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HOMOLOGIES from "bioinformatic analysis revealed the unexpected presence of a PrP-like amino acid sequence within the N-terminal, extracellular domain of a distinct sub-branch of the ZIP protein family that includes ZIP5, ZIP6 and ZIP10. Additional structural threading and orthologous sequence alignment analyses argued that the prion gene family is phylogenetically derived from a ZIP-like ancestral molecule." https://lnkd.in/eZjPby9 View in LinkedIn

UNUSUAL PROPERTIES. "Formic acid is miscible with water and most polar organic solvents, and somewhat soluble in hydrocarbons. In hydrocarbons and in the vapor phase, it actually consists of hydrogen-bonded dimers rather than individual molecules. In the gas phase, this hydrogen-bonding results in severe deviations from the ideal gas law. Liquid and solid formic acid consists of an effectively infinite network of hydrogen-bonded formic acid molecules." https://lnkd.in/eN8mRWC View in LinkedIn

MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF PRIONS. "Most proteins do not act in isolation but partner with other proteins to exert their biological roles. Thus, the function of a protein can sometimes be deduced by characterizing its binding partners. Following this ‘guilt-by-association’ logic, we set out to identify the function of the cellular prion protein through a comprehensive interactome investigation." https://lnkd.in/eZjPby9 View in LinkedIn

ALARM PHEROMONES. "Workers of formicine ants eiect a mixture of formic acid and the secretion from Dufour's gland against an enemy. The secretion from this gland in F. rufa consists of a great number of substances, 39 of which have been identified. The dominating substances form a homologous series of aliphatic, saturated hydrocarbons. Some of these hydrocarbons as well as the formic acid are alarm pheromones." https://lnkd.in/eBy26WC View in LinkedIn

STRUCTURAL FORMS. "The prion protein displays a unique structural ambiguity in that it can adopt multiple stable conformations under physiological conditions. In our view, this puzzling feature resulted from a sudden environmental change in evolution when the prion, previously an integral membrane protein, got expelled into the extracellular space." https://lnkd.in/ec4HvKS View in LinkedIn

BOUTIQUE ANTY-GIN. "Formic acid, the inbuilt defense mechanism for ants, is a very reactive type of organic compound, particularly when combined with alcohol. When alcohol and formic acid are brought together they produce a range of aromatic esters (compounds that produce smells and flavors) that enhance the taste of fermented or distilled drinks." Not for the faint of heart. https://lnkd.in/eut95Eq View in LinkedIn

DARWINIAN EVOLUTION of prions in culture showing mutation and selection, albeit without having DNA. Competition between differently adapted prion populations. https://lnkd.in/ek8f7jH View in LinkedIn

ARROW POISON. "In 1889 Henry Morton Stanley reported to the Royal Geographical Society "that several of his party, being hit by the arrows of the natives, died almost immediately in great agony. The poison was found to consist of the bodies of red ants, ground to a fine powder, and then cooked in palm-oil. This mixture was smeared on the arrow-heads." https://lnkd.in/eMyhQQV View in LinkedIn

PRION FITNESS. "The evolution and adaption of human prions is enabled by a dynamic collection of distinct populations of particles, whose evolution is governed by the selection of progressively less stable, faster replicating PrP(Sc) conformers." https://lnkd.in/eE_2Z_t View in LinkedIn

LITMUS TEST. "As Ray noted, in a 1670 letter to the Royal Society's Philosophical Transactions, he was prompted to investigate on consulting Langham's Garden of Health, where he met with the passage: 'Cast the flowers of chicory among an heap of Ants, and they will soon become as red as blood'. Chicory flowers are known to change colour according to soil pH, and they seemed to have served to the natural philosophers of Ray's era as handy natural litmus paper." https://lnkd.in/eFTfaPq View in LinkedIn