Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have revealed the complex structure of two Parkinson's disease-related proteins, both of which are implicated in late-onset cases. Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) is ...
Dec 21, 2023
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Most neurodegenerative diseases, including dementias, involve proteins aggregating into filaments called amyloids. In most of these diseases, researchers have identified the proteins that aggregate, allowing them to target ...
Dec 6, 2023
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A recent study, published in Nature Communications, focuses on the interaction between free fatty acids (FFAs) and GPR84, a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR).
Nov 22, 2023
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A key takeaway from first-year biology is that mitochondria are the powerhouses of cells—it's the thing most people know about them. However, mitochondria perform a large array of functions for cells beyond generating the ...
Oct 25, 2023
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Shorter telomeres on the ends of white blood cell chromosomes may signal a heightened dementia risk, suggest the results of a large, long-term study published online in the journal General Psychiatry.
Sep 12, 2023
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In a new paper published today in Nature, researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have outlined the structure and function of a protein complex that is required to repair damaged DNA and protect against cancer.
Jun 21, 2023
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Mechanoreceptors in human skin can sense the delicate weight of a butterfly, feel the heat of a nearby flame or a cool drink, understand whether a hand is raised in a fist or a peace sign, and count the pulse of a loved one ...
May 18, 2023
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Researchers at the University of British Columbia have discovered a key vulnerability across all major variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, including the recently emerged BA.1 and BA.2 Omicron subvariants.
Aug 18, 2022
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Some of the most infamous drivers of cancer are mutations in RAS genes, which lead to tumor growth in about a quarter of all cancer patients. Scientists at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and the Dana-Farber Cancer ...
Jul 14, 2022
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For most, the relentless snapping of camera shutters is an all-too-familiar sound associated with trips and vacations. When venturing to a new place, travelers everywhere are constantly on the search for that picture-perfect, ...
Sep 6, 2021
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In atomic physics and quantum chemistry, electron configuration is the arrangement of electrons of an atom, a molecule, or other physical structure. It concerns the way electrons can be distributed in the orbitals of the given system (atomic or molecular for instance).
Like other elementary particles, the electron is subject to the laws of quantum mechanics, and exhibits both particle-like and wave-like nature. Formally, the quantum state of a particular electron is defined by its wave function, a complex-valued function of space and time. According to the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, the position of a particular electron is not well defined until an act of measurement causes it to be detected. The probability that the act of measurement will detect the electron at a particular point in space is proportional to the square of the absolute value of the wavefunction at that point.
An energy is associated to each electron configuration and, upon certain conditions, electrons are able to move from one orbital to another by emission or absorption of a quantum of energy, in the form of a photon.
Knowledge of the electron configuration of different atoms is useful in understanding the structure of the periodic table of elements. The concept is also useful for describing the chemical bonds that hold atoms together. In bulk materials this same idea helps explain the peculiar properties of lasers and semiconductors.
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