Protein folding and the robustness of cells

The intricate intracellular infrastructure of all known life forms is based on proteins. The folded shape of a protein determines both the protein’s function and the set of molecules it will bind to. This tight coupling between a protein’s function and its interconnections in the molecular interaction network has consequences for the molecular course of evolution. It is also counter to human engineering approaches. Here we report on a simulation study investigating the impact of random errors in an abstract metabolic network of 500 enzymes. Tight coupling between function and interconnectivity of nodes is compared to the case where these two properties are independent. Our results show that the model system under consideration is more robust if function and interconnection are intertwined. These findings are discussed in the context of nanosystems engineering

Succesion climatique et limite stratigraphique Crétacé-Tertiaire dans le N.E. de l'Espagne

The conclusions of spore and pollen assemblages studies yielded by the uppermost Cretaceous sections studied in the NE sector of Iberian Peninsula, are presented. Some climatic variations during the Maastrichtian- Ilerdian time span which can be occurred and are suggested by the data of the studied outcrops in the eastern and central pyreneean sectors. These variations are more or less independent of the chronostratigraphic boundary between the Cretaceous and the Lower Tertiary. Finally we consider that the present knowledge of paleofloristic data permits only a good qualitative aproximation to the Mesozoic/Tertiary boundary in non-marine levels

Edward Albee i la seva obra Qui té por de Virginia Woolf?

Crítica de la representació teatral al Teatreneu de Qui té por de Virginia Woolf? d'Edward Albee traduïda per Jordi Arbonès, publicada a l'Avui