'Comet water' ions found in bacterial protein
Thursday, January 10, 2013 - 08:30
in Physics & Chemistry
Developments arising from new science techniques at Keele University in the UK, the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), the flagship centre for neutron science, and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), have confirmed the presence of hydronium ions in the protein rubredoxin. Rubredoxin is a light weight iron-sulphur protein found in some of the earliest, most basic forms of life, notably bacteria and archaea. These ions, commonly found in comet tails or interstellar space clouds, have been found to be involved in crucial interactions with the protein.