Crystal structure of the long-chain fatty acid transporter FadL

The mechanisms by which hydrophobic molecules, such as long-chain fatty acids, enter cells are poorly understood. In Gram-negative bacteria, the lipopolysaccharide layer in the outer membrane is an efficient barrier for fatty acids and aromatic hydrocarbons destined for biodegradation. We report crystal structures of the long-chain fatty acid transporter FadL from Escherichia coli at 2.6 and 2.8 angstrom resolution. FadL forms a 14-stranded beta barrel that is occluded by a central hatch domain. The structures suggest that hydrophobic compounds bind to multiple sites in FadL and use a transport mechanism that involves spontaneous conformational changes in the hatch.     

Molecular mechanisms for the functionality of lubricant additives

Wear limits the life-span of many mechanical devices with moving parts. To reduce wear, lubricants are frequently enriched with additives, such as zinc phosphates, that form protective films on rubbing surfaces. Using first-principles molecular dynamics simulations of films derived from commercial additives, we unraveled the molecular origin of how antiwear films can form, function, and dissipate energy. These effects originate from pressure-induced changes in the coordination number of atoms acting as cross-linking agents to form chemically connected networks. The proposed mechanism explains a diverse body of experiments and promises to prove useful in the rational design of antiwear additives that operate on a wider range of surface materials, with reduced environmental side effects.     

Monte Verde: seaweed, food, medicine, and the peopling of South America

The identification of human artifacts at the early archaeological site of Monte Verde in southern Chile has raised questions of when and how people reached the tip of South America without leaving much other evidence in the New World. Remains of nine species of marine algae were recovered from hearths and other features at Monte Verde II, an upper occupational layer, and were directly dated between 14,220 and 13,980 calendar years before the present ( approximately 12,310 and 12,290 carbon-14 years ago). These findings support the archaeological interpretation of the site and indicate that the site's inhabitants used seaweed from distant beaches and estuarine environments for food and medicine. These data are consistent with the ideas that an early settlement of South America was along the Pacific coast and that seaweeds were important to the diet and health of early humans in the Americas.