Related papers: Mechanical prions: Self-assembling microstructures
In this paper we will review various aspects of the biology of prions and focus on what is currently known about the mammalian PrP prion. Also we briefly describe the prions of yeast and other fungi. Prions are infectious proteins behaving…
Proteins are intricate molecular machines whose complexity arises from the heterogeneity of the amino acid building blocks and their dynamic network of many-body interactions. These nanomachines gain function when put in the context of a…
Protein folding and design are major biophysical problems, the solution of which would lead to important applications especially in medicine. Here a novel protein model capable of simultaneously provide quantitative protein design and…
This study presents a theoretical model for a self-replicating mechanical system inspired by biological processes within living cells and supported by computer simulations. The model decomposes self-replication into core components, each of…
Prion and prion-like molecules are a type of self replicating aggregate protein that have been implicated in a variety of neurodegenerative diseases. Over recent decades the molecular dynamics of prions have been characterized both…
We investigate the folding behavior of protein sequences by numerically studying all sequences with maximally compact lattice model through exhaustive enumeration. We get the prion-like behavior of protein folding. Individual proteins…
Prion diseases cover a large range of neurodegenerative diseases in humans and animals, which are invariably fatal and highly infectious. By now there have not been some effective therapeutic approaches or medications to treat all prion…
Prion is a misfolded protein found in mammals that causes infectious diseases of the nervous system in humans and animals. Prion diseases are invariably fatal and highly infectious neurodegenerative diseases that affect a wide variety of…
We use computer simulations to investigate self-assembly in a system of model chaperonin proteins, and in an Ising lattice gas. We discuss the mechanisms responsible for rapid and efficient assembly in these systems, and we use measurements…
The protein folding problem has attracted an increasing attention from physicists. The problem has a flavor of statistical mechanics, but possesses the most common feature of most biological problems -- the profound effects of evolution. I…
The ability to absorb mutations while retaining structure and function, or mutational robustness, is a remarkable property of natural proteins. In this Letter, we use a computational model of organismic evolution [Zeldovich et al, PLOS Comp…
In systems possessing spatial or dynamical symmetry breaking, Brownian motion combined with symmetric external input signals, deterministic or random, alike, can assist directed motion of particles at the submicron scales. In such cases,…
Prion-like proteins play crucial parts in biological processes in organisms ranging from yeast to humans. For instance, many neurodegenerative diseases are believed to be caused by the production of prion-like proteins in neural tissue. As…
The design of desired behaviors in mechanical metamaterials has produced remarkable advances but has generally neglected two aspects - the inevitable presence of undesired behaviors and the role of dynamics in avoiding such behaviors.…
Prion diseases are invariably fatal and highly infectious neurodegenerative diseases that affect a wide variety of mammalian species such as sheep, goats, mice, humans, chimpanzees, hamsters, cattle, elks, deer, minks, cats, chicken, pigs,…
Proteins are the "work horses" in biological systems. In almost all functions specific proteins are involved. They control molecular transport processes, stabilize the cell structure, enzymatically catalyze chemical reactions; others act as…
The molecular machinery of life is largely created via self-organisation of individual molecules into functional assemblies. Minimal coarse-grained models, where a whole macromolecule is represented by a small number of particles, can be of…
Proteins are the fundamental macromolecules that play diverse and crucial roles in all living matter and have tremendous implications in healthcare, manufacturing, and biotechnology. Their functions are largely determined by the sequences…
Many biological functions are executed by molecular machines, which consume energy and convert it into mechanical work. Biological machines have evolved to transport cargo, facilitate folding of proteins and RNA, remodel chromatin and…
Machines enabled the Industrial Revolution and are central to modern technological progress: A machine's parts transmit forces, motion, and energy to one another in a predetermined manner. Today's engineering frontier, building artificial…