The three dimensional structure of a protein determines its biological function. How a protein folds, however, has been the central research problem for decades. The intermediates on the folding paths, which the protein can assume transiently, are of particular interest as they not only reveal the structural dynamics of a...
We present two ways in which measures of information can be used for the design and analysis of neural networks in both the brain and the computer. In the brain, stimulus is often represented as a distributed pattern of activity in a network of neurons. The quality of such population...
The hippocampus has been identified as a critical structure for supporting spatial memory processes in both humans and animals alike. Many of these processes such as the ability to self-localize in a given environment as well as engage in goal-directed navigation are thought to depend on the location-specific firing of...
DNA topoisomerases are enzymes present in all domains of life. They are responsible for maintaining the topological state of DNA in cells through supercoiling, relaxation, catenation, decatenation, knotting and unknotting. DNA gyrase is a unique topoisomerase, present mainly in bacteria that can introduce negative supercoils into DNA utilizing ATP hydrolysis....
The structural aspects of biological systems are tightly paired with their functions. This understanding has been demonstrated over a broad range of length scales, spanning the ultrastructure of a cell to the macroscopic architecture of organs. Connecting structure and function relies on the integration of physical and biological sciences to...
Pathogenic bacteria scavenge essential nutrients including metals, amino acids and peptides to survive within the hostile host environment. Bacteria utilize ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, powered by the energy of ATP hydrolysis, to move substrates across cellular membranes. The substrate-binding protein (SBP) shuttles substrate in the periplasm and directs the substrate...
Store-operated Ca2+ entry through Orai1 channels mediate transcriptional, proliferative, and effector cell programs in many cells and are activated through a unique inside-out mechanism involving binding of the endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ sensor, STIM1, to cytoplasmic sites on Orai1. Mutations in Orai1 that block channel activation or evoke constitutive channel activity...
Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and their associated Cas proteins provide an immune-like response in many prokaryotes against extraneous nucleic acids. CRISPR-Cas systems are classified into different classes and types that vary widely in composition, target recognition, and overall mechanism. The main division of CRISPR-Cas systems occurs between...