Understanding the rules of life is one of the most important scientific endeavours and has
revolutionised both biology and biotechnology. Remarkable advances in observation …

The year of this writing, 2004, marks the 70th anniversary of the Noble Prize shared by
Whipple, Minot, and Murphy for their discovery that raw liver contained a substance, the “anti …

Eukaryotic microalgae and prokaryotic cyanobacteria are the major components of the
phytoplankton. Determining factors that govern growth of these primary producers, and how …

Coenzyme B12 or adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl)(Figure 1A), a naturally occurring
organometallic compound that contains a unique Co-C σ bond, serves as a cofactor for …

The discovery by Barker in 1958 of a biologically active cobalamin, required for the
transformation of glutamate to-methylaspartate, heralded the discovery of a class of radical …

Background: Diol dehydratase is an enzyme that catalyzes the adenosylcobalamin
(coenzyme B 12) dependent conversion of 1, 2-diols to the corresponding aldehydes. The …

Abstract Background: Glutamate mutase (Glm) equilibrates (S)-glutamate with (2S, 3S)-3-
methylaspartate. Catalysis proceeds with the homolytic cleavage of the organometallic bond …

The homolytic Co− C bond dissociation energy (BDE) is central to the understanding of the
function of vitamin B12, an important coenzyme of many proteins. We investigate why earlier …

Many coenzymes are vitamins that are assimilated in mammals into their active form from
precursors obtained from the diet. They are often both rare and reactive rendering the …

Vitamin B12, the “antipernicious anaemia factor”, is a crystallisable cobalt-complex, which
belongs to a group of unique “complete” corrinoids, named cobalamins (Cbl). In humans …