Herwig 7.1 Release Note

A new release of the Monte Carlo event generator Herwig (version 7.1) is now available. This version introduces a number of improvements, notably: multi-jet merging with the dipole shower at LO and NLO QCD; a new model for soft interactions and diffraction; improvements to mass effects and top decays in the dipole shower, as well as a new tune of the hadronisation parameters.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures. Herwig is available from https://herwig.hepforge.org

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Structural basis of RNA recognition and dimerization by the STAR proteins T-STAR and Sam68

Sam68 and T-STAR are members of the STAR family of proteins that directly link signal transduction with post-transcriptional gene regulation. Sam68 controls the alternative splicing of many oncogenic proteins. T-STAR is a tissue-specific paralogue that regulates the alternative splicing of neuronal pre-mRNAs. STAR proteins differ from most splicing factors, in that they contain a single RNA-binding domain. Their specificity of RNA recognition is thought to arise from their property to homodimerize, but how dimerization influences their function remains unknown. Here, we establish at atomic resolution how T-STAR and Sam68 bind to RNA, revealing an unexpected mode of dimerization different from other members of the STAR family. We further demonstrate that this unique dimerization interface is crucial for their biological activity in splicing regulation, and suggest that the increased RNA affinity through dimer formation is a crucial parameter enabling these proteins to select their functional targets within the transcriptome

Herwig 7.2 release note

A new release of the Monte Carlo event generator Herwig (version 7.2) is now available. This version introduces a number of improvements over the major version 7.0, notably: multi-jet merging with the dipole shower at LO and NLO QCD; spin correlations in both the dipole and angular-ordered parton showers; an improved choice of evolution variable in the angular-ordered parton shower; improvements to mass effects and top decays in the dipole shower, improvements to the simulation of multiple-parton interactions, including diffractive processes; a new model for baryonic colour reconnection; improvements to strangeness production; as well as a new tune of the hadronisation parameters and support for generic Lorentz structures in BSM models. This article illustrates new features of versions 7.1 and 7.2

FAIR+E pathogen data for surveillance and research: lessons from COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has exemplified the importance of interoperable and equitable data sharing for global surveillance and to support research. While many challenges could be overcome, at least in some countries, many hurdles within the organizational, scientific, technical and cultural realms still remain to be tackled to be prepared for future threats. We propose to (i) continue supporting global efforts that have proven to be efficient and trustworthy toward addressing challenges in pathogen molecular data sharing; (ii) establish a distributed network of Pathogen Data Platforms to (a) ensure high quality data, metadata standardization and data analysis, (b) perform data brokering on behalf of data providers both for research and surveillance, (c) foster capacity building and continuous improvements, also for pandemic preparedness; (iii) establish an International One Health Pathogens Portal, connecting pathogen data isolated from various sources (human, animal, food, environment), in a truly One Health approach and following FAIR principles. To address these challenging endeavors, we have started an ELIXIR Focus Group where we invite all interested experts to join in a concerted, expert-driven effort toward sustaining and ensuring high-quality data for global surveillance and research

Neutrophils induce paracrine telomere dysfunction and senescence in ROS‐dependent manner

Cellular senescence is characterized by an irreversible cell cycle arrest as well as a pro-inflammatory phenotype, thought to contribute to aging and age-related diseases. Neutrophils have essential roles in inflammatory responses; however, in certain contexts their abundance is associated with a number of age-related diseases, including liver disease. The relationship between neutrophils and cellular senescence is not well understood. Here, we show that telomeres in non-immune cells are highly susceptible to oxidative damage caused by neighboring neutrophils. Neutrophils cause telomere dysfunction both in vitro and ex vivo in a ROS-dependent manner. In a mouse model of acute liver injury, depletion of neutrophils reduces telomere dysfunction and senescence. Finally, we show that senescent cells mediate the recruitment of neutrophils to the aged liver and propose that this may be a mechanism by which senescence spreads to surrounding cells. Our results suggest that interventions that counteract neutrophil-induced senescence may be beneficial during aging and age-related disease

Required experimental accuracy to select between supersymmetrical models

We will present a method to decidea priori whether various supersymmetrical scenarios can be distinguished based on sparticle mass data alone. For each model, a scan over all free SUSY breaking parameters reveals the extent of that model’s physically allowed region of sparticle-mass-space. Based on the geometrical configuration of these regions in mass-space, it is possible to obtain an estimate of the required accuracy of future sparticle mass measurements to distinguish between the models. We will illustrate this algorithm with an example. This talk is based on work done in collaboration with B C Allanach (LAPTH, Annecy) and F Quevedo (DAMTP, Cambridge)