< That said, wouldn't it be grand if authors of papers like this would embed in 
the summary a link to a sidebar showing "Here's how we did this." i.e. how does 
one render "Purified Arc capsids"? >

The Cell paper explains in terse "you should know this" language.  I agree it 
would be nice if publishers would add value by providing link modes in the 
browser to reference not just prior work, but also textbook explanations for 
technical terms and techniques.  That would make topics like this 
understandable to a larger (motivated) audience.  Not every topic should expect 
a reader to unfold references back in time indefinitely.

Marcus

________________________________
From: Friam <friam-boun...@redfish.com> on behalf of Tom Johnson 
<t...@jtjohnson.com>
Sent: Monday, January 15, 2018 2:12:21 PM
To: Friam@redfish. com
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Arc gene transports mRNA's across synapses

Roger:
I really appreciate your sending this along.  That said, wouldn't it be grand 
if authors of papers like this would embed in the summary a link to a sidebar 
showing "Here's how we did this." i.e. how does one render "Purified Arc 
capsids"?
TJ

On Jan 15, 2018 12:19 PM, "Barry MacKichan" 
<barry.mackic...@mackichan.com<mailto:barry.mackic...@mackichan.com>> wrote:

Object-oriented programming in the cell, with encapsulated code!

--Barry


On 13 Jan 2018, at 17:47, Roger Critchlow wrote:

In case you thought you understood the general molecular biology of life, 
here's another curve ball for you:

http://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(17)31504-0

Summary

The neuronal gene Arc is essential for long-lasting information storage in the 
mammalian brain, mediates various forms of synaptic plasticity, and has been 
implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders. However, little is known about 
Arc’s molecular function and evolutionary origins. Here, we show that Arc 
self-assembles into virus-like capsids that encapsulate RNA. Endogenous Arc 
protein is released from neurons in extracellular vesicles that mediate the 
transfer of Arc mRNA into new target cells, where it can undergo 
activity-dependent translation. Purified Arc capsids are endocytosed and are 
able to transfer Arc mRNA into the cytoplasm of neurons. These results show 
that Arc exhibits similar molecular properties to retroviral Gag proteins. 
Evolutionary analysis indicates that Arc is derived from a vertebrate lineage 
of Ty3/gypsy retrotransposons, which are also ancestors to retroviruses. These 
findings suggest that Gag retroelements have been repurposed during evolution 
to mediate intercellular communication in the nervous system.

-- rec --

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