Category Archives: Evolution

Brazils 20142016 recession has left lingering effects on Brazilian society. The massive reduction in inequality levels boosted by the commodities boom of the early 2000s allowed many people to leave poverty. But after 11 straight quarters of negative GDP growth, many of these same people have taken the social ladder in the opposite directiongoing back to their previous levels of social vulnerability.

In our Weekly Report, for platinum and gold subscribers only (become one now), we explored how Brazils inequality levels grew moreand fasterthan in any other period in recent memory. Now, we want to look into

how the dynamics of consumption have changed as Brazil experiences its worst economic five-year period on record.

For socioeconomic purposes, Brazilian society is divided into classes from A to E (richest to poorest). That classification is based on the existence of goods such as television sets, computers, fridges, microwave ovens, etc. It also takes into account the infrastructure of households (does it have a bathroom?) and the education levels of the “head” of the family.

On average, average household income in Brazil is, per class:

• A: BRL 25,554.33 (or USD 6,246.76)
• B1: BRL 11,279.14 (USD 2,757.19)
• B2: BRL 5,641.64 (USD 1,379.10)
• C1: BRL 3,085.48 (USD 754.25)
• C2: BRL 1,748.59 (USD 427.44)
• D/E: BRL 719.81 (USD 175.96)

For the sake of comparison, it is worth evoking the World Bank’s new international poverty threshold of USD 1.90 per person per day (or USD 57 per month) established in 2015. So a one-person D- or E-class household would have just two times the bare minimum for a human being’s basic needs.

The loss of purchasing power. And the exception for the super-rich

Between 2014 and 2018, no less than 4.2 million householdsthe equivalent of the entire population of So Paulofell into lower classes (C, D, and E), according to measurements by the Brazilian Association of Polling Institutes (Abep). Meanwhile, classes A and B shrank.

Between 2008 and 2014, wealthier social classes lost purchasing power when we adjust values for inflation. Meanwhile, people at the bottom of the financial pyramidnear or below the poverty lineexperienced enormous gains of around 30 percent. They were still poor, but had much improved living standards. 

(That goes some way to explain why former President Lula and his Workers’ Partywho stayed in power between 2003 and 2016are beloved among poorer voters. And why the Northeast, one of the neediest regions in Brazil, remains a Lula stronghold.)

When the recession hit, the poorest experienced a major downfall. As a matter of fact, the super-rich were the only class to recover their purchasing power (as the chart below showswith values adjusted for 2008-2019 inflation).

During the recession, 6.2 million Brazilians fell below the poverty line. According to Fundao Getulio Vargas, that is due to the lack of expansion in Brazil’s welfare and cash transfer programs (such as Bolsa Famlia).

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Economy: The evolution of Brazil's purchasing power - The Brazilian Report

About 50 million years ago, ancestors of the modern whale transitioned from land to sea, undergoing remarkable transformations in the process. They gained collapsible lungs, thick layers of blubber and blood that stores more oxygen. But they also shed many traits that were critical for terrestrial life, such as genes involved with sleep, blood clotting and DNA repair, a new study published in the journal Science Advances suggests.

Researchers compared the active genes found in modern cetaceans, which include whales, dolphins and porpoises, with those of other mammals such as their closest living relatives, the hippo family. They identified 85 genes that became inactive when cetaceans became fully aquatic, 62 of which had not been reported before, reports Veronique Greenwood at the New York Times.

Previous studies found that the genes that enabled hair growth, sweat and hind limbs had been lost in cetaceans. But the new findings go even further to describe the genetic reasons behind such major physiological, behavioral and anatomical changes.

There have been a lot of studies like this, but this has probably been the most comprehensive in terms of the number of genes, Michael McGowen, research scientist and curator of marine mammals at Smithsonian Institutions National Museum of Natural History, who was not involved in the study, tells Smithsonian magazine.

Some of the inactive genes that Hiller and his team identified simply became obsolete in a marine environment. These neutral losses include a gene that produces saliva. Other losses seem to be driven by the necessity of adapting to a new aquatic lifestyle.

Blood clotting, for example, may seem like an advantageous mechanism in mammals. Yet, when cetaceans dive, their blood vessels constrict and nitrogen bubbles make the blood clot more easily, restricting the flow of much-needed oxygen in the bloodstream. Ridding the body of clotting genes makes diving less dangerous.

Though they are air-breathing mammals, whales and dolphins often go for long periods of time without taking in fresh oxygen. This behavior can cause DNA damage that may result in the formation of tumors and other maladies. The enzyme that repairs this type of DNA can be faulty enough to cause serious harm. Because cetaceans undergo frequent DNA damage, researchers suspect that this enzyme was eventually ditched in favor of less harmful restorative enzymes.

We think that by losing the sloppiest protein involved, you probably increase the fidelity of DNA repair, Hiller tells Tina Hesman Saey at Science News.

Additionally, modern cetaceans are missing four genes related to the production of melatonin, a sleep hormone. Unlike most aquatic creatures, at least half of a cetaceans brain is alert at all times to signal when to surface for a breath of air. Melatonin can put the body into a deeper restive state, which is dangerous for whales and dolphins who can sink or drown during long stretches of inactivity.

While evolutionary scientists commonly accept that underutilized genes tend to disappear or become inactive during the evolutionary process, this study suggests that genes potentially dangerous to a new lifestyle can also be abandoned or become non-functional.

"We found new evidence that loss of genes during evolution can sometimes be beneficial, which supports previous results from our lab suggesting that gene loss is an important evolutionary mechanism, says Hiller in a statement.

Originally posted here:

Shedding Genes Helped Whales and Dolphins Evolve for Life at Sea - Smithsonian.com

BlackBerry has launched new BlackBerry Advanced Technology Development Labs, designed to help develop and research new security technologies.

The business unit will be led by CTO Charles Eagan. It will include a team of more than 120 software developers, architects, researchers, product leads and security experts, each working toward the goal of identifying, exploring and creating new technologies in cybersecurity.

According to the company, the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) alongside a dynamic threat landscape fosters a climate where organisations have to guard against new threats and breaches at all times.

With a focus on data science and machine learning, BlackBerry Labs innovation funnel will investigate, incubate and facilitate technologies specifically designed to further the companys commitment to safety, security and data privacy for its customers, the company states.

Initial projects from BlackBerry Labs will focus on machine learning approaches to security in partnership with BlackBerrys existing Cylance, Enterprise, and QNX business units.

BlackBerry CTO Charles Eagan says, The establishment of BlackBerry Labs is the latest in a series of strategic moves weve taken to ensure our customers are protected across all endpoints and verticals in the new IoT.

Todays cybersecurity industry is rapidly advancing and BlackBerry Labs will operate as its own business unit solely focused on innovating and developing the technologies of tomorrow that will be necessary for our sustained competitive success, from A to Z; Artificial Intelligence to Zero-Trust environments.

"We believe this highly experienced team will allow us to remain nimble, engaged and, above all else, proactive in our efforts to be the most trusted security software leader in the market, Says Eagan.

Originally posted here:

BlackBerry invests in the evolution of cybersecurity innovation - IT Brief New Zealand

In this golden era for the tight end position, the Kansas City Chiefs have one of the best in the game.

Two-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler Travis Kelce has cemented himself as the front-runner among the elites at his position. He has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in each of the last three seasons; no other tight end has accomplished that feat more than once in that span. He has caught 80 or more passes in those three seasons; none of his counterparts have been able to match that. He leads all tight ends with 22 touchdowns in that three-year stretch.

During Week 3, he also reached a historic milestone.

In 2019, he is continuing his elite play. He is the only tight end to accumulate 80 or more receiving yards in each of the four weeks this season he leads his position with 92.3 yards per game and is one of only two tight ends to have three games with seven or more receptions. He also has the fifth-most receiving yards among all receivers not just tight ends.

Those statistics emphasize how consistent Kelce has been. He has proven himself to be the receiver that quarterback Patrick Mahomes can rely upon every week. He is the teams leader in receptions and the only Chiefs receiver to see eight or more targets in each game so far this season.

But reliable and consistent were not always words you could use to describe Kelce.

Kelce burst onto the scene in 2014 after missing his rookie year with a knee injury. Head coach Andy Reid took advantage of his unique skill set by using him like a receiver and exploiting the mismatches that occur when defenses cover him like a traditional tight end.

His speed and quickness made for exciting plays and both were on full display during his coming-out party on Monday Night Football against the New England Patriots. He accumulated 93 yards and a touchdown on eight receptions during the Chiefs 41-14 blowout victory.

Traviss elite ability was fueled by big-time energy that was apparent in his play. A touchdown was always accompanied with a fresh dance move. A first-down catch was usually followed by a fist pump and an audible yell. These plays can excite teammates and the crowd but early in his career, Kelce had trouble filtering those emotions.

In his first five seasons, there were multiple instances where Kelces energy and passion got him into trouble.

While he did admit after the Chiefs 19-14 victory that he had made a terrible decision, he still showed a lack of maturity in handling his wrongdoing. I cant throw my flag at the ref, he said, but he can throw his all day long.

These incidents show a lack of emotional control and the fact that they were still happening in his fifth NFL season could be (and was) interpreted as selfishness.

Those two traits do not correlate with leadership.

But as the team moved into a new era with Mahomes as the teams quarterback, they also got younger. Kelce quickly became one of the oldest players on the offense.

And he responded by becoming the veteran leader that the team needed.

Before the 2018 season began, Kelce acknowledged that he could become a leader in the locker room. If thats what we need out of me, yeah, without a doubt, he said. Its whatever the team needs me to do and thats my kind of focus on it.

But it wasnt just lip service. His on-field style began to change.

Kelce has not committed one of those costly penalties since Week 2 of 2017. Its apparent that he does not waste energy on negativity and trash-talking his opponents any more choosing instead to use it to motivate his colleagues. He is constantly the first one running to celebrate with a teammate that just made a good play. You can see him on the sideline talking and getting the offense hyped-up before (and after) offensive drives.

When Kelce talks to the media, you can also hear support for his teammates. He moves away from talking about his own performance, shifting the subject to players around him who performed well.

Kelce has become not only a team leader but also a better player. He fumbled six times during his first three seasons in the league but has only coughed up the rock twice since the start of the 2017 season. After four consecutive seasons of dropping a pass on 5.8% or more of his targets, he has only one drop this year a career-best drop rate of 3.1%.

Theres no doubt: both on and off the field, Travis Kelce has taken his value to another level. No matter the situation, he has shown that he can be relied upon for every play. Some of the credit should go to the MVP quarterback who is throwing him the ball, but Kelces transformation to a consistent, reliable performer (and leader) deserves our notice and praise.

The soon-to-be 30-year-old still has the heart of a kid playing in his backyard, but his maturity and his embrace of his role as a veteran leader has taken him from being an exciting playmaker to the most important weapon in the Chiefs offense.

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From erratic to reliable: The evolution of Travis Kelce - Arrowhead Pride

In my ongoing debate about Gods existence with biologist Jerry Coyne, who writes at Why Evolution Is True, frequent reference is made to Aquinas Five Ways, particularly to his Prime Mover argument. It is the most popular formal argument for the existence of God, and it is often misunderstood and, when understood, often misrepresented. Atheists, in my experience, never get it right. If they did, they wouldnt be atheists.

The first three of Aquinas Five Ways share a similar logical structure, and are called the cosmological arguments. More precisely, these arguments probably ought to be called the cosmogonical arguments, because they are proofs based on origins of things. Ill stick with habit and call them cosmological, but keep in mind that what ties them together is that they are proofs of Gods existence based on the beginnings in nature.

In this post Ill lay out the logical structure, and in coming posts I hope to apply the structure to three kinds of beginnings in nature: the beginning of change, the beginning of causes, and the beginning of existence itself.

The cosmological arguments have two cornerstones: the law of non-contradiction, and the metaphysics of potency and act. Both principles are Aristotelian, developed in fullest form by St. Thomas Aquinas.

The law of non-contradiction is simple but profound. It is the principle that it is not possible for a thing to be and not be at the same time in the same respect. If my coffee cup is full, it cannot also be empty at the same time. If I am alive, I cannot be dead at the same time (for readers thinking What about Schrdingers cat?, Ill address that later).

Succinctly, A is not not-A, and not-A is not A. An interesting side-note is that, contra Descartes, it is the law of non-contradiction, not Cogito ergo sum, that is the most certain thing we know. This is because if the law of contradiction were not true, I could think without I am. I think therefore I am has a logical structure, and its not valid unless therefore is always true. Cogito ergo sum presupposes the law of non-contradiction. Without the law of non-contradiction, nature is Alice-in-Wonderland, where I could think without existing. Reality must make sense first, before I can draw conclusions from it.

Notably, Aquinas observed that the law of non-contradiction is the first thing we learn as infants, even before we are aware of our own existence. We come to understand existence first: milk and Mom and colic are either there, or not there, not both. Our own existence can only be apprehended if reality makes sense. If reality makes no sense (if A and not-A are compatible), we can apprehend nothing. Expressed another way, sense is the precondition of truth. We cant know any truth unless the world makes sense.

The second cornerstone of the cosmological arguments is Aristotles principle of potency and act. The principle is the solution to a problem that obsessed pre-Socratic philosophers: what is change?

One school of philosophers, following Parmenides, insisted that change was impossible. Parmenides argued that a thing cannot change itself, and can only be changed by another. However this means that being all that exists cant change itself and can only be changed by another. The only other to being is non-being, so being could only be changed by non-being, but that means that change cannot happen, because non-being doesnt exist. Change isnt real its an illusion.

Another school of philosophers, following Heraclitus, argued that everything was change all the time. Heraclitus asserted, No man ever steps into the same river twice. Nothing was exactly the same from moment-to-moment. At every moment, Im a moment older, at every moment something moving is in a different location. The world is always in flux. It is stability, not change, that Heraclitus denied. For Heraclitus, nature is change, and nothing else.

Aristotles solution to this conundrum of change is, along with his law of non-contradiction, the cornerstone of all metaphysics and of natural science. Aristotle observed that in contrast to non-being, there were two manifestations of being potentiality and actuality.

Potentiality (or potency) is an intermediate state between non-being and being. It is the capacity to receive form the capacity to become a defined existing thing. It is not the thing itself, however, it is only capacity. Potency is not actual.

Actuality (or act) is the state of actually being in a defined way full reality.

The classic example of potency and act is a sculptor sculpting a statue. The marble is in potency to be a statue until the sculptor sculpts it, at which time it becomes actually a statue. The bare marble isnt nothing, but it isnt a statue yet either. It is something intermediate it is potentially a statue. The same states of potency and act are ubiquitous in nature. An acorn is in potency to be an oak tree. A kitten is in potency to be a cat. A green leaf is in potency to be red (in autumn).

Aristotles principle of potency and act solves the pre-Socratic dilemma of change. A substance (i.e. an existing thing) exists in two senses: it is actually something (act), and it is potentially something else (potency). So there is something that is actual and persists substance; and there is something (in a lesser sense) that mediates change potency. In Aquinas famous dictum (I paraphrase), all of nature is divided between potency and act. When something changes, one of its potencies is elevated to act. The underlying substance remains throughout the change (contra Heraclitus), but change is real (contra Parmenides) because a potency is not non-being, but rather an attenuated kind of being in its own right.

In Thomistic metaphysics, the principle of potency and act are what define the natural world. Nature is that which is in potency to act.

Aquinas (following Aristotle) pointed out that the law of non-contradiction applies to the principle of potency and act in a fundamentally important way. A thing may not be in potency and in act in the same respect at the same time. Potency and act for the same thing are mutually exclusive at any moment in time. If something is possible, it is not yet actual, and if something is actual, it is no longer just possible. There is no middle state between potency and act and there is no state of simultaneous potency and act for the same thing. To assert I am in Las Vegas (in potency to being in Detroit) and I am in Detroit (actually) at the same moment is nonsense. I can be either at any moment in time, but not both. A or not-A, never both.

The logical structure of the cosmological proofs for Gods existence applies the law of non-contradiction and the principle of potency and act to beginnings in nature. In nature we find chains of cause and effect chains of change, chains of causes, and chains of existence. These chains work by potency and act individual links in the causal chains activate the potency of the next link in the chain.

I intend to apply this logical framework to Aquinas specific Ways in a future post. There are three provisos I need to mention here, which involve common errors of understanding about the Cosmological arguments.

1) The causal chains are causes in priority, not in time. That is, it is assumed that the causes can occur simultaneously, and do not necessarily imply temporal sequence. This means that the cosmological argument is valid regardless of whether the universe has a beginning or it is eternal in the past. In fact, Aristotle, who first developed the argument for the existence of God, thought the universe was eternal in the past. Aquinas developed the cosmological arguments on the assumption of an eternal past not because he believed it eternal, but because it made the argument harder to prove, and he took the challenge. Time and again Thomas chose premises that made his proofs as difficult as possible, and then proved them. Aquinas was his own harshest critic I love the guy. An example of a causal chain in priority but not in time is a stable stack of books. Each book in the stack supports the book above, and is in turn supported by the book below it. In this sense, the position of each book in the stack is caused by the one below it, and each book causes the position of the book above. The stack is static time is irrelevant to it. This kind of time-irrelevant causal chain is called (by Aristotle) an essential chain of causation. It is distinguished by an accidental chain of causation, in which time is relevant (and example of an accidental chain is a family tree, with grandfather causing father causing son and so on.) Both kinds of causal chains are common in nature. The cosmological argument only applies to essential causal chains, not to accidental causal chains.

2) It is essential to note that the cosmological arguments, and all arguments for Gods existence, are a posteriori arguments. They are inductive: they begin with an observation about nature (change, cause, and existence) and proceed logically to prove Gods existence. A priori arguments for Gods existence are impossible (as Aquinas points out), which is a topic Ill discuss in a later post. The importance of the fact that the cosmological arguments are all a posteriori arguments is that they share that structure with theories in natural science, which are also a posteriori. A common objection by atheists to the cosmological arguments is that they are a priori they assume Gods existence rather than proving it, and thus are not scientific. That is a complete misunderstanding of the arguments. The cosmological arguments begin with observations of nature, exactly as natural science does, and then proceed with logical arguments to the conclusion, exactly as arguments in natural science do. The cosmological arguments are no more or less inductive than the theory of relativity or quantum mechanics or Darwinian evolution. The logical framework is the same: cite an observation in nature, and apply logic to draw valid conclusions from it. In this sense, the existence of God is a scientific conclusion as scientific as any theory in natural science. Ill discuss this more in a future post.

3) There is a common atheist objection to the Aristotelian principle of non-contradiction, using a famous paradox in quantum indeterminacy. The argument is that the principle of non-contradiction is disproven by the paradox of Schrdingers cat, in which a cat in a box with poison that can be released by a radioactive emission can be simultaneously alive and dead in a suspended state between life and death until the box is opened and it is observed. This would seem to be a situation in which A is not-A simultaneously. Before observation, the cat is both dead and alive. This, however, is a misunderstanding of the metaphysics. In fact the paradox of Schrdingers cat is better understood in an Aristotelian framework. There is obviously no materialist mechanistic framework in which it is comprehensible. In the Aristotelian framework, one possible perspective is that until observed, the cat is in potency for life and death, not in actuality for either. It is only on observation that the cat is alive or dead. That is, it is only with observation that potency is raised to act and the law of non-contradiction apples. Only the Aristotelian principle that potency is not actuality makes sense of the cats indeterminate state. The paradox of Schrdingers cat raises profound questions about quantum mechanics, about nature and about metaphysics. Of all of the metaphysical perspectives on tap, the least acceptable is the materialist mechanical perspective i.e. nature is atoms in the void, and nothing more. The most acceptable, in light of the indeterminacy inherent to the quantum state, is Aristotelian potency and act. How the principle of non-contradiction applies to quantum indeterminacy is not clear, although it is difficult to envision a metaphysical perspective of any sort without non-contradiction as a cornerstone. If the law of non-contradiction is cast aside, then any theory of metaphysics may be true and false at the same time. That is, you cant even talk coherently about metaphysics without the law of non-contradiction. Making any sense of reality at all presupposes the law of non-contradiction. Werner Heisenberg, who worked from an Aristotelian perspective, understood this, and noted that the strangeness of quantum mechanics is largely an artifact of our materialist mechanical philosophy. Quantum indeterminacy (exemplified by Schrdingers cat) is a striking example of Aristotelian potency, and collapse of the quantum waveform is an example of reduction of potency to act, and the law of non-contradiction is necessary to even talk about metaphysics or science meaningfully. It is materialist mechanical philosophy, not Aristotelian metaphysics, that is incompatible with quantum mechanics.

In an ensuing post, Ill apply Aristotles law of non-contradiction and principle of potency and act to change in nature. This is Aquinas First Way the Prime Mover argument.

Editors note: For more on Aquinas, intelligent design, and evolution, see the website of Father Michael Chaberek, Aquinas.Design.

Image: Thomas Aquinas, via Aquinas.Design.

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Introducing Aquinas' Five Ways - Discovery Institute

HC Private Investments, a Chicago, IL-based private investment firm, and Landon Capital Partners, a Boston, MA-based family office, have launched Evolution Managers Capital, a platform for emerging private equity managers to launch their own investment efforts.

Evolution will provide emerging managers with committed capital to fund operating expenses and investments.

HCPI Managing Partners, John Kelly and Matthew Moran, and LCP Managing Partner, Chris Sullivan, will lead the platform.

Evolution will provide financial backing and support to private equity managers, who like HCPI and LCP, are focused on lower-middle market transactions with targeted deal sizes ranging from $20 to $100 million in enterprise value.It expects to commit up to $50 million in equity in each participating firm on the platform and will bring in select family offices to invest alongside the firms on a deal by deal basis.

HC Private Investments is a private equity investment firm focused on making investments between $5 million to $30 million in lower middle-market manufacturing businesses within the consumer and industrial markets. HCPI invests capital from HC Technologies, LLC, a Chicago-based principal trading firm led by Joe Niciforo with offices in New York and London.The firm will also bring select family offices and individuals to participate in its transactions providing HCPI with a flexible and patient capital base. .

Landon Capital Partners is the direct private equity investment group of the Landon family and its select family office co-investment partners. The firm invests in middle market private equity opportunities primarily in the United States. Its mission is to source, acquire, and manage lower middle market private equity buyouts, targeting opportunities for control equity positions in companies with $5 to $20 million of EBITDA.LCP began operations in 2015 and has offices in Boston and London.

FinSMEs

03/10/2019

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HC Private Investments and Landon Capital Partners Form Evolution Managers Capital - FinSMEs

Scientists from the University of Washington have glimpsed possible reasons for intrinsically disordered domains in heat shock proteins. If confirmed, their observations open up phenomenal possibilities for intelligent design in these and other intrinsically disordered protein domains.

Rather than behaving as a completely 2 intrinsically disordered region, we find it to be quasi-ordered, with six sub-regions that display 3 distinct properties and binding preferences. The results reveal that, contrary to expectation, the high degree of heterogeneity and polydispersity that is a defining feature of HSPB1 (and other human sHSPs) derives not from fuzzy disorder but rather from an array of combinatorial interactions that involve discrete NTR sub-regions and specific surfaces on the structured ACD. We expect other oligomeric sHSPs are similarly defined. [Emphasis added.]

Its just a preprint in bioRxiv, but this paper could represent a giant leap in debunking the old junk-DNA paradigm. Its title, Interplay of disordered and ordered regions of a human small heat shock 1 protein yields an ensemble of quasi-ordered states, introduces quasi-ordered as a term to describe intrinsically disordered proteins, or IDPs. The work presented in this paper should not be discounted for lacking peer review at the time of publication. Six researchers in the University of Washingtons Departments of Biochemistry and Medicinal Chemistry based their models on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging and hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX), so the work is not armchair speculation.

Back in May, Evolution News introduced one example of an IDP with a function, and asked: Will other IDPs be found to quickly change from flopping strands into functional regulators based on environmental changes? Will the DNA sequences that produce IDPs continue to confirm the sequence hypothesis?

This paper is reminiscent of the ENCODE work that found 80 percent transcription in non-coding portions of DNA. The sound of the junk-DNA myth collapsing in 2012 (Science) set evolutionists back on their heels. What will they do if the junk-polypeptide myth falls, too? At this time, the new revelations about IDPs are a mere crack in the door to see a brightly lit room, but it looks like the same kind of epochal moment. The implications are staggering: what was dismissed as disordered could turn out to be ordered and functional at higher levels of complexity than previously imagined. IDPs may turn out to be multi-functional tools or skeleton keys able to switch on an array of processes.

Lets introduce the players in this drama.

Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) are a class of molecular chaperones that help maintain cellular proteostasis. Like other heat shock proteins, sHSPs are believed to interact with exposed hydrophobic regions of partly unfolded or misfolded proteins to help prevent irreversible aggregation, but unlike other heat shock proteins, they perform their functions independent of ATP. sHSPs are implicated in numerous human diseases on the basis of inherited mutations in the protein sequence or upregulation in certain cancers. Cellular stressors such as oxidation and acidosis can influence their function, and stress-induced phosphorylation of sHSPs typically increases their chaperone activity. Despite their important roles in health and disease, relatively little is known about sHSP structure or structure-function relationships compared to other classes of chaperones.

The authors call HSPs natures first responders to cellular stress. Accordingly, these essential machines need a multitude of skills, just like human first responders need flexibility to handle the variety of accidents that can occur in earthquakes, fires, and floods. Until now, the disordered tails of sHSPs were difficult to interpret. In the following, NTR stands for N-Terminal Domain, the disordered portion of a heat shock protein (HSP). ACD is the ordered alpha-crystallin domain of HSP1 (heat shock protein #1), which is flanked by disordered regions:

Overall, the results from the modeling suggest that any combination of the NTR-ACD 1 interactions defined in our study is theoretically possible. While we only created models containing the maximum NTR-ACD interactions supported by our experimental data, any of the interacting motifs we have modeled could dissociate from the ACD and adopt a more disordered conformation. The results from our NMR and HDX experiments indicate that most of these NTR regions occupy both ACD-bound and ACD-unbound conformations, so it is likely that multiple combinations of NTR/ACD interactions occur in solution. Additionally, the similarity of protected regions in the HDXMS profiles of HSPB1 dimers and oligomers indicate that the interactions depicted in these models also occur within higher-order oligomers. The peptide fragments depicted in our dimeric models could conceivably be connected to other ACD dimers or monomers within an oligomer (Fig. 8D). The array of possible interactions within sHSP oligomers is depicted in Fig. 11 8F. Many regions can form intra-chain, intra-dimer, and inter-dimer interactions. The possibility for multiple combinations of interactions and connectivities contributes to the high degree of plasticity and heterogeneity observed for HSPB1 in NMR and HDX experiments.

The researchers observed disordered (i.e., non-folding) regions of this heat-shock protein combining in a variety of ways with the ordered region. Since half of this small HSP is disordered, they believe they saw only a few of the possible combinations. The more combinations, the more plastic (flexible) the proteins functionality becomes, and the more forms it can take on (heterogeneity). As they indicate, this initial glimpse of quasi-ordered states may be a general trend in IDPs. They only looked at simple combinations in a relatively small, two-part HSP. Since larger, more complex ones exist, the interactions depicted in these models also occur within higher-order oligomers.

The following analogy may be strained, but it might help visualize what is going on. Think of a comic-book superhero who carries a magic chain. Depending on the crisis he faces, he can touch a link on the chain to a part of his body to transform himself into the appropriate defender. If he touches the gold link to his knee, he becomes Spiderman. If he touches the copper link to his elbow, he becomes Aquaman. If he touches the iron link to his forehead, he becomes Batman, and so on.

Something like that goes on with heat shock proteins with their disordered domains. Portions of the disordered half of HSP1 fit into certain grooves on the ordered portion, transforming the protein into the tool needed to respond to the current disaster. Even more amazing, combinations of the links in the disordered region act like codes that switch on different states.

Does the word combinatorial bring to mind concepts shared within the ID community? For example, the histone code is a combinatorial code that considerably extends the information potential of the genetic code (see Histone Code: A Challenge to Evolution, an Inference to Design). In a similar way, the disordered regions of some proteins may bind to ordered parts to extend the functional potential of these molecular machines.

The fact that multiple HSPB1 regions can bind to a given groove or surface sets up a situation in which there are more potential binding elements than there are binding sites. This, in turn, creates a large combinatorial array of possible states within a dimer, and even more states within an oligomer. Each HSPB1 dimer has a single dimer interface groove, but its potential interactions with two NTR regions creates a similarly complicated situation: a given dimer interface groove may be empty, bound by a single boundary region, a single conserved region, two boundary regions, one boundary plus one conserved, or two boundary regions plus a conserved region. Again, in the context of an oligomer, the combinatorial possibilities will be increased if the interactions can occur from neighboring dimer units.

Prior to this work, biochemists tended to downplay the functionality of these states. They called them fuzzy, meaning that they cannot be described by a single conformational state. Others disparaged the bundles of random polypeptides as molten globules without much function at all. That picture is vanishing in the junk-DNA mythology lexicon.

However, given the high degree of orientational specificity of many NTR-ACD interactions, these interactions can be described neither as fuzzy in the canonical sense, nor as molten globule-like.

Notably, ordered interactions occur for several NTR sub-regions with the ACD with varying levels of affinity, and some interactions appear to be interdependent. The high degree of heterogeneity in HSPB1 dimers and oligomers is generated not by multiple random or fuzzy states but rather by the large number of possible combinations of several specific and orientationally-defined states.

In addition, these temporary knob-and-hole states, as they describe them, exist with particular lifetimes that expand the possibilities for their usefulness.

Based on observation of multiple slowly exchanging peaks by NMR for certain residues and bimodal HDXMS at long time points, the lifetimes for these interactions range from a minimum of tens of milliseconds to several minutes. For this reason, we propose the term quasi ordered to describe the NTR of HSPB1, as it makes highly-specific long-lived (on the timescale of seconds) contacts while remaining dynamic and heterogeneous.

Perhaps super-ordered would be a better term. Theres nothing quasi about it! When the specific arrangements of IDPs are messed up with mutations, bad things can happen. Even small changes have profound effects:

Remarkably, single mutations in the NTR have profound, widespread effects on dynamics, highlighting sHSP sensitivity to mutation and modification. We find that mutations at residues only five positions apart in the NTR have distinct, almost opposite effects (G34R and P39L) while two mutations that are 50 residues apart from each other (G34R and G84R) produce highly similar effects. In particular, G34R and G84R variants in the conserved and boundary regions respectively each exhibit a coupled increase in deuterium exchange in both the conserved and boundary regions. Furthermore, the mutant G34R conserved region peptide showed a lower affinity for the dimer interface groove. Altogether the results identify an interplay between two non-local regions of the NTR, in which the location of one region affects the other. Both regions can bind at the dimer interface groove, so another way to view the interdependence is that occupancy at a given interface groove by one sub-region favors occupancy by the other.

Its time to look at IDPs with the eyes of design.

Altogether, our results show that even in a monodisperse form of HSPB1, there is substantial conformational heterogeneity, with multiple, specific contacts between regions of the NTR and the ACD. These contacts are altered in activation-mimicking and disease-associated mutated states, shedding light on the mechanisms by which perturbations such as phosphorylation or mutation can influence sHSP structure and function. The experimental approach presented here can be applied to other structurally heterogeneous systems that have proven difficult to study by traditional means, particularly those containing a mixture of ordered and disordered regions.

As Jonathan Wells suggested here back in 2014, IDPs are worth focusing on. They could be significant players in Biologys Quiet Revolution that, while undermining the old Central Dogma of biochemistry, are revealing new grand vistas of design previously unimagined. Combinatorial codes, like those found in histones, olfactory processing centers, alternative gene splicing, and other places in biology, might now be seen coming to light in intrinsically disordered proteins. Rather than viewing them as fuzzy evolving states or molten globules of little interest, biochemists are beginning to glimpse combinatorial arrangements of specific functions that may turn IDPs into the next superheroes of intelligent design.

Photo: Human first responders, by Frmatt [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

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Researchers Spot a New Code in Disordered Proteins - Discovery Institute

The Daniel Salazar that returned to Fear the Walking Dead in season 5 was a lot different than the man who ended up on the dam in season 3, or the mild mannered barber from season 1. Salazar has found a new reason to keep going after losing his entire family and several friends, and in season 6 fans will see the continuation of Salazars evolution.

When it comes to people like Daniel Salazar, never mistake their kindness for weakness. As we saw in the season 5 finale, Salazar doesnt forget his roots. He might be trying to help people now, but hes not about to let Virginia take away his freedom.

Some fans worried that Salazar was weak in season 5, but after all this time since the events at the dam, which took place on the heels of being mere seconds too late to say goodbye to Ofelia, hes once again trying to reinvent himself. He had a cat and a new mission in life. He was happy.

And then Virginia and the Pioneers showed up.

Salazar knew there would be trouble with Virginias people in End of the Line so he took the MRAVs starter, and his reminder to Victor to not lose sight of who he is was very fitting given Strands tendency to criss-cross the morality line. Salazar might not act like the soldier he used to be, but that part of his personality is never far behind. He knows better than to rest on his laurels in this new world.

Now that he has been separated from Charlie and Skidmark, in season 6 Salazar will have reason to return to the Salazar we saw back in season 1 and season 2. Thats probably a really good thing because the group has been divided and they will need to resort to every method possible to get out from under Virginias rule. And it helps that Salazar isnt concerned about taking life when the situation calls for it.

(These people took Skidmark, after all! They bloody deserve it!)

Its important to remember that the season 3 episode 100 (the episode that is known for being filmed almost entirely in Spanish) is a key episode in Daniels evolution because thats when he reveals that at that point he had killed 96 people as a soldier in El Salvador and he was on the way to notching his 100th death. In his case, thats 96 living, breathing human beings that he killed before the apocalypse started.

As a result of that experience, Salazar has demons. Lots of demons. He became a barber and raised a family in Los Angeles to put his past behind him, but when his family was threatened his past came back with a vengeance. He lost his sense of self after losing Griselda, and he was devastated by Ofelias death. The only way to move forward was for him to embrace something other than the darkness that was threatening to consume him.

Salazar was enjoying his new life trying to help people in season 5, but things changed when Virginia showed up. One thing is for certain: Daniel Salazar isnt going to let Virginia get away with any of this. Its a safe bet that if anyone can get the group out of this mess, its Salazar.

Fear the Walking Dead returns for season 6 in 2020.

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Fear the Walking Dead: The ongoing evolution of Daniel Salazar - Undead Walking

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Oct. 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --Chassix, a global lightweighting solutions and components supplier to the mobility industry, announced today that it has formally changed the company's name to Aludyne.

For more than twenty years Aludyne has manufactured aluminum and iron cast vehicle components for safety critical applications, including chassis, subframe, and electric vehicles. The company is introducing this name as a reflection of its evolution and the trajectory of the mobility industry. As the industry changes and requires lighter and safer vehicle components, Aludyne more closely embodies the work currently being done by the company and the future of its business.

"Our company has always been committed to evolving with our customers and their needs. As we look to the future, we wanted a name to demonstrate our expertise and role in the mobility industry," Andreas Weller, president and CEO said. "Aludyne expresses our lightweighting knowledge and dynamic approach to manufacturing."

With more than 25 strategically located facilities across nine countries, Aludyne can efficiently meet local and regional demands. Through this network, Aludyne enables lighter weight vehicles that improve fuel economy, reduce emissions, and help lower carbon footprints. This presence has led to Aludyne becoming one of the largest aluminum subframe producers in Europe and the world's largest supplier of aluminum steering knuckles.

"As the company matured, our capabilities diversified and we shifted to a more solutions-based operation. Aludyne is ready to deliver innovative solutions to complex mobility problems," Weller said.

This is another step in the company's evolution. Earlier in 2019, the company announced a new sales and engineering office in Munich, Germany and is currently launching new plants in Suzhou, China and Ostrava, Czech Republic.

For more information, please visit http://www.Aludyne.com.

About Aludyne Headquartered in Southfield, Mich., Aludyne is a global lightweighting solutions and components supplier to the mobility industry. Aludyne manufactures aluminum and iron vehicle components for safety critical applications, including chassis, subframe, and electric vehicles. The company and its people committed to lightweighting and its ability to enable vehicles that improve fuel economy, reduce emissions, and help lower carbon footprints around the world. Aludyne had 2018 sales of $1.0 billion. It operates more than 22 manufacturing facilities and four technical centers in nine countries, employing more than 4,000 people.

SOURCE Aludyne

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Chassix Announces New Name to Reflect Brand Evolution - PRNewswire

As the 100th anniversary of the American Society of Cinematographers, New York Film Festival programmers Kent Jones and Dan Sullivan knew that 2019 would be an ideal time to look back at the history cinematography in this country. The 13-film retrospective they programmed as part of this years festival highlights some of the best work by masters of the craft like Gordon Willis, Gregg Toland, James Wong Howe, and Robby Mller, but it also serves as a history of the craft itself.

We couldnt do a comprehensive history of the Asc as a film series, and once we accepted that, it freed us to make some more interesting choices, said Sullivan. Theres some canonical titles, personal favorites, and weird things people might not necessarily think about in this context and might appreciate differently. But I would say roughly we were trying to capture the trajectory of the development

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100 Years of Cinematography: 13 Films That Show the Evolution of Filmmaking - IMDb