Will You "Act Now"?

A fixed action pattern (FAP) is a specific, hard-wired sequence of behaviors that occurs in response to an external stimulus, called a sign stimulus. The behavior is “fixed” because it is essentially unchangeable—proceeding similarly across individuals of a species every time it occurs.

Actin polymerization occurs through the head-to-tail association of binding sites on monomeric actin or G-actin to form filamentous or F-actin. The polymerization can be divided into three phases ̶  nucleation, elongation, and steady-state phase.
The nucleation phase involves forming a stable nucleus consisting of three actin monomers to form a new actin filament. Actin-binding proteins such as formins and Arp2/3 complex help filament growth post-nucleation. The Formins form straight...

The discussion of bullying highlights the problem of witnesses not intervening to help a victim. This is a common occurrence, as the following well-publicized event demonstrates. In 1964, in Queens, New York, a 19-year-old woman named Kitty Genovese was attacked by a person with a knife near the back entrance to her apartment building and again in the hallway inside her apartment building. When the attack occurred, she screamed for help numerous times and eventually died from her stab wounds.

Researchers have tested many persuasion strategies, including the foot-in-the door and the door-in-the-face techniques, in a variety of contexts. Ultimately, the principles are effective in selling products and changing people’s attitude, ideas, and behaviors (Cialdini & Goldstein, 2004).

Actin is a family of globular proteins that are highly abundant in eukaryotic cells. It makes up approximately 1-5% of total cell protein concentration. Actin monomers polymerize to form a complex network of polarized filaments, the actin cytoskeleton, that plays a crucial role in many cellular processes, including cell motility, division, endocytosis, and metastasis of cancer cells.
Actin cytoskeleton dynamics can produce pushing, pulling, and resistance forces that help the cell to migrate....

Actin filaments (F-actin) are composed of actin subunits. The dissociation of actin monomers can occur from either end of F-actin. The rate of dissociation is faster from the minus-end or the pointed end, where the actin subunits exist with a bound ADP, together known as ADP-actin. The depolymerization of F-actin is aided by proteins, including the actin-depolymerizing factor (ADF) and cofilin family of proteins, gelsolin, and glia maturation factor (GMF).
In F-actin, the ADF/cofilin proteins...