WikiJournal of Science/Volume 6 Issue 1
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VOLUME 6 (2023)
ISSUE 1
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Author: Alex O. Holcombe
In psychology and neuroscience, multiple object tracking (MOT) refers to the ability of humans and other animals to simultaneously monitor multiple objects as they move. It is also the term for a laboratory technique used to study this ability. In an MOT study, a number of identical moving objects are presented on a display. Some of the objects are designated as targets while the rest serve as distractors. Study participants try to monitor the changing positions of the targets as they and the distractors move about. At the end of the trial, participants typically are asked to indicate the final positions of the targets. The results of MOT experiments have revealed dramatic limitations on humans' ability to simultaneously monitor multiple moving objects. For example, awareness of features such as color and shape is disrupted by the objects' movement.
doi: 10.15347/WJS/2023.003
Authors: Dhananjay Bhattacharyya, Abhijit Mitra
Non-canonical base pairs are planar hydrogen bonded pairs of nucleobases, having hydrogen bonding patterns which differ from the patterns observed in Watson-Crick base pairs, as in the classic double helical DNA. The structures of polynucleotide strands of both DNA and RNA molecules can be understood in terms of sugar-phosphate backbones consisting of phosphodiester-linked D 2’ deoxyribofuranose (D ribofuranose in RNA) sugar moieties, with purine or pyrimidine nucleobases covalently linked to them. Here, the N9 atoms of the purines, guanine and adenine, and the N1 atoms of the pyrimidines, cytosine and thymine (uracil in RNA), respectively, form glycosidic linkages with the C1’ atom of the sugars. These nucleobases can be schematically represented as triangles with one of their vertices linked to the sugar, and the three sides accounting for three edges through which they can form hydrogen bonds with other moieties, including with other nucleobases. As also explained in greater details later in this article, the side opposite to the sugar linked vertex is traditionally called the Watson-Crick edge, since they are involved in forming the Watson-Crick base pairs which constitute building blocks of double helical DNA. The two sides adjacent to the sugar-linked vertex are referred to, respectively, as the Sugar and Hoogsteen (C-H for pyrimidines) edges. Each of the four different nucleobases are characterized by distinct edge-specific distribution patterns of their respective hydrogen bond donor and acceptor atoms, complementarity with which, in turn, define the hydrogen bonding patterns involved in base pairing. The double helical structures of DNA or RNA are generally known to have base pairs between complementary bases, Adenine:Thymine (Adenine:Uracil in RNA) or Guanine:Cytosine. They involve specific hydrogen bonding patterns corresponding to their respective Watson-Crick edges, and are considered as Canonical Base Pairs. At the same time, the helically twisted backbones in the double helical duplex DNA form two grooves, major and minor, through which the hydrogen bond donor and acceptor atoms corresponding respectively to the Hoogsteen and sugar edges are accessible for additional potential molecular recognition events. Experimental evidences reveal that the nucleotide bases are also capable of forming a wide variety of pairing between bases in various geometries, having hydrogen bonding patterns different from those observed in Canonical Base Pairs (Figure 1). These base pairs, which are generally referred to as Non-Canonical Base Pairs, are held together by multiple hydrogen bonds, and are mostly planar and stable. Most of these play very important roles in shaping the structure and function of different functional RNA molecules. In addition to their occurrences in several double stranded stem regions, most of the loops and bulges that appear in single-stranded RNA secondary structures form recurrent 3D motifs, where non-canonical base pairs play a central role. Non-canonical base pairs also play crucial roles in mediating the tertiary contacts in RNA 3D structures.
doi: 10.15347/WJS/2023.002
Author: Aryan Kunkekar
The black-and-yellow broadbill (Eurylaimus ochromalus) is a species of bird in the typical broadbill family Eurylaimidae. A small, distinctive species, it has a black head, breastband, and upperparts, a white neckband, yellow streaking on the back and wings, and wine-pink underparts that turn yellow towards the belly. The beak is bright blue, with a green tip to the upper mandible and black edges. It shows some sexual dimorphism, with the black breastband being incomplete in females. [...] Native to Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand, it inhabits evergreen forest, dipterocarp forest, swamp forest, heath forest, and forest edge, along with secondary forest and plantations that contain large trees. Mainly inhabiting lowlands, the species is found up to elevations of 1,220 m (4,000 ft). The black-and-yellow broadbill is mainly insectivorous, but also feeds on molluscs and incidentally takes fruit. The black-and-yellow broadbill breeds during the dry season throughout its range, with both sexes helping build a large, untidy, pear-shaped nest out of moss, fungal mycelia, and leaves. Eggs are laid in clutches of 2–3, sometimes containing a fourth runt egg, and are incubated by both sexes. The species is listed as near-threatened by the IUCN due to a decline in its population caused by habitat loss. doi: 10.15347/WJS/2023.001
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