Abstract: Methods and compositions for preparation of frozen fermented food products using antifreeze polypeptide-expressing microorganisms are provided. In particular the invention provides for use of fish antifreeze polypeptide-expressing microorganisms in fermentation of milk to produce and store frozen yogurt.

Abstract: Novel medicinally-useful compounds are provided herein. These compounds include isomeric cyclic tetramers of formaldehyde and 1-naphthol, and the derivatives or analogues of such cyclic tetramers, and linear oligomers of chromotropic acid, or its derivatives or analogues with naphthalene.

Abstract: An "all fish" chimeric gene construct suitable for gene transfer for commercially important fish comprises the antifreeze gene (AFP) promoter fused to the desired gene sequence which is incorporated into fish embryos. The desired gene sequence is expressed in the transfected fish to provide a transgenic fish having the characteristics of the gene sequence.

Abstract: A method, and mediating agents are provided for mediating the physiological effects of hormones, neurotransmitters, calcium-channel antagonists, chemotactic peptides or chemotactic proteins. The mediating agents provided herein are bioactive conformations of peptide hormones, neurotransmitters, calcium-channel antagonist drugs or chemotatic peptides, or analogues, agonists or antagonists thereof, or synthetic analogue substances, having Ca.sup.2+ and/or Mg.sup.2+ ions optimally and optimally-conformationally bound to the respective compound. The Ca.sup.2+ antagonist/agonist may bind Mg.sup.2+ and thus may also block calcium-channel. In the one method, the concentration of intracellular Ca.sup.2+ is raised by means of such mediating agents. A second method is also provided for delivering Ca.sup.2+ and/or Mg.sup.2+ to a membrane-bound receptor by transporting Ca.sup.2+ and/or Mg.sup.2+ through a cell membrane using the above-described mediating agents.