Polyglutamine toxicity in yeast induces metabolic alterations and mitochondrial defects.

Background: Protein aggregation and its pathological effects are the major cause of several neurodegenerative diseases. In Huntington's disease an elongated stretch of polyglutamines within the protein Huntingtin leads to increased aggregation propensity. This induces cellular defects, culminating in neuronal loss, but the connection between aggregation and toxicity remains to be established.

Solvent-ligated manganese(II) complexes for the homopolymerization of isobutene and the copolymerization of isobutene and isoprene.

Polyisobutenes with a high content of terminal olefinic groups can be synthesized by using manganese(II) initiators in homogeneous solution. These easily accessible complexes initiate the polymerization at room temperature and above, and afford highly reactive, gel-free polyisobutenes with high viscosities. Furthermore, the initiators were successfully used for the copolymerization of isobutene with isoprene.