Recent content by Mike H

One thing to keep in mind is that proteins are not static entities - the level of ordering and rigidity can vary dramatically, with some proteins being like rocks, while others can be unstructured except in certain conditions. While I'm not super familiar with that particular example with PKA...

The effect of RF inhomogeneity will depend on how you contend with the problem. If you use a pulse sequence intended to compensate for imperfections along the height of your sample (for a typical high-res solution NMR probe) such as this classic one (link to a PDF), you should be getting data...

To be entirely honest, if you have or are completing a Ph.D. in subfield X, and are planning to obtain a postdoctoral research position in subfield X, you should already know where you should be looking for such positions. You know who are the relevant names in academia, the private sector, and...

Upfield/downfield is a relic of the CW NMR era, and should be banished into the abyss when it comes to discussing NMR nowadays. The IUPAC even agrees. It's just confusing, as it's juxtaposed with the shielding/deshielding discussion, which is the important thing to be clear about when...

Here's the thing with rankings, especially of the AWRU variety - they are heavily weighted based on research output. Many of the (primarily) undergraduate institutions won't show up, but these are the schools where undergraduate education is heavily valued and nurtured. You might want to think...

Your comment about thinking about DNA in terms of color but not structure has convinced me this will not be a fruitful conversation to continue. Where a sample absorbs and emits in the EM spectrum is dependent on its structure - this is standard physics/chemistry. IR radiation probes...

OK, here's the next batch of questions. When you say locate and track the sequence, again, in every human cell? Like I mentioned, the trick is that DNA is not just floating around in a vacuum for you to do spectroscopic measurements on inside the cell. It's bound up within proteins to form...

As noted in the review, the SERS-based methods require that the sample molecule (in this case, DNA) adsorb to a metal surface to enhance the signal to permit detection at the single-molecule level. Doing SERS-based measurements in vivo is non-trivial, and are nowhere near the stage necessary...

People are using Raman spectroscopy to develop DNA sequencing methods - http://www.ebi.ac.uk/training/online/sites/ebi.ac.uk.training.online/files/user/1317/documents/review_treffer_2010_recent_advances_in_single_molecule_sequencing.pdf (PDF link). Of course, sequencing in a laboratory is...

What NMR requires is a nonzero nuclear spin - for example, 2H and 14N are often used for (quadrupolar) NMR studies in a variety of applications. You need to examine the natural abundance of each isotope to see how the numbers pan out - for example, 1H is the vastly predominant stable isotope...

Quick Google searching yielded this program, where it would seem that the requirements for a molecular biophysics certificate could in principle be satisfied with successful graduate studies in multiple departments. This is a rather clever way of doing it, and kind of stands apart from the...

Yeah, this is the sort of semantic hairsplitting I try to avoid. ;) My point remains, though - yes, sure, physics PhD programs will require the coursework you mention. Perhaps there are some biophysics programs where it might be required (I don't know of any - do you have any that do in...

Alright then. My unspoken concern was that you had uniformly mentioned "I want to do X type of research" in a personal statement and then applied to schools, not checking whether or not they had faculty doing research in that area. However, the point above about you seeming indecisive has some...

Delong - were you applying to physics PhD programs or the various (interdisciplinary )biophysics/biochemistry PhD programs/departments? It's still not clear to me, as in principle, an undergraduate degree in biochemistry with additional math/physics/chemistry electives should be a pretty...

Generally, as long as you had what amounts to a typical undergrad physical chemistry curriculum - involving thermodynamics, some statistical mechanics and kinetics, and an introduction to quantum chemistry - that is usually the expected preparation for a chemistry or biochemistry graduate...