What is a “seesaw protein” that switches functions by changing shape? - Science Tokyo

image: On the left, GACNEs are unevenly distributed across the genome, forming distinct hotspots. On the right, the Manhattan plots highlight these clustered regions and their associations with genes involved in the Wnt signaling pathway. At the bottom, functional enrichment analysis shows the biological functions associated with genes near GACNE hotspots. Gliding has evolved independently six times in living mammals, making it a classic example of convergent evolution. Why does nature repeatedly produce similar complex adaptive traits? When distantly related species evolve similar features, do they rely on the same genetic changes, or can different genetic changes lead to similar outcomes?

With about 30 visual pigments, compared to just three in humans, mantis shrimp possess a visual system that remains a mystery. Researchers from ULiège and Humboldt University in Berlin have, for the first time, analyzed these pigments one by one and discovered that some detect red light that very few animals can perceive. This finding, published in Science Advances, has potential applications in optogenetics. Vision is one of the most sophisticated sensory systems; it relies on proteins (opsins) that capture light and convert the signal into an electrical message that the brain can interpret. When combined with retinal, a small, universal molecule derived from vitamin A, opsins form the visual pigments (rhodopsins) that absorb light in the photoreceptors of the retina. In humans, three cone pigments are sufficient for color perception.

Rice originated in subtropical environments, yet its cultivation has expanded into regions where low temperatures threaten growth, development, and yield. Japonica rice generally tolerates cold better than indica rice, and researchers have linked this adaptation to changes in stress-responsive gene expression. Much attention has focused on C-repeat binding factors, a group of transcription factors that help coordinate plant cold responses. However, these proteins may directly regulate only 10%–20% of cold-regulated genes, suggesting that many other regulators operate alongside them. For numerous rice genes, the identities of those regulators and the locations of the DNA sequences they recognize remain unclear. A wider map of these interactions is therefore needed to understand cold adaptation and identify potential targets for crop improvement.

Japan's new quantum system, Shunkai, uses "optical tweezers" to trap and rearrange atoms, and will be available to researchers working on quantum error correction.