Platinum Stabilises a Molten-Globule Conformation of a Small Globular Cytosolic Protein SUMO1.

Proteins are generally resistant to large conformational changes under physiological conditions. Here, we show that platinum (Pt(II)), which is widely-used metal centre in cancer therapeutic drugs, binds to a cytosolic protein, small ubiquitin-like modifier 1 (SUMO1), under physiological conditions and changes its conformation to a molten globule (MG). Mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) studies confirmed stoichiometric Pt(II) binding to SUMO1.

Influence of pseudo-Jahn-Teller activity on the singlet-triplet gap of azaphenalenes.

We analyze the possibility of symmetry-lowering induced by pseudo-Jahn-Teller interactions in six previously studied azaphenalenes that are known to have their first excited singlet state (S) lower in energy than the triplet state (T). The primary aim of this study is to explore whether Hund's rule violation is observed in these molecules when their structures are distorted from or point group symmetries by vibronic coupling. Along two interatomic distances connecting these point groups to their subgroups or , we relaxed the other internal degrees of freedom and calculated two-dimensional potential energy subsurfaces.

Impact of Loss Mechanisms on Linear Spectra of Excitonic and Polaritonic Aggregates.

The presence of loss mechanisms governed by empirical timescales can profoundly affect the dynamics in molecular systems, leading to changes in their spectra. However, incorporation of these effects along with the system's interaction with the thermal dissipative environments proves to be challenging. In this work, we demonstrate the possibility of utilizing the recently developed path integral Lindblad dynamics (PILD) method to study the linear spectra of molecular aggregates.

Anisotropic Porosity and Interface Synergy Enhanced Gas Permselectivity in Heterolayer Metal-Organic Framework Membrane.

The pursuit of sustainable, carbon-free separation technology hinges on the efficient separation of gas mixtures with high separation factors and flow rates, i. e. high permselectivity.

Evolutionary Adaptation in Heterogeneous and Changing Environments.

Organisms that are adapting to long-term environmental change almost always deal with multiple environments and trade-offs that affect their optimal phenotypic strategy. Here, we combine the idea of repeated variation or heterogeneity, like seasonal shifts, with long-term directional dynamics. Using the framework of fitness sets, we determine the dynamics of the optimal phenotype in two competing environments encountered with different frequencies, one of which changes with time.

Uma Ramakrishnan.

Interview with Uma Ramakrishnan, who studies the genetics of Indian biodiversity at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.

The challenges, opportunities and future of comparative physiology in the Global South: perspectives of early-career researchers.

Researchers in the Global South (GS, developing countries) make valuable contributions to the field of comparative physiology, but face economic and scientific disparities and several unique challenges compared with colleagues in the Global North (developed countries). This Perspective highlights some of the challenges, knowledge gaps and disparities in opportunity faced by GS researchers, especially those at early-career stages. We propose collaborative solutions to help address these issues, and advocate for promoting investment and cultural and societal change for a more inclusive research community.

Adenosine Triphosphate Inhibits Cold-Responsive Aggregation.

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), ubiquitous in all living organisms, is conventionally recognized as a fundamental energy currency essential for a myriad of cellular processes. While its traditional role in energy metabolism requires only micromolar concentrations, the cellular content of ATP has been found to be significantly higher at the millimolar level. Recent studies have attempted to correlate this higher concentration of ATP with its nonenergetic role in maintaining protein homeostasis, leaving the investigation of ATP's nontrivial activities in biology an open question.

Quantitative Assessment of Conformational Heterogeneity in Apolipoprotein E4 Using Hydrogen-Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry.

Apolipoprotein E4 (apoE4) is the strongest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, structural differences between apoE4 and the AD-neutral isoform, apoE3, still remain unclear. Recent studies suggest that apoE4 harbors intermediates.

Reconfiguring Shortest Paths in Graphs.

Reconfiguring two shortest paths in a graph means modifying one shortest path to the other by changing one vertex at a time so that all the intermediate paths are also shortest paths. This problem has several natural applications, namely: (a) repaving road networks, (b) rerouting data packets in a synchronous multiprocessing setting, (c) the shipping container stowage problem, and (d) the train marshalling problem. When modelled as graph problems, (a) is the most general case while (b), (c), (d) are restrictions to different graph classes.

Osmolyte-Induced Modulation of Hofmeister Series.

Natural selection has driven the convergence toward a selected set of osmolytes, endowing them with the necessary efficiency to manage stress arising from salt diversity. This study combines atomistic simulations and experiments to investigate how two osmolytes, glycine and betaine, individually modulate the Hofmeister ion ordering of alkali metal salts (LiCl, KCl, and CsCl) near a charged silica interface. Both osmolytes are found to prevent salt-induced aggregation of the charged entities, yet their mode and degree of relative modulation depend on their intricate interplay with specific salt cations.

Interfacial Engineering over Pt-Calcium Ferrite/2D Carbon Nitride Nanosheet p-n Heterojunctions for Superior Photocatalytic Properties.

The present study discloses the fabrication of efficient p-n heterojunctions using n-type polymeric bulk carbon nitride (b-CN, = 2.7 eV) or exfoliated nanosheets of carbon nitride (NSCN, = 2.9 eV) with p-type spinel ferrite CaFeO (CFO, = 1.

Microenvironmental entropy dynamics analysis reveals novel insights into Notch-Delta-Jagged decision-making mechanism.

Notch-Delta-Jagged (NDJ) signaling among neighboring cells contributes crucially to spatiotemporal pattern formation and developmental decision-making. Despite numerous detailed mathematical models, their high-dimensionality parametric space limits analytical treatment, especially regarding local microenvironmental fluctuations. Using the low-dimensional dynamics of the recently postulated least microenvironmental uncertainty principle (LEUP) framework, we showcase how the LEUP formalism recapitulates a noisy NDJ spatial patterning.