Myrf is a key transcription factor for oligodendrocyte differentiation and central nervous system myelination. We and others have previously shown that Myrf is generated as a membrane protein in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and that it undergoes auto-processing to release its N-terminal fragment from the ER, which enters the nucleus to work as a transcription factor. These previous studies a...

The biological function of multiple repetitions of single amino acids, or homo-repeats, is largely unknown, but their occurrence in proteins has been associated with more than 20 hereditary diseases. Analysing 122 bacterial and eukaryotic genomes, we observed that the number of proteins containing homo-repeats is significantly larger than expected from theoretical estimates. Analysis of statist...

Body size is a central determinant of a species' biology and adaptive strategy, but the number of reliable estimates of hominin body mass and stature have been insufficient to determine long-term patterns and subtle interactions in these size components within our lineage. Here, we analyse 254 body mass and 204 stature estimates from a total of 311 hominin specimens dating from 4.4 Ma to the Ho...

Homo naledi is a previously-unknown species of extinct hominin discovered within the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star cave system, Cradle of Humankind, South Africa. This species is characterized by body mass and stature similar to small-bodied human populations but a small endocranial volume similar to australopiths. Cranial morphology of H. naledi is unique, but most similar to early Homo ...

SUMMARY A large number of proteins function as homo-oligomers; therefore, predicting homo-oligomeric structure of proteins is of primary importance for understanding protein function at the molecular level. Here, we introduce a web server for prediction of protein homo-oligomer structure. The server takes a protein monomer structure as input and predicts its homo-oligomer structure from oligome...

The presence of Homo floresiensis and luzonensis in southeast Asia 90,000 to 60,000 years ago is considered surprising by many, has been used support their designation as unique species the islands they were discovered on refugia. Here, we statistically test null hypothesis that H. represent temporally uninterrupted occurrences relative erectus. We do this using ‘surprise test’ for exceptionali...