Spider silks demonstrate extraordinary mechanical performance. They rely on an intricate hierarchical structure that gives rise to unique properties. Of the many types of spider silks that are produced, dragline spider silk has attracted the most research attention due its extremely high strength. Since data on dragline spider silk is readily available, much can be understood about the nature of spider silk by analyzing the structure of dragline spider silk. Moreover, the study of spider silk can inspire the design of new materials. Here, we review the structure of dragline silk, present a particular material model to explain their behavior, and discuss the potential outlook in the area.

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The liver is no doubt one of the most vital organs of the human body. With ranged roles in digestion, energy, and protein synthesis, liver cells house a network of metabolic pathways that are crucial for survival. From the citric acid cycle, urea cycle, glycogenolysis, gluconeogenesis, lipogenesis, and ketone body synthesis, reaching out to GABA and myelin formation in the brain, we see a chemical interconnectedness which makes the liver the most metabolically active organ in the body. However, that same nature of metabolism – the reliance of one pathway to another – is perhaps what also makes our body so vulnerable to the smallest anomaly in the system. One such case revolves around an enzyme named pyruvate carboxylase.

KDM5B, a histone lysine demethylase “eraser” protein, is a transcriptional repressor of active promoter regions on histone three lysine K4. KDM5B is crucial to regulating gene expression and development. Previously, all mutations in KDM5B were described in cancer. High-performance sequencing revealed missense, frameshift, and nonsense mutations in KDM5B that can be linked to developmental disorders like autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This review summarizes KDM5B’s role in ASD and other developmental disorders.

There are many genes that have been identified to cause Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD for short), as well as all the other disorders related to it One such gene is the chromatin remodeler CHD8 and methyltransferase KMT2A, the former of which is known to cause intellectual disability (ID) and the latter to cause Wiedemann-Steiner syndrome. Is there any mechanistical link between the two genes, and does this mean that CHD8 also causes Wiedemann-Steiner syndrome? It appears that there is, and that it also points at a larger pattern for other similarly linked genes, and could help with identifying other genes that cause known disorders – for instance, perhaps useful in finding new genes that may also cause ASD.

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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a mental health disorder affecting approximately 1-2% of the population. OCD symptoms include unwanted thoughts or feelings (obsessions) and repetitive physical or mental actions (compulsions). The genetic causes of OCD are still being investigated; however, recent research has identified mutations in six genes associated with OCD: SLITRK5, SETD5, CHD8, KDM3B, ASXL3, and FBL (6). SLITRK5’s link to may OCD exist through excitatory and inhibitory synaptogenesis, SETD5’s association with OCD could be through the process of cell proliferation, CHD8 Mutations could cause overstimulated nerve cells via a surplus of glutamate, the deletion of KDM3B can often causes repetitive actions, mutations in ASXL3 are frequently linked to ID and developmental delays, and FBL is linked to various addiction disorders.

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Vaccines, an essential tool for bolstering the immune system's defense against pathogens, work by introducing harmless pathogen components, or antigens, into the body. This prompts the immune system to recognize and mount a defense against these foreign invaders, primarily through the involvement of different white blood cell types, particularly T cells and B cells, each with distinct roles. Vaccines are important because they help us prevent sickness and give us advantages against pathogens, which evolve more quickly than humans. Nanotechnology, which works with super tiny materials at the molecular level, is being used to create cool new ways to make vaccines. It uses things called nanoparticles, which help protect vaccine parts from damage and control how they get released in the body, making our immune system get stronger. These nanoparticles also help in making special vaccines that look like the bad germs we want to fight, which makes our immune system get better at recognizing and fighting them. So, by using nanotechnology, vaccines become stronger, more precise, and better at keeping up with the changing germs that make us sick.