# gst: NS3, how viruses self-cripple their genome replication machinery

<< An interdisciplinary team of researchers (..) has used computational chemistry, biochemistry and virology to uncover new information on how viruses such as West Nile, dengue and Zika replicate. Based on their research, the team said these viruses appear to cripple their own genome replication machinery.  >>

<< Nonstructural Protein 3 - or NS3 - in flaviviruses, (..) cause a number of diseases in humans. NS3 is a key enzyme that these viruses use to copy their genomes. >>

<< Most vaccines are developed by finding random mutations that slow down virus growth, (..) By understanding how viral enzymes like NS3 work in great detail, we can use that information to rationally design new mutant viruses that replicate less well and act better as a vaccine, without having to rely on chance to make the vaccine. This can help develop vaccines more rapidly and precisely. >> Brian Geiss.

New details on how a viral protein puts the brakes on virus replication. Colorado State University.  Feb 7, 2020.

https://m.phys.org/news/2020-02-viral-protein-virus-replication.html

Kelly E. Du Pont, Russell B. Davidson,  et al. Motif V regulates energy transduction between the flavivirus NS3 ATPase and RNA-binding cleft. The Journal of Biological Chemistry 295, 1551-1564. Feb 7, 2020.

http://m.jbc.org/content/295/6/1551

Also

keyword 'NS3 enzyme' in ncbi

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/?term=NS3+enzyme

# drugs: the inhibitor MCC950 of NLRP3, a small molecule tested against many large diseases

<< It seems too good to be true: a single drug that could treat humanity's worst afflictions, including atherosclerosis, cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and arthritis. All of these diseases have one thing in common-they involve an inflammatory protein called NLRP3. >>

The molecule << MCC950 blocks NLRP3 with high specificity in the lab. However, a small clinical trial of the compound by Pfizer showed weaker potency than expected, as well as liver damage at high doses. Some companies are now using MCC950 as a starting point to design safer and more effective molecules, while others are trying to find inhibitors unrelated to the compound. Currently, several NLRP3 inhibitors with a range of mechanisms are in preclinical, Phase I and Phase II trials >>

One drug, many diseases. American Chemical Society. Feb 19, 2020. 

https://m.phys.org/news/2020-02-drug-diseases.html

Ryan Cross. Could an NLRP3 inhibitor be the one drug to conquer common diseases? Chemical & Engineering News. Vol 98, Issue 7. Feb 17, 2020

https://cen.acs.org/pharmaceuticals/drug-discovery/Could-an-NLRP3-inhibitor-be-the-one-drug-to-conquer-common-diseases/98/i7

Also 

keyword 'NLRP3' in ncbi.nih.gov

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/?term=NLRP3

keyword 'MCC950' in ncbi.nih.gov

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/?term=MCC950

# life: the fate of humans and insects intertwine

<< The fate of humans and insects intertwine, especially through the medium of plants. >>

Michael J.Samways, Philip S.Barton, et al. Solutions for humanity on how to conserve insects. Biological Conservation. Volume 242, 108427,  Review. Feb 9, 2020.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320719317793

Damian Carrington. Fates of humans and insects intertwined, warn scientists. Experts call for solutions to be enforced immediately to halt global population collapses. Feb 20, 2020.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/20/fates-humans-insects-intertwined-scientists-population-collapse

Also

the beetle Carabaeus lamarcki, dancer and sky analyzer.  May 14, 2016.

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/2016/05/s-behav-beetle-carabaeus-lamarcki.html

# brain: lizard, an ancient dreamer (2)

<< Reptiles have a brain area previously suspected to play a role in mammalian higher cognitive processes, and establish its role in controlling brain dynamics in sleep. >>

<< The fact that we find a claustrum homolog in reptiles suggests that the claustrum is an ancient structure, likely present in the brains of the common vertebrate ancestor of reptiles and mammals, (..) While our results have not answered the question as to whether the claustrum plays a role in consciousness or higher cognitive functions, they indicate that it may play an important role in the control of brain states (such as in sleep), due to ascending input from the mid- and hindbrain, to its widespread projections to the forebrain and to its role in sharp-wave generation during slow-wave sleep, >> Gilles Laurent

Hidden away: An enigmatic mammalian brain area revealed in reptiles. Max Planck Society.  Feb 13, 2020

https://m.phys.org/news/2020-02-hidden-enigmatic-mammalian-brain-area.html

Hiroaki Norimoto, Lorenz A. Fenk, et al. A claustrum in reptiles and its role in slow-wave sleep. Nature volume 578, pages 413–418. Feb 12, 2020

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-1993-6

Also

keyword 'lizard' in FonT

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=lizard

# lang: information management (encoding reliability) in bird communications (among wild redbreasted nuthatches, Sitta canadensis)

<< Every social network has its fake news. And in animal communication networks, even birds discern the trustworthiness of their neighbors, >>

<< This is the first time people have shown that nuthatches are paying attention to the source of information, and that influences the signal they produce and send along, (..) Everybody is listening to everybody else in the woods, >> Erick Greene.

Courtney Brockman. Researchers study how birds retweet news. University of Montana. Feb 14, 2020. 

https://m.phys.org/news/2020-02-birds-retweet-news.html

<< nuthatches discriminate between direct and indirect, or public information, and this is reflected in the acoustic structure of their alarm calls. >>

Nora V Carlson, Erick Greene,  Christopher N Templeton. Nuthatches vary their alarm calls based upon the source of the eavesdropped signals. 

Nat Commun 11, 526. Jan 27, 2020.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-14414-w

Also

the question is: Humans vs Woodstock, who is the smarter? Jun 26, 2016.

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/2016/06/s-brain-question-is-humans-vs-parrots.html

keyword 'bird' in FonT

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=bird

# gst: apropos of 'wobbly' entities

<< As Earth rotates along its axis, it wobbles a little bit. This wobbling comes, in part, from how mass is distributed across the planet. Nuclear physics researchers have now observed this same type of wobbling in Au187-a gold isotope that lives for just eight minutes.  >>

Gold's wobbly nucleus: What the short-lived Au187 isotope teaches us about fundamental science research. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Feb 12, 2020.

https://phys.org/news/2020-02-gold-nucleus-short-lived-au187-isotope.html

<< This is the first experimental evidence for longitudinal wobbling bands where the expected signature partner band has also been identified, and establishes this exotic collective mode as a general phenomenon over the nuclear chart. >>

N. Sensharma, U. Garg, et al.  Longitudinal Wobbling Motion in 

187Au. Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 052501 Feb 5, 2020

https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.052501

# behav: how (and when) multiple bird species fly and feed together, like a K-pop band

<< Birds of a feather don't always flock together: Peer into a forest canopy, and you will likely spot multiple bird species flying and feeding together, a phenomenon most spectacular in the Amazon where 50 species may travel as a unit. But are birds in these mixed flocks cooperating with one another or competing?  A new study suggests both. >>

<< Species kept competition within the flock low, however, by differentiating their foraging technique, their choice of hunting spot or the general distance they kept from a tree trunk. >>

Natalie Van Hoose. How bird flocks with multiple species behave like K-pop groups. Florida Museum of Natural History.  Feb 12, 2020

https://m.phys.org/news/2020-02-bird-flocks-multiple-species-k-pop.html

Harrison H Jones, Mitchell J Walters, Scott K Robinson. Do similar foragers flock together? Nonbreeding foraging behavior and its impact on mixed-species flocking associations in a subtropical region.  The Auk, ukz079.  doi: 10.1093/auk/ukz079. Feb 12, 2020.

https://academic.oup.com/auk/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/auk/ukz079/5731484

k-pop band  

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-pop