Exercise: Teaching myocytes new tricks

Teaching polaritons new tricks

Semiconductor microcavities have attracted much recent interest because they utilize simultaneously 2D confinement of both excitons and photons in the same heterostructure. Strong coupling of these two states produces unique dynamics that can be well described in a quasiparticle state, the cavity polaritons. Their dispersion relation is dramatically modified with an apparent trap in k-space off...

Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks

Downsizing, and consolidation of previously independent companies, has produced a clash of cultures in many companies. The problem is exacerbated by "home-grown" product development cultures that have been around for decades and often fail to adequately integrate new disciplines such as software engineering and systems engineering. Over the years, the pace and complexity of technological develo...

Teaching new dogs old tricks

It is much too early to discuss even preliminary results from our experiment with re-review opt-out [1], and will be for some time, although we may report on interesting anomalies if there are enough of them. But in the meantime, Virginia Walbot, in this issue of Journal of Biology [2], has a practical suggestion on the complaint that stimulated us to embark on the experiment: namely, referees ...

Teaching New Tricks to Insulators

Teaching Fido New ModiFICation Tricks

The Fic (filamentation induced by cAMP) family of proteins comprises several thousand members that are found in all domains of life [1,2]. In bacteria, these proteins are often expressed by pathogens as virulence factors that disrupt signaling in the mammalian host cell through inhibition of one or more GTPases or kinases involved in cell signaling. By integrating surprising new insights, this ...