tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360356351594869925.post8621800833733197807..comments2024-03-27T11:48:14.557-04:00Comments on Punnett's Square: The Bright Side of the PrionsG. F. Barbatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09416043925683981826noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360356351594869925.post-41525994263261892772019-01-31T08:30:29.822-05:002019-01-31T08:30:29.822-05:00I am new to genetics and knew very little about Pr...I am new to genetics and knew very little about Prions which is what sparked my interest in reading this post. Very informative. Thank you for the brief back ground on healthy protein structures. As I was reading I kept thinking, we need to discover a method to screen for Prions. I was please to read towards the end that indeed we have with the invention of electroretinograms.April Jenkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14174546901588098204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360356351594869925.post-73145750452001282172018-12-09T20:25:23.115-05:002018-12-09T20:25:23.115-05:00I hope that answered your question, at least in pa...I hope that answered your question, at least in part.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00839029500549842166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360356351594869925.post-67058864936816164702018-12-09T20:23:12.555-05:002018-12-09T20:23:12.555-05:00Those are all good questions Anthony. Polypeptide ...Those are all good questions Anthony. Polypeptide chains fold for a number of reasons among some of these reasons are hydrogen bonding, van der Waals forces and electrostatic interactions. The angle at which these proteins denature are due to sterics as well. I believe the most important aspect of why protein molecules fold in the first place is due to the fact that certain conformations are lower in energy than others. Basically the inter and intra-molecular forces repel and attract at different areas in order to achieve entropy. I believe there are software programs dedicated to understanding and subsequently predicting folding patterns of large polypeptide chains. As far as deactivation goes, I believe it can be sterilized through some sort of metabolic process. I know NO2 can effectively deactivate at low concentrations and room temp. but besides that I'm not sure of any other methods.<br />Prions are not localized in one specific area, in fact they can also be found in the central nervous system. They can be found in the brain and the spinal cord. As far as the brain goes I'm not entirely sure where they're at but I know they can be found in the meninges tissue surrounding the spinal cord. To answer your next question, Prions can travel throughout your body in three ways; cell-to-cell contact, tunnelling nanotubes and through exosomes. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00839029500549842166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360356351594869925.post-5759676416458230622018-12-09T19:19:01.137-05:002018-12-09T19:19:01.137-05:00I have a couple questions regarding the production...I have a couple questions regarding the production of prions themselves. First of all, I am curious on how the polypeptide chains misfold. Also when they do misfold, why is it sometimes that they deactivate and sometimes they do not. In other words what is triggering the deactivation of the protein. <br />My other question is that are the prions only produced near the cornea or do they travel there from throughout the body? If they are produced in that general area, why is that. I understand that from the article it is known that they can escape through the cornea by weakening it but can it not travel through bodily fluids? Anthony Brigatihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13939205922210836590noreply@blogger.com