The MeshCODE to scale-visualising synaptic binary information
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Updated: Oct 3, 2026

Automated Quantification of Synaptic Fluorescence in C. elegans
Published on: August 10, 2012
Samuel F H Barnett1, Benjamin T Goult2
1Department of Cellular Biophysics, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg, Germany.
Abstract:
The Mercator projection map of the world provides a useful, but distorted, view of the relative scale of countries. Current cellular models suffer from a similar distortion. Here, we undertook an in-depth structural analysis of the molecular dimensions in the cell's computational machinery, the MeshCODE, that is assembled from a meshwork of binary switches in the scaffolding proteins talin and vinculin. Talin contains a series of force-dependent binary switches and each domain switching state introduces quantised step-changes in talin length on a micrometre scale. The average dendritic spine is 1 μm in diameter so this analysis identifies a plausible Gearbox-like mechanism for dynamic regulation of synaptic function, whereby the positioning of enzymes and substrates relative to each other, mechanically-encoded by the MeshCODE switch patterns, might control synaptic transmission. Based on biophysical rules and experimentally derived distances, this analysis yields a novel perspective on biological digital information.
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