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TS Digest
May 2022, Issue 2

May 2022, Issue 2 Table of Contents

This Issue

May 2022, Issue 2

Viral Hijacking

Short, unstructured protein segments are key to how pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 interact with their hosts

Feature

Conceptual image of coronavirus, SARS?Cov?2 infects a human cell

Viruses Target Super-Short Protein Motifs to Disrupt Host Biology

Conchita Fraguas Bringas and Jakob Nilsson | May 16, 2022 | 10+ min read

Only recently appreciated as critical components of cellular functions, unstructured stretches of amino acids called SLiMs are key to viral-host interactions.

Freeze Frame

Caught on Camera

See some of the coolest images recently featured by The Scientist

The Literature

Salmonella Injection Helps the Mouse Immune System Kill Tumors

Nanoparticle-coated bacteria can capture tumor antigens and deliver them to immune cells, triggering a response that improved survival rates in mice.

Infographics

Illustration showing how following radiation therapy, which triggers the release of cancer-specific antigens, researchers injected Salmonella typhimurium bacteria covered in positively charged nano- particles near tumors in mice.

Infographic: Salmonella Shuttle Tumor Antigens to Immune Cells

Nanoparticle-coated bacteria carry cancer-derived proteins to dendritic cells, enabling the immune system to launch a response in a mouse model.

Infographic about SLiMs in SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Infographic: Short Protein Motifs’ Role in SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Known as SLiMs, these stretches of up to 10 amino acids play notable roles in cell biology, including responses to viral invasion.

Scientist to Watch

Giannina Descalzi Studies the Factors Underlying Chronic Pain

The University of Guelph neuroscientist is scoping out the brain regions and genes that change as a consequence of pain that lasts for months or even years.

Careers

Illustration of a doctor in medical coat and mask speaking at camera

Making the Most of Media Interviews

As the pandemic has underscored the importance—and benefits—of communicating science to the general public, it’s also highlighted the challenges that researchers can face in speaking with journalists.

Reading Frames

A fossil imprint of the stridulatory apparatus from an extinct cricket species

Listen to Extinct Crickets Chirp

The land’s first known singer may have sounded like a raspier version of today’s familiar insect fiddlers.