On the success of breeding

by Vivienne Baillie Gerritsen

We have all seen animals tend to their young ones. How a female keeps them close to her warm body, how a gentle paw will push a pup or a kitten towards a teat. By extension, animals who grow up together and become part of a pride, a flock or a clan will protect their members from the potential hostility of another pride, flock or clan. Empathy. Instinct. Altruism. Care. Bonding. These are qualities that belong to all animals. Humans included, of course. Naturally, all depends on the surroundings and the cues. As humans, we like to think that these qualities are part of us, part of our personality, and that we decide when to 'feel' them. To a certain extent we do. However, without the help of a protein known as oxytocin, there is growing evidence that we would lack these qualities altogether, which is a disturbing thought. The fascinating part of this tiny protein seems to be to ensure that the reproductive process - from mating to birth and postpartum care - is a success. Thus guaranteeing the survival of the species.

Protein Spotlight (ISSN 1424-4721) is a monthly review written by the Swiss-Prot team of the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics. Spotlight articles describe a specific protein or family of proteins on an informal tone. Follow us: Subscribe · Facebook · Linkedin

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LIFE, LOVE, DEATH & PROTEINS

La vie etc. cover

"La vie, l'amour, la mort & les protéines" (in French only) is a wonderful and unique collection of twenty comic strips created with cartoonist aloys lolo. Each comic describes one protein taken from the Protein Spotlight articles. The album was published in November 2023 by Antipodes, Switzerland. Order your copy online. English version online here.

Snapshot : Dofusin

Have you ever felt the uncontrollable urge to stare at your computer screen? As though some invisible force were pushing you to switch on your pc and sit in front of it for hours on end, gloating over virtual images that pinball, dialogue, fight and rest. It is a need from which many an adolescent suffers and even more so in the past few years. Believe it or not, it is all because of a protein known as Dofusin. And Theo – eleven years old – tells us about his experience.

A little bit of praise!

“I recently stumbled upon your columns. Let me congratulate you on achieving the near impossible, for your articles have enabled me to successfully marry IT with the Life Sciences and better explain the concepts of bioinformatics to those who are not in the know of the field.

Your articles are very well written, lucid, and contain just enough information to excite the reader to want to learn more about the topic being discussed. They fall in a very rare category where they are accessible to everyone, from the undergraduate students to research students who want to have a basic idea of the topics being discussed. Some of your articles, like "Our hollow architecture" and "Throb" are outstanding pieces.

I would highly recommend your articles as a necessary reading in undergrad classes to get students inspired about the various avenues of research.”

— Rohan Chaubal, Senior Researcher in Genomics

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