Monday's Molecule #84

 
Continuing with our Olympics theme, this is another molecule that many athletes fear. As with last week's molecule, the competitors in Beijing do not want to be caught with too much of this in their bodies. You probably won't recognize this molecule from the structure so there's a really big clue below.

You need to identify the specific molecule shown here and explain why this might be an important molecule at the Olympics. Be careful to get the name correct as there are several close relatives that might confuse you.

MATGSRTSLLLAFGLLCLPWLQEGSAFPTIPLSRLFDNAMLRAHRLHQLAFDTYQEFEEA
YIPKEQKYSFLQNPQTSLCFSESIPTPSNREETQQKSNLELLRISLLLIQSWLEPVQFLR
SVFANSLVYGASDSNVYDLLKDLEEGIQTLMGRLEDGSPRTGQIFKQTYSKFDTNSHNDD
ALLKNYGLLYCFRKDMDKVETFLRIVQCRSVEGSCGF

The connection between today's molecule and a Nobel Prize is quite indirect. The Nobel Prize was awarded for developing a very sensitive assay to detect these types of molecules. We don't know if the same assay is being used in the Olympics—probably not.

The first person to correctly identify the molecule and name the Nobel Laureate(s), wins a free lunch at the Faculty Club. Previous winners are ineligible for one month from the time they first collected the prize. There are three ineligible candidates for this week's reward. You know who you are.

THEME:

Nobel Laureates
Send your guess to Sandwalk (sandwalk (at) bioinfo.med.utoronto.ca) and I'll pick the first email message that correctly identifies the molecule and names the Nobel Laureate(s). Note that I'm not going to repeat Nobel Laureate(s) so you might want to check the list of previous Sandwalk postings by clicking on the link in the theme box.

Correct responses will be posted tomorrow. I reserve the right to select multiple winners if several people get it right.

Comments will be blocked for 24 hours. Comments are now open.

UPDATE: This week's winner is Mike Fraser who wrote, "The molecule is human growth hormone 1, which can be (mis)used to enhance
muscle mass and strength in athletes. Obviously, this would constitute
illegal doping at the Olympics; athletes would not want to be caught with too
much hGH.

The Nobelist is Rosalyn Yalow, 1977 (Medicine) for the development of the
radioimmunoassay of peptide hormones, such as hGH."

Congratulations Mike!

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