ディフテリア毒素の結晶構造

Overview

Solids in which the atoms, ions, or molecules are arranged in a definite repeating pattern are known as crystalline solids. Metals and ionic compounds typically form ordered, crystalline solids. A crystalline solid has a precise melting temperature because each atom or molecule of the same type is held in place with the same forces or energy. Amorphous solids or non-crystalline solids (or, sometimes, glasses) which lack an ordered internal structure and are randomly arranged. Substances that...

Ionic crystals consist of two or more different kinds of ions that usually have different sizes. The packing of these ions into a crystal structure is more complex than the packing of metal atoms that are the same size.
Most monatomic ions behave as charged spheres, and their attraction for ions of opposite charge is the same in every direction. Consequently, stable structures for ionic compounds result (1) when ions of one charge are surrounded by as many ions as possible of the opposite...

Amyloid fibrils are aggregates of misfolded proteins.  Under most circumstances, misfolded proteins are either refolded by chaperone proteins or degraded by the proteasome. However, in the case of a mutation or a disease, these proteins can accumulate to form large clusters and often further assemble to form elongated fibers, called fibrils. 
Amyloid deposits were observed as early as 1639 in the liver and the spleen.   In 1854, Rudolph Virchow performed iodine staining, normally used to...

Neurons are the main type of cell in the nervous system that generate and transmit electrochemical signals. They primarily communicate with each other using neurotransmitters at specific junctions called synapses. Neurons come in many shapes that often relate to their function, but most share three main structures: an axon and dendrites that extend out from a cell body.
Structure and Function of Neurons
The neuronal cell body—the soma— houses the nucleus and organelles vital to cellular...

Amyloid fibrils are aggregates of misfolded proteins.  Under most circumstances, misfolded proteins are either refolded by chaperone proteins or degraded by the proteasome. However, in the case of a mutation or a disease, these proteins can accumulate to form large clusters and often further assemble to form elongated fibers, called fibrils. 
Amyloid deposits were observed as early as 1639 in the liver and the spleen.   In 1854, Rudolph Virchow performed iodine staining, normally used to...