"Precursor molecules" refers to the initial or starting substances that are transformed or used to create other molecules or compounds. They are like the building blocks or ingredients that are necessary to form more complex or important compounds in chemical reactions or biological processes.
Full definition
And since beta - carotene is an important
precursor molecule for Vitamin A, it also plays a role in the development of healthy skin as well as healthy and shiny coat.
It involves injecting short segments of an insulin
precursor molecule into the blood, helping to train immune cells to stop attacking the insulin - producing pancreatic cells.
«Now this is helping us argue that at this very low temperature, the
small precursor molecules can actually react with each other,» she says.
As such, these dietary bioactives represent important
precursor molecules in the quest to develop a new generation of drugs capable of counteracting neuroinflammation and neurodegenerative diseases.
A little more detail might be of interest: a Vitamin D
precursor molecule called 7 - dehydrocholesterol (7 - DHC) in the skin is converted by UV in sunlight to the vitamin.
Baur and colleagues examined the role of
NAD precursor molecules on mitochondria by specifically disrupting the «NAD salvage pathway,» in mouse skeletal muscle.
High - energy electrons in the beam interact with the substrate to produce the low - energy secondary electrons, which dissociate the
adsorbed precursor molecules, resulting in deposition of solid material onto the substrate surface.
FEBID uses an electron beam from a scanning electron microscope to condense
gaseous precursor molecules into a solid deposit on a surface.
«We knew from our work in Drosophila that Zucchini functions at the initial processing step, in which long
piRNA precursor molecules are cut into shorter fragments,» explains Haase.
The researchers embedded heteroatoms at equivalent atomic sites in the nanographene ribbons using in - surface chemical reactions with
special precursor molecules.
The researchers basically amplified and then short - circuited E. coli's internal machinery for producing large fatty - acid molecules, enabling them to
convert precursor molecules directly into fuels and other chemicals.
Now her team has finished the end of the pathway, engineering yeasts to synthesise finished drugs from another type
of precursor molecule (Nature Chemical Biology, DOI: 10.1038 / nchembio.1613).
The duo selected RNA molecules that showed even a slight talent for catalyzing the formation of nucleotides
from precursor molecules.
This strategy led them to a compound that targets
the precursor molecule to an RNA called microRNA - 18a.
Never before has it been so easy to obtain the instructions,
the precursor molecules, and the manufacturing capabilities to produce exotic, unregulated compounds on a mass scale — or print out crude recipes for drugs you can make yourself.
Cyanide is a good candidate as
a precursor molecule in the life - in - a-freezer model for several reasons.
To produce triangulene, the team began with
a precursor molecule called dihydrotriangulene, which lacks the reactive unpaired electrons.
To verify their approach, they first used
a precursor molecule with a well - known reaction, dimethylamine, and compared their experimental results to those of a computer modeling program before testing the four other precursors.
We know
some precursor molecules came to Earth from space because amino acids are found in meteorites — fallen space rocks.
Previous studies have revealed that exercise induces the production of irisin and
its precursor molecule, FNDC5 (fibronectin - type III domain - containing 5) protein, which convert white fat tissue into beneficial, calorie - burning brown fat.
Complicating matters, PGE2 is just one of five different prostaglandins originating from
the precursor molecule produced by COX - 1 and COX - 2.
The human body needs cholesterol to maintain membrane fluidity, and it acts as
a precursor molecule for several important biochemical pathways.
Another novel biomarker is proneurotensin,
the precursor molecule of neurotensin, which is peripherally released from the endocrine - like N - cells of the small intestine after fat intake (49).
Certain treatments for depression and anxiety therefore try to address the imbalance to the indolamine neurotransmitters through supplying the indoleamine or
its precursor molecule in the diet.
Glucosamine is well - regarded as one of
the precursor molecules of glycosaminoglycans which are, in turn, very important component of cartilage, the tissue that makes up the joints.
In Amyris's process, sugarcane stalks are crushed and the juices are then placed in 5,000 - liter fermenters with the company's engineered yeast, which makes a diesel -
precursor molecule.