A longitudinal study of the development of emotional deception detection within new same-sex friendships

Previous studies show that close friends improve at lie detection over time. However, is this improvement due to an increase in the ability to decode the feelings of close friends or a change in how close friends communicate their true and deceptive emotions? In a study of 45 pairs of friends, one friend from each pair (the “sender”) was videotaped showing truthful and faked affect in response to pleasant and unpleasant movie clips. The other friend from each pair (the “judge”) guessed the true emotions of both the friend and a stranger 1 month and 6 months into the friendship. Judges were better at guessing the true emotions of friends than strangers, and this advantage in judging friends increased among close friends over time. Surprisingly, improvement over time was due mostly to a change in the sender’s communication, rather than an increase in judges’ ability to decode their friends’ feelings

Rtt107/Esc4 binds silent chromatin and DNA repair proteins using different BRCT motifs

BACKGROUND: By screening a plasmid library for proteins that could cause silencing when targeted to the HMR locus in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we previously reported the identification of Rtt107/Esc4 based on its ability to establish silent chromatin. In this study we aimed to determine the mechanism of Rtt107/Esc4 targeted silencing and also learn more about its biological functions. RESULTS: Targeted silencing by Rtt107/Esc4 was dependent on the SIR genes, which encode obligatory structural and enzymatic components of yeast silent chromatin. Based on its sequence, Rtt107/Esc4 was predicted to contain six BRCT motifs. This motif, originally identified in the human breast tumor suppressor gene BRCA1, is a protein interaction domain. The targeted silencing activity of Rtt107/Esc4 resided within the C-terminal two BRCT motifs, and this region of the protein bound to Sir3 in two-hybrid tests. Deletion of RTT107/ESC4 caused sensitivity to the DNA damaging agent MMS as well as to hydroxyurea. A two-hybrid screen showed that the N-terminal BRCT motifs of Rtt107/Esc4 bound to Slx4, a protein previously shown to be involved in DNA repair and required for viability in a strain lacking the DNA helicase Sgs1. Like SLX genes, RTT107ESC4 interacted genetically with SGS1; esc4Δ sgs1Δ mutants were viable, but exhibited a slow-growth phenotype and also a synergistic DNA repair defect. CONCLUSION: Rtt107/Esc4 binds to the silencing protein Sir3 and the DNA repair protein Slx4 via different BRCT motifs, thus providing a bridge linking silent chromatin to DNA repair enzymes

Redetermination of 5-iodo­uracil

The title compound (systematic name: 2,4-dihydr­oxy-5-iodo­pyrimidine), C4H3IN2O2, which was first reported by Sternglanz, Freeman & Bugg [Acta Cryst. (1975 ▶), B31, 1393–1395], has been redetermined, providing a significant increase in the precision of the derived geometric parameters. The asymmetric unit comprises a non-planar mol­ecule in a slightly distorted B25 boat conformation. The mol­ecules are associated in the crystal structure to form ribbons stabilized by N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds which involve NH groups and two carbonyl O atoms

Identification of two RNA-binding proteins associated with human telomerase RNA

Telomerase plays a crucial role in telomere maintenance in vivo. To understand telomerase regulation, we have been characterizing components of the enzyme. To date several components of the mammalian telomerase holoenzyme have been identified: the essential RNA component (human telomerase RNA [hTR]), the catalytic subunit human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), and telomerase-associated protein 1. Here we describe the identification of two new proteins that interact with hTR: hStau and L22. Antisera against both proteins immunoprecipitated hTR, hTERT, and telomerase activity from cell extracts, suggesting that the proteins are associated with telomerase. Both proteins localized to the nucleolus and cytoplasm. Although these proteins are associated with telomerase, we found no evidence of their association with each other or with telomerase-associated protein 1. Both hStau and L22 are more abundant than TERT. This, together with their localization, suggests that they may be associated with other ribonucleoprotein complexes in cells. We propose that these two hTR-associated proteins may play a role in hTR processing, telomerase assembly, or localization in vivo

NADP regulates the yeast GAL induction system

Transcriptional regulation of the galactose-metabolizing genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae depends on three core proteins: Gal4p, the transcriptional activator that binds to upstream activating DNA sequences (UAS(GAL)); Gal80p, a repressor that binds to the carboxyl terminus of Gal4p and inhibits transcription; and Gal3p, a cytoplasmic transducer that, upon binding galactose and adenosine 5'-triphosphate, relieves Gal80p repression. The current model of induction relies on Gal3p sequestering Gal80p in the cytoplasm. However, the rapid induction of this system implies that there is a missing factor. Our structure of Gal80p in complex with a peptide from the carboxyl-terminal activation domain of Gal4p reveals the existence of a dinucleotide that mediates the interaction between the two. Biochemical and in vivo experiments suggests that nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP) plays a key role in the initial induction event

Hydroxychloroquine in rheumatic autoimmune disorders and beyond

Initially used as antimalarial drugs, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and, to a lesser extent, chloroquine (CQ) are currently being used to treat several diseases. Due to its cost-effectiveness, safety and efficacy, HCQ is especially used in rheumatic autoimmune disorders (RADs), such as systemic lupus erythematosus, primary Sjögren's syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis. Despite this widespread use in the clinic, HCQ molecular modes of action are still not completely understood. By influencing several cellular pathways through different mechanisms, CQ and HCQ inhibit multiple endolysosomal functions, including autophagy, as well as endosomal Toll-like receptor activation and calcium signalling. These effects alter several aspects of the immune system with the synergistic consequence of reducing pro-inflammatory cytokine production and release, one of the most marked symptoms of RADs. Here, we review the current knowledge on the molecular modes of action of these drugs and the circumstances under which they trigger side effects. This is of particular importance as the therapeutic use of HCQ is expanding beyond the treatment of malaria and RADs

Paedomorphic facial expressions give dogs a selective advantage

How wolves were first domesticated is unknown. One hypothesis suggests that wolves underwent a process of self-domestication by tolerating human presence and taking advantage of scavenging possibilities. The puppy-like physical and behavioural traits seen in dogs are thought to have evolved later, as a byproduct of selection against aggression. Using speed of selection from rehoming shelters as a proxy for artificial selection, we tested whether paedomorphic features give dogs a selective advantage in their current environment. Dogs who exhibited facial expressions that enhance their neonatal appearance were preferentially selected by humans. Thus, early domestication of wolves may have occurred not only as wolf populations became tamer, but also as they exploited human preferences for paedomorphic characteristics. These findings, therefore, add to our understanding of early dog domestication as a complex co-evolutionary process