Selective autophagic degradation of cellular components has been shown to be mediated by the interaction of LIR motif-containing proteins with ATG8-family proteins. Here, we present a detailed methodology for the in silico evaluation of potential binding between LIR motif-containing proteins and ATG8-family proteins. We visualize AlphaFold-predicted protein complexes using PyMOL to assess potential interactions, providing an effective computational tool for this purpose.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe ancient city of Chichén Itzá in Yucatán, Mexico, was one of the largest and most influential Maya settlements during the Late and Terminal Classic periods (AD 600-1000) and it remains one of the most intensively studied archaeological sites in Mesoamerica. However, many questions about the social and cultural use of its ceremonial spaces, as well as its population's genetic ties to other Mesoamerican groups, remain unanswered. Here we present genome-wide data obtained from 64 subadult individuals dating to around AD 500-900 that were found in a subterranean mass burial near the Sacred Cenote (sinkhole) in the ceremonial centre of Chichén Itzá.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUntil the early twentieth century, populations on many Pacific Islands had never experienced measles. As travel to the Pacific Islands by Europeans became more common, the arrival of measles and other pathogens had devastating consequences. In 1911, Rotuma in Fiji was hit by a measles epidemic, which killed 13% of the island population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn late 2020, the JCVI (the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which provides advice to the Department of Health and Social Care, England) made two important recommendations for the initial roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine. The first was that vaccines should be targeted to older and vulnerable people, with the aim of maximally preventing disease rather than infection. The second was to increase the interval between first and second doses from 3 to 12 weeks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMalaria parasites such as Plasmodium falciparum have exerted formidable selective pressures on the human genome. Of the human genetic variants associated with malaria protection, beta thalassaemia (a haemoglobinopathy) was the earliest to be associated with malaria prevalence. However, the malaria protective properties of beta thalassaemic erythrocytes remain unclear.
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