Source It Out

Sorting it out

The AP-2 adaptor complex is widely viewed as a linchpin molecule in clathrin-mediated endocytosis, simultaneously binding both clathrin and receptors. This dual interaction couples cargo capture with clathrin coat assembly, but it has now been discovered that the association with cargo is tightly regulated. Remarkably, AP-2 is not obligatory for all clathrin-mediated uptake, and several alterna...

Just Out of It

Check it out!

Desmosomes sort it out

iochemical and kinetic studies have failed to provide a unified view on how the Arp2/3 complex nucleates actin filaments. Does the complex, which mediates actin filament nucleation and branch formation at the leading edge of motile cells, bind to the side of an older actin filament, or does it become incorporated into that filament? B Structural studies now add a new dimension to the discourse,...

Puzzling it out

Scientific research is undergoing significant restructuring. New fields are emerging, once-separate fields are merging, and many of us are trying to figure out how to combine tools and thinking from different areas of science. Nearly a year into my second post-doc, I search for the best metaphor to describe my ongoing metamorphosis from chemist to chemical biologist. In graduate school, I learn...