M. Pinar and M. A. Penalva

TRAnsport Protein Particle (TRAPP) complexes regulate membrane traffic. TRAPPII and TRAPPIII share a core hetero-heptamer, also denoted TRAPPI. In fungi TRAPPIII and TRAPPII mediate GDP exchange on RAB1 and RAB11, respectively, regulating traffic across the Golgi, with TRAPPIII also activating RAB1 in autophagosomes. Our finding that Aspergillus nidulans TRAPPII can be assembled by addition of a TRAPPII-specific subcomplex onto core TRAPP prompted us to investigate the possibility that TRAPPI/TRAPPIII already residing in the Golgi matures into TRAPPII to determine a RAB1-to-RAB11 conversion as Golgi cisternae progress from early Golgi to TGN identity. By time-resolved microscopy we determine that the TRAPPII reporter Trs120/TRAPPC9 is recruited to existing TGN cisternae slightly before RAB11 arrives, and resides for~45 sec on them before cisternae tear off into RAB11 secretory carriers. Notably, the core TRAPP reporter Bet3/TRAPPC3 was not detectable in early Golgi cisternae, being instead recruited to TGN cisternae simultaneously with Trs120/TRAPPC9, indicating en bloc recruitment of TRAPPII to the Golgi and arguing strongly against the TRAPP maturation model.

Julian Chollet, Alexander Dünkler, Anne Bäuerle, Laura Vivero-Pol, Medhanie A. Mulaw, Thomas Gronemeyer, and Nils Johnsson

Yeast cells select the position of their new bud at the beginning of each cell cycle. The recruitment of the septins to this prospective bud site is one of the critical events in a complex assembly pathway that culminates in the outgrowth of a new daughter cell. Hereby, the septin-rods follow the high concentration of Cdc42_GTP that is generated by the focused localization of its GEF Cdc24. We show that shortly before budding Cdc24 not only activates Cdc42 but also transiently interacts with Cdc11, the septin subunit that caps both ends of the septin rods. Mutations in Cdc24 reducing the affinity to Cdc11 impair septin recruitment and decrease the stability of the polarity patch. The interaction between septins and Cdc24 thus reinforces bud assembly at sites where septin structures are formed. Once the septins polymerize into the ring, Cdc24 is found at the cortex of the bud and directs its further outgrowth from this position.

The Hope Diamond’s red glow has long been considered a unique property of that stone. Most blue diamonds produce a bluish-white phosphorescence if exposed to ultraviolet light. The few other diamonds known to emit red phosphorescence were commonly assumed to have been from the even larger original stone from which the Hope was cut.

The post Bombarded with ultraviolet light, the blue Hope diamond glows red appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Cullinan Blue Diamond Necklace, featuring a bow motif with nine sparkling and extremely rare blue diamonds, recently joined the National Gem Collection in the […]

The post Cullinan Blue Diamond Necklace appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The prehistoric Xenicibis used its wings like two clubs hinged at the wrist joint in order to swing at and attack one another.

The post Prehistoric bird able to yield extreme fighting force with club-like wings appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Many traits unique to humans were long thought to have originated in the genus Homo between 2.4 and 1.8 million years ago in Africa. A […]

The post Human Evolution Rewritten: We owe our existence to our ancestor’s flexible response to climate change appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Oysters are keystone organisms in estuaries around the world, influencing water quality, constructing habitat and providing food for humans and wildlife. Yet their populations in […]

The post Ancient Native-American methods may be key to sustainable oyster harvests appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Jamaican golden swallow was last seen in 1982. From 1994 to 2012, Smithsonian ornithologist Gary Graves combed the island of Jamaica to document several […]

The post After a nearly 20-year search, this Jamaican bird is probably extinct appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Black holes sound wildly complicated. After all, there are all sorts of bizarre things going on: intense gravity, the warping of the fabric of space, the distortion of time itself. But when it comes to describing black holes, it comes down to just two numbers: the mass of the black hole and its spin. That’s right. Everything you physically need to describe a black hole is found in just these two numbers.

The post Black Holes, just two numbers is all you need… appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

On June 7 the Sun unleashed an spectacular solar flare with a substantial coronal mass ejection. A large cloud of plasma mushroomed up, and while some parts fell back into the Sun, most rushed off into space. The first two segments of this video are seen through the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly aboard NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. The AIA was developed by Smithsonian scientists.

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Silent black & white archival film clip from "Japan: Promotional and Theatrical Footage, ca. 1927". The full film, which is 17 minutes long, includes segments from what are believed to be a theatrical film, a promotional film and, possibly, amateur film - all of unknown origin.

The post Geisha Hairstyling, ca. 1927, a silent black & white archival film clip from the Smithsonian’s Human Studies Film Archives appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Marine biologist Tuck Hines and a local Chesapeake crabber narrate the fall of the blue crab, and what may be the start of a recovery. […]

The post Blue crabs: Top predator in peril appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A team of some 30 taxonomists, many from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, accompanied by renowned photographer Christian Ziegler, conduct a week-long bioblitz on Cobia […]

The post Bioblitz!! Cobia Island, Panama appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

What is the average blood pressure of a geriatric sloth bear? Asia Trail keeper Stacey Tabellario is hoping to learn exactly that, as she trains […]

The post Measuring Sloth Bear Blood Pressure appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian Deep Reef Observation Project (DROP) captures a new species of deep-reef fish, the Godzilla goby, using the Curasub submersible. The lead scientist on […]

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As American power and population grew in the 19th century, the United States gradually rejected the main principle of treaty-making—that tribes were self-governing nations—and initiated […]

The post The “Indian Problem” appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

This video is featured in the exhibition Beauty—Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial, on view at the museum February – August 2016. About: Aaron Koblin collaborates with […]

The post Aaron Koblin and Ben Tricklebank-Light Echoes appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Ohkay Owingeh from Adventure Pictures on Vimeo. Currently featured in the exhibition “By the People” at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City […]

The post Restoration of the Ohkay Owingeh Tribe’s historic pueblo appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Time-lapse captured at the Hirshhorn Museum of Yayoi Kusama’s The Obliteration Room, on view in “Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors.” In Yayoi Kusama’s “The Obliteration Room,” […]

The post Adding 750,000 dots to The Obliteration Room appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

From lunch counters to bus boycotts, the African American fight for integration and equality touched every aspect of life. What you may not be familiar […]

The post Protesting segregation at public pools appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Sign ups for the Affordable Care Act start in a week, and the program is leading to changes in the way employers handle health coverage.

Steve Julian: Business analyst Mark Lacter, what's the most noticeable adjustment?

Mark Lacter: Steve, once you get beyond the squabbling over efforts to defund the new law, what's happening is quite remarkable: businesses are finding new ways to administer and pay for coverage - and some would say it's long overdue.  One interesting example: the grocery chain Trader Joe's, which is based in Monrovia, employs over 20,000 people, and shells out millions of dollars a year in helping provide its people with health insurance.  Well, Trader Joe's has decided to end coverage for part-timers working fewer than 30 hours a week - under the new law businesses are not obligated to provide benefits to employees who work less than that amount.  However, the company is giving those people $500 to go towards the purchase of premiums at the new public exchanges.  And that, along with the tax credits available, could make the new arrangement cost about the same or even cheaper than the current health care package.

Julian: How did TJ's explain this to its employees?

Lacter: The company cited the example of an employee with one child who makes $18 an hour and works 25 hours a week.  Under the old system, she pays $166 a month for coverage; under the new system, she can get a nearly identical plan for $70 a month.  Now, there are cases in which workers will end up paying more - usually it involves having a family member who makes more money, but who doesn't have access to coverage (good example would be an independent contractor or freelancer).  By the way, other companies - including the drug store chain Walgreen's - are also moving part-timers to the public market, and offering some sort of a subsidy.

Julian: I imagine not all companies are being as conscientious...

Lacter: No.  We've seen a number of corporations cut worker hours and not offer a supplemental payment.  Steve, it's worth remembering that administering health insurance is something that businesses fell into quite by accident 60 years or so ago - premiums cost next to nothing at the time, and it was seen as way of attracting workers without having to jack up wages.  The arrangement became more attractive over the years because of certain tax benefits.  But, it's far from ideal - workers move from job to job more often than they used to, and not all businesses are capable of handling the extra costs, especially small businesses.

Julian: Doesn't L.A. have a higher percentage of uninsured than elsewhere?

Lacter: Considerably higher - the Census Bureau show that 21 percent did not have coverage in 2012, which is higher than the overall national number.  Now, there are a bunch of reasons for this: L.A. has a large percentage of households that simply can't afford health insurance or don't have access to government programs, among them undocumented immigrants.  You also have big numbers of people who are self-employed and don't get covered - we're talking about freelancers or consultants of some sort.

Julian: …Or, they work for small businesses whose owners either can't afford, or don't want to provide coverage…

Lacter: That's right - the new law only requires businesses with more than 50 full-time workers to offer health insurance, and a lot of small businesses don't meet that threshold.  The Census Bureau says that in the L.A. area, one in four people with jobs do not have health insurance - and, by the way, there's been a drop-off both in the percentage of businesses in California that offer coverage.

Julian: Sounds dire.  Who picks up the cost?

Lacter: Well, we all do in one way or another - and that, of course, is the problem.  What the Affordable Care Act offers is a start in getting some of the uninsured onto the rolls.  Clearly, it's an imperfect solution that will require all sorts of adjustments, and even though everyone and their uncle seems to have formed a definitive opinion about the new law, it's going to be years before there's any real sense of how it's going.  And, let's remember, signing up for these programs is not some political act.  It's just a way for people to get health insurance for themselves and their families.

Mark Lacter writes for Los Angeles Magazine and pens the business blog at LA Observed.com.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

This new research has revealed that in areas considered unsuitable for farming today, "pre-Columbian farmers constructed thousands of raised fields in the seasonally flooded coastal savannas of the Guianas.

The post Amazon farmers who vanished centuries ago were remarkably innovative appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Recent analysis using DNA sequencing of ancient Roman pills found aboard a ship that sank in Italy’s Gulf of Baratti between 140 -120 B.C, has revealed that the medicines consist of material from simple garden plants, namely carrot, radish, parsley, celery, wild onion and cabbage.

The post DNA sequencing reveals simple vegetables in ancient Roman medicines appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Obsessive in his collecting and emotionally invested in contributing to science and perpetuating knowledge, Palmer lived the adventurous yet nomadic life of a collector.

The post Remarkable ethnobotany collections of Edward Palmer highlighted in new Smithsonian Website appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Now the Global Plants Initiativeis catapulting biodiversity research to a new level by sharing these historic plant collections in a massive online database of high-resolution scans.

The post Online initiative makes massive database of herbarium specimens accessible worldwide appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A team of scientists, including several from the Smithsonian Institution, discovered that leaves of flowering plants in the world's first rainforests had more veins per unit area than leaves ever had before.

The post First rainforests arose when plants solved their plumbing problem appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center has created NEMESIS--National Estuarine and Marine Exotic Species Information System--an online public database that provides key information about the non-native marine species throughout the United States.

The post New invasive species database allows public to ID marine invaders with a home computer appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The North Pole isn’t the only place on Earth affected by slight increases in temperature. Until recently, scientific thinking used to posit that tropical forests, […]

The post Rising temperatures mean more blooms for tropical rainforests appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

When Gary Graves cranks up his boom box and drives remote back roads through pine plantations in Texas, Louisiana and other southern states, a few […]

The post Rare American warbler surprises scientists by adapting, thriving in a new ecosystem appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

How much is a wetland worth? It’s a question that has plagued policymakers, scientists and other leaders looking to protect their communities and slow down […]

The post New report enables creation of carbon credits for restored wetlands appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

With net in hand and eyes peeled, Mauren Turcatel spent two-weeks last October chasing blood-thirsty predators through the Amazon jungle of Brazil. One-by-one they appeared […]

The post Blood-thirsty jungle horse-flies catch big chill from Smithsonian entomologist appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Coastal marine environments are impacted by human disturbance. Dock pilings allow MarineGEO researchers to study these impacts in a standardized way around the world to […]

The post The incredible marine diversity under boat docks appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The global conservation movement has reached a turning point. We have documented the fast pace of habitat loss, the growing number of endangered and extinct […]

The post Earth Optimism: Change is Possible appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

What might lure someone away from the sunny beaches and lush forests of Brazil to the concrete jungle of Washington, D.C.? For wood anatomist Marcelo […]

The post Rigid yet flexible: Anatomy of woody vines has its grip on botanist Marcelo Pace appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Hidden in plain sight–that’s how researchers describe their discovery of a new genus of large forest tree commonly found, yet previously scientifically unknown, in the […]

The post Remarkable new tree species was “hidden in plain sight” in the Andes appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

No green thumb? You don’t need to water these dazzling orchids to enjoy them. More than 8,000 living specimens in the Smithsonian Gardens Orchid Collection […]

The post See thousands of orchids in incredible detail in the Smithsonian’s newly digitized collection appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Simulink might produce an incorrect sorted order for a model that meets all of the following conditions:

• The model contains blocks from the SoC Blockset
• The Signal logging option is selected in the model configuration set
• Signals using asynchronous sample time are configured for logging

In certain scenarios, a Subsystem Reference block changes its position. It can happen during: 

1. Loading of top model which contains the Subsystem Reference block 
2. Synchronization of Subsystem Reference block's contents
3. Converting a subsystem to Subsystem Reference block