Science Stories

Bacteria Bacteria have different defense mechanisms to protect themselves from the bacteriophage (Virus) attack. Some of the most prominent defense systems are the Restriction modification system and the CRISPR Cas system. Cohen et al .  have discovered a new Bacterial defense mechanism in some Bacteria like Vibrio Cholerae . These Bacteria use a very conserved mechanism called cGAS -STING which is very prominent in the innate immunity of animals. This pathway operates through the synthesis of cyclic GMP-AMP ( cGAMP ). When a virus infects Bacteria, cGAS proteins produce cGAMP which leads to activation of associated phospholipase . The activated Phospholipase then degrades the bacterial cell membrane leading to cell death. As this event occurs before the phage could replicate to high density, it prevents the other bacteria from getting infected. Reference: 1. Cyclic GMP-AMP signaling protects Bacteria against viral infection. Nature   574 ,  pa...

CRISPR-cas13: the only RNA editing CRISPR till date. CRISPR RNA targeting CRISPR-cas13 provides immunity against dsDNA phage without cutting the genome, unlike the other 5 types which work by cutting the genome. CRISPR-Cas13 works differently.  It provides herd immunity to the bacteria. CRISPR-Cas13 There are six types of CRISPR in literature till now (1-6). CRISPR Cas VI is the only one that cuts the RNA. It cuts the RNA transcript complementary to the target sequence of the mRNA . After cutting the complementary RNA, it starts cutting all other mRNAs of the phage which Scientists called Collateral damage. This is the phenomena that provide Herd immunity. 3D structure of CRIPSR-Cas References: Cas13 Helps Bacteria Play Dead when the Enemy Strikes. Cell Host and Microbe . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2019.06.012 Follow and like Layman's Biology Facebook page for more news

Solving the 3D structure of a protein from amino acid sequences has been the mystery that has puzzled many scientists. With the advancement in AI, a biologist at Harvard have developed an algorithm which he claimed it will work 1 million times faster than Google’s AlphaFold , fastest protein structure predictor for the moment. Prediction of Protein structure using the amino acid sequence has been the grandest quest, biologist of the world is trying to solve. The race to predict the structure from the amino acid sequence has intensified in the last decade. Many scientists using mathematical modeling, molecular biology, and computer science have developed many tools and algorithms to predict the correct structure with great efficiency and less time. AlphaFold is one of those, an algorithm developed by Google’s firm Deep mind that predicts proteins structure faster than the present techniques by at least 15%. AlphaFold :  The algorithm uses neural networks to predict physical...