The AEC was abolished following the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 , and its functions were assigned to two new agencies. In 1975,

5494-563: The power held by the AEC, and in 1970 the AEC was forced to prepare an Environmental impact statement (EIS) for a nuclear test in northwestern Colorado as part of the initial preparation for Project Rio Blanco . In 1973, the AEC predicted that, by the turn of the century, one thousand reactors would be needed producing electricity for homes and businesses across the United States. However, after 1973, orders for nuclear reactors declined sharply as electricity demand fell and construction costs rose. Some partially completed nuclear power plants in

5576-587: The properties of transient and permanent/stable interactions: stable interactions are highly conserved but transient interactions are far less conserved, interacting proteins on the two sides of a stable interaction have more tendency of being co-expressed than those of a transient interaction (in fact, co-expression probability between two transiently interacting proteins is not higher than two random proteins), and transient interactions are much less co-localized than stable interactions. Though, transient by nature, transient interactions are very important for cell biology:

5658-530: The prosecution of the Rosenbergs for espionage. The AEC also began a program of regular nuclear weapons testing , both in the faraway Pacific Proving Grounds and at the Nevada Test Site in the western United States. While the AEC also supported much basic research, the vast majority of its early budget was devoted to nuclear weapons development and production. After serving as director of

5740-473: The same complex are more likely to result in the same disease phenotype. The subunits of a multimeric protein may be identical as in a homomultimeric (homooligomeric) protein or different as in a heteromultimeric protein. Many soluble and membrane proteins form homomultimeric complexes in a cell, majority of proteins in the Protein Data Bank are homomultimeric. Homooligomers are responsible for

5822-451: The same time attempting to regulate them, and it had fallen down on the regulatory side ... a growing legion of critics saw too many inbuilt conflicts of interest. The AEC had a history of involvement in experiments involving radioactive iodine . In a 1949 operation called the " Green Run ", the AEC released iodine-131 and xenon-133 to the atmosphere which contaminated a 500,000-acre (2,000 km ) area containing three small towns near

5904-483: The same time, the McMahon Act which created the AEC also gave it unprecedented powers of regulation over the entire field of nuclear science and technology. It furthermore explicitly prevented technology transfer between the United States and other countries, and required FBI investigations for all scientists or industrial contractors who wished to have access to any AEC controlled nuclear information. The signing

5986-641: The speed and selectivity of binding interactions between enzymatic complex and substrates can be vastly improved, leading to higher cellular efficiency. Many of the techniques used to enter cells and isolate proteins are inherently disruptive to such large complexes, complicating the task of determining the components of a complex. Examples of protein complexes include the proteasome for molecular degradation and most RNA polymerases . In stable complexes, large hydrophobic interfaces between proteins typically bury surface areas larger than 2500 square Ås . Protein complex formation can activate or inhibit one or more of

6068-473: The study of protein complexes is now genome wide and the elucidation of most of its protein complexes is ongoing. In 2021, researchers used deep learning software RoseTTAFold along with AlphaFold to solve the structures of 712 eukaryote complexes. They compared 6000 yeast proteins to those from 2026 other fungi and 4325 other eukaryotes. If a protein can form a stable well-folded structure on its own (without any other associated protein) in vivo , then

6150-455: The tailings of vanadium plants in the US West during World War II. The Colorado Plateau was known to contain veins of carnotite ore, which contains both vanadium and uranium. The AEC developed its program in accordance with the principle of free enterprise. Rather than discovering, mining, and processing the ore itself, the federal government provided geological information, built roads, and set

6232-555: The theoretical option of protein–protein docking is also becoming available. One method that is commonly used for identifying the meomplexes is immunoprecipitation . Recently, Raicu and coworkers developed a method to determine the quaternary structure of protein complexes in living cells. This method is based on the determination of pixel-level Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) efficiency in conjunction with spectrally resolved two-photon microscope . The distribution of FRET efficiencies are simulated against different models to get

6314-412: The war to produce the atomic bomb. An increasing number of critics during the 1960s charged that the AEC's regulations were insufficiently rigorous in several important areas, including radiation protection standards, nuclear reactor safety, plant siting, and environmental protection. By 1974, the AEC's regulatory programs had come under such strong attack that the U.S. Congress decided to abolish

6396-557: The wartime Manhattan Project . In its first decade, the AEC oversaw the operation of Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory , devoted primarily to weapons development, and in 1952, the creation of new second weapons laboratory in California, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory . The AEC also carried out the "crash program" to develop the hydrogen bomb (H-bomb), and the AEC played a key role in

6478-624: Was established from the facilities created under the Manhattan Project . Argonne National Laboratory was one of the first laboratories authorized under this legislation as a contractor-operated facility dedicated to fulfilling the new AEC's missions. Argonne was the first of the regional laboratories to involve universities in the Chicago area. Others were the Clinton (CEW) labs and the Brookhaven National Laboratory in

6560-534: Was still cheap, and the electric power industry was not interested. The first experimental nuclear power plant was started in Pennsylvania under President Eisenhower in 1954. The AEC developed a program for sourcing uranium domestically. Before 1947, the main sources for the mineral had been Canada and (what was then) the Belgian Congo, though the Manhattan Project also secretly processed uranium from

6642-404: Was the culmination of long months of intensive debate among politicians, military planners and atomic scientists over the fate of this new energy source and the means by which it would be regulated. President Truman appointed David Lilienthal as the first Chairman of the AEC. Congress gave the new civilian AEC extraordinary power and considerable independence to carry out its mission. To provide

6724-566: Was undergoing reorganization, and the goals now focused on fundamental aspects of energy and carbon capture, conversion, and deposition in energy-rich molecules in both plants and microbes . This change in research direction led to a reconfiguration of group research projects and to new faculty hires. In 2013, the group project model, first adopted in the 1990s, became the fundamental research model - "research teams addressing research themes" - for all DOE-BES funded research. Three primary research projects were initiated (go to section) to understand

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