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Scientists Determine New Way To Untangle Proteins By Unboiling an Egg

Posted by samzenpus on from the I-would-like-my-eggs-undone-please dept.

An anonymous reader sends word of this biotech breakthrough. "Univ. of California, Irvine (UC Irvine) and Australian chemists have figured out how to unboil egg whites—an innovation that could dramatically reduce costs for cancer treatments, food production and other segments of the $160 billion global biotechnology industry, according to findings published in ChemBioChem. 'Yes, we have invented a way to unboil a hen egg,' said Gregory Weiss, UCI professor of chemistry and molecular biology & biochemistry. 'In our paper, we describe a device for pulling apart tangled proteins and allowing them to refold. We start with egg whites boiled for 20 min at 90 C and return a key protein in the egg to working order.'"

11 of 155 comments (clear)

  1. Wow .... by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Interesting

    That's pretty cool.

    Imagine, a seasoning which turned your tough steak back from being shoe leather. :-P

    Un-boiling an egg, the mind boggles.

    I wonder what wacky applications chefs will come up with for this one. I can see some of the molecular gastronomy folks doing some odd things.

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    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    1. Re:Wow .... by TWX · · Score: 4, Funny

      I guess the next step is to un-fry a chicken.

      There's a particular Wendy's that I won't eat at; they seem to have mastered this technique based on what I've been served between two pieces of bread.

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      Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    2. Re:Wow .... by Marginal+Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Un-boiling an egg, the mind boggles.

      Yes, but if these researchers think they're so darn smart, let's see 'em put toothpaste back into the tube...

    3. Re:Wow .... by Rei · · Score: 4, Informative

      It's a two-step process. The first is a chemical that dissolves the proteins (still in their "cooked" folding), and the second is some sort of centrifuge or similar (they don't go into details on the device in the article) that subjects the proteins to very high sheer strain, effectively mechanically unfolding them so that they can then relax back into their natural state.

      Not exactly a spice you can sprinkle onto your steak, but still pretty neat. :)

      --
      Crowd: What do we want? Fry: Fry's dog! Crowd: When do we want it? Fry: Fry's dog!
    4. Re:Wow .... by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 4, Funny

      Sadly if you RTF[A/S] they say:

      We start with egg whites boiled for 20 min at 90 C and return a key protein in the egg to working order.

      One key protein does not make an egg.

      And we can be thankful for that! Otherwise we'd end up having brunch with some asshat who wants his eggs "unboiled three minutes, served with bearnaise sauce on the side and two slices of sour dough bread toasted to be crisp but not darkened"... and you end up wondering are they going to spit in everyone's food or just his?

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      You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
  2. Cryptography is lost by MiKom · · Score: 5, Funny

    So much for using egg scrambling as analogue to hash functions.

  3. Hamster Ovaries by Mystakaphoros · · Score: 5, Funny

    Today I learned that cancer antibodies are often made in hamster ovaries. This may be, to date, the most I have ever thought about hamster ovaries.

    1. Re:Hamster Ovaries by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      This may be, to date, the most I have ever thought about hamster ovaries.

      Your xHamster browsing history says otherwise.

  4. Unboil a hen egg? by ArcherB · · Score: 5, Funny

    'Yes, we have invented a way to unboil a hen egg,

    Let me know when they can unboil a rooster egg. Now that will be something.

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  5. im sure the academic notes are riveting. by nimbius · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Lab journal: Is frank doing this on purpose? our new UC Irvine lab PhD is a fan of eggs. Eggs for brekky, eggs for lunch and tea, eggs at dinner...eggs. Normally im not one to complain about a fellow academics choice of meal but the flatulence is unbearable (worse than the 2002 methane leak and that says a lot.) After confronting him i got the usual, condescending american 'he who smelt it delt it huh buddy?' Yah, Nah. From now on im on a mission. I will un-boil his god damn eggs if its the last thing I ever do."

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    Good people go to bed earlier.
  6. Correct paper link by OverlordQ · · Score: 4, Informative

    http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com...

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