Thaumatin is a sweet tasting protein with an intensity approximately 1,600 - 2,000 times greater than sucrose (it is even about 7 times sweeter than stevia). Some sources say that it is approximately 3000 times sweeter than sucrose. The thaumatin protein consists of a single polypeptide chain of 207 residues, and It elicits a sweetness 100,000 times higher than that of sucrose on a molar basis even at a low concentration of 50 nM.

SGGW scientists together with scientists from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, USA, have identified an interesting biochemical mechanism of one of the Legionella pneumophila bacterial effector proteins. The discovery was described in the Science journal. Will it contribute to the invention of a cure for legionellosis and it will no longer be an incurable disease?