Solid oxide cells (SOCs) can operate with high efficiency in two ways—as fuel cells, oxidizing a fuel to produce electricity, and as electrolysis cells, electrolysing water to produce hydrogen and oxygen gases. Ideally, SOCs should perform well, be durable and be inexpensive, but there are often competitive tensions, meaning that, for example, performance is achieved at the expense of durability. SOCs consist of porous...
Tag Archives: activity
Pore-forming activity and structural autoinhibition of the gasdermin family
Inflammatory caspases cleave the gasdermin D (GSDMD) protein to trigger pyroptosis, a lytic form of cell death that is crucial for immune defences and diseases. GSDMD contains a functionally important gasdermin-N domain that is shared in the gasdermin family. The functional mechanism of action of gasdermin proteins is unknown. Here we show that the gasdermin-N domains of the gasdermin proteins GSDMD, GSDMA3 and GSDMA...
Structural basis for activity regulation of MLL family methyltransferases
The mixed lineage leukaemia (MLL) family of proteins (including MLL1–MLL4, SET1A and SET1B) specifically methylate histone 3 Lys4, and have pivotal roles in the transcriptional regulation of genes involved in haematopoiesis and development. The methyltransferase activity of MLL1, by itself severely compromised, is stimulated by the three conserved factors WDR5, RBBP5 and ASH2L, which are shared by all MLL family complexes. However, the molecular...
Graded Foxo1 activity in Treg cells differentiates tumour immunity from spontaneous autoimmunity
Regulatory T (Treg) cells expressing the transcription factor Foxp3 have a pivotal role in maintaining immunological self-tolerance; yet, excessive Treg cell activities suppress anti-tumour immune responses. Compared to the resting Treg (rTreg) cell phenotype in secondary lymphoid organs, Treg cells in non-lymphoid tissues exhibit an activated Treg (aTreg) cell phenotype. However, the function of aTreg cells and whether their generation can be manipulated are...
Pacific Northwest venture capital activity dips 59% in Q4, but up overall for 2015
Venture capital activity in the Pacific Northwest dipped more than 59 percent in Q4 of 2015, capping off what was otherwise a busy year for investors. VC data provider Pitchbook reported just $ 246 million invested across 64 Pacific Northwest deals last...
FOXO1 couples metabolic activity and growth state in the vascular endothelium
Endothelial cells (ECs) are plastic cells that can switch between growth states with different bioenergetic and biosynthetic requirements. Although quiescent in most healthy tissues, ECs divide and migrate rapidly upon proangiogenic stimulation. Adjusting endothelial metabolism to the growth state is central to normal vessel growth and function, yet it is poorly understood at the molecular level. Here we report that the forkhead box O...
Senators revive bill requiring tech sector to report online terror activity
(credit: US Senate)
InBody Band review: Activity tracking meets body fat measurement—but should it?
(credit: Valentina Palladino)
InBody, a South Korean company that makes comprehensive body composition machines, is now bringing the core of that technology to your wrist with the InBody Band. The daily activity tracker does the usual things—measuring heart rate and steps and calories burned—but also doubles as a "body composition analyzer," using a quartet of small electrodes...
Signal integration by Ca2+ regulates intestinal stem-cell activity
Somatic stem cells maintain tissue homeostasis by dynamically adjusting proliferation and differentiation in response to stress and metabolic cues. Here we identify Ca2+ signalling as a central regulator of intestinal stem cell (ISC) activity in Drosophila. We show that dietary L-glutamate stimulates ISC division and gut growth. The metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) is required in ISCs for this response, and for an associated modulation...