KANAZAWA, Japan, April 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Researchers at Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University report in Nano Letters how the use of high-speed atomic force microscopy helps to understand the crucial role played by certain biomolecules in DNA wrapping dynamics.

In plants and animals, the basic packaging units of DNA, which carry genetic information, are the so-called nucleosomes. A nucleosome consists of a segment of DNA wound around eight proteins known as histones. During gene expression (the process lying at the basis of protein production), nucleosomes are involved in various dynamical structural changes, such as nucleosome sliding, DNA unwrapping and other DNA–histone interactions. Of particular importance in these processes are the end structures, or tails, of the histones. Histone tails undergo chemical modifications, changing the histone’s functionality as needed. Detailed studies, and especially visualizations, of nucleosome dynamics are crucial for better understanding the role of histone tails. Mikihiro Shibata from Kanazawa University and colleagues have now succeeded in making video recordings of tail-less nucleosomes, showing that the absence of histone tails significantly increases a nucleosome’s dynamic activity.
The scientists used high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM), a powerful nanoimaging tool for visualizing molecular structures and their dynamics at high spatial and temporal resolution. For this, the nucleosomes needed to be put onto a substrate. Shibata and colleagues used a film of so-called pillar[5]arenes (molecules with a pentagonal tubular structure) as the substrate, forming an ideal surface as the nucleosomes are easily adsorbed to it without dynamical processes getting suppressed.
The researchers first looked at nucleosomes for which all eight histones lacked tails. Based on their HS-AFM observations, they concluded that nucleosome sliding and DNA unwrapping/rewrapping occurred more often than for normal (canonical) nucleosomes. This suggests that without tails, the histone–DNA interaction is weakened, leading to a situation in which DNA can more easily detach from the histones.
To better understand the roles of specific histone tails, Shibata and colleagues prepared nucleosomes where one type of histone was tailless. There are four different types of histones, called H2A, H2B, H3 and H4. HS-AFM experiments on the nucleosomes revealed that H2B and H3 tail-less nucleosomes showed an increased frequency of dynamics. Conversely, this means that canonical H2B and H3 histones are essential for nucleosome stability.
The scientists point out that they could not observe any actual motion of histone tails — most likely the temporal resolution of the study, 0.3 seconds, was much slower than the rate of the wrapping/unwrapping dynamics of the tails. Despite this limitation, the work of Shibata and colleagues clearly proves that the tails of H2B and H3 histones are the main contributors to nucleosome dynamics. Regarding future work, quoting the researchers, “a technique for tagging histone tail tips might enable HS-AFM to capture the movements of the histone tails themselves.”
Background
High-speed atomic force microscopy
The general principle of atomic force microscopy (AFM) is to make a very small tip scan the surface of a sample. During this horizontal (xy) scan, the tip, which is attached to a small cantilever, follows the sample’s vertical (z) profile, inducing a force on the cantilever that can be measured. The magnitude of the force at the xy position can be related to the z value; the xyz data generated during a scan then result in a height map providing structural information about the investigated sample. In high-speed-AFM (HS-AFM), the working principle is slightly more involved: the cantilever is made to oscillate near its resonance frequency. When the tip is moved around a surface, the variations in the amplitude (or the frequency) of the cantilever’s oscillation — resulting from the tip’s interaction with the sample’s surface — are recorded, as these provide a measure for the local z value. AFM does not involve lenses, so its resolution is not restricted by the so-called diffraction limit as in X-ray diffraction, for example.
HS-AFM results in a video, where the time interval between frames depends on the speed with which a single image can be generated (by xy-scanning the sample). Researchers at Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University have in recent years developed HS-AFM further, so that it can be applied to study biochemical molecules and biomolecular processes in real-time. Mikihiro Shibata and colleagues have now applied the method to study nucleosome dynamics in detail, and in particular the role of the molecular endings of histones — proteins that play a crucial role in DNA accessibility.
Reference
Shin Morioka, Takumi Oishi, Suguru Hatazawa, Takahiro Kakuta, Tomoki Ogoshi, Kenichi Umeda, Noriyuki Kodera, Hitoshi Kurumizaka, and Mikihiro Shibata. High-Speed Atomic Force Microscopy Reveals the Nucleosome Sliding and DNA Unwrapping/Wrapping Dynamics of Tail-less Nucleosomes, Nano Letters ,2024.
DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c00801https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c00801 
https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/Figure-1-12.png Figure 1.
High-speed atomic force microscopy visualization of nucleosome dynamics with canonical (top) and tail-less (bottom) histones.© 2024 American Chemical Society
ContactHiroe YonedaSenior Specialist in Project Planning and OutreachNanoLSI Administration Office, Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI)Kanazawa UniversityKakuma-machi, Kanazawa 920-1192, JapanEmail: [email protected]: +81 (76) 234-4555
About Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University
Understanding nanoscale mechanisms of life phenomena by exploring “uncharted nano-realms”
Cells are the basic units of almost all life forms. We are developing nanoprobe technologies that allow direct imaging, analysis, and manipulation of the behavior and dynamics of important macromolecules in living organisms, such as proteins and nucleic acids, at the surface and interior of cells. We aim at acquiring a fundamental understanding of the various life phenomena at the nanoscale.https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/en/
About the World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI)
The WPI program was launched in 2007 by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to foster globally visible research centers boasting the highest standards and outstanding research environments. Numbering more than a dozen and operating at institutions throughout the country, these centers are given a high degree of autonomy, allowing them to engage in innovative modes of management and research. The program is administered by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).
See the latest research news from the centers at the WPI News Portal: https://www.eurekalert.org/newsportal/WPI
Main WPI program site: www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-toplevel
About Kanazawa University
As the leading comprehensive university on the Sea of Japan coast, Kanazawa University has contributed greatly to higher education and academic research in Japan since it was founded in 1949. The University has three colleges and 17 schools offering courses in subjects that include medicine, computer engineering, and humanities.
The University is located on the coast of the Sea of Japan in Kanazawa – a city rich in history and culture. The city of Kanazawa has a highly respected intellectual profile since the time of the fiefdom (1598-1867). Kanazawa University is divided into two main campuses: Kakuma and Takaramachi for its approximately 10,200 students including 600 from overseas.http://www.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/e/
 
 
 

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DUSSELDORF, Germany, April 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Geekplus, the global leader in mobile robot and smart logistics solutions, has deployed the first Shelf-to-Person PopPick project in the Nordics for one of the biggest online pharmacy wholesalers in the region, Med24.dk. System Teknik partnered on the Denmark project, which includes three PopPick stations and 30 Shelf-to-Person robots, bringing a flexible solution to a region where fixed automation still dominates.  

“With the rise of e-commerce, Med24.dk had been struggling with huge sales growth coupled with fast delivery demands from customers in Denmark, Norway, Sweden searching for pharmacy, health and beauty products. Peak season events had also caused considerable strain to their operations,” said Blond Shkodrani, channel partner manager for the Nordics at Geekplus. “Due to their overwhelming success, Med24.dk needed a modular, automated order fulfillment solution for fast, efficient order fulfillment.”
The Geekplus modular Shelf-to-Person solution optimizes warehouse operations using mobile robots to transport shelves. In a region where fixed and cubic solutions have been the trend during recent years, Shelf-to-Person handles goods of all sizes while removing the need for infrastructure investment, making it the most flexible response to order fulfillment challenges.
PopPick workstations use two retrieval arms and four presentation locations to present pickers with multiple, moveable 78-tote racks at one time, resulting in an industry-leading throughput of 450 totes per hour. PopPick can store goods of all types and sizes; the solution is not limited to small pieces and improves ergonomics for workers while picking. It also takes up less space than traditional systems, so customers can use more stations without adding facility space.
“We are very pleased to invest in flooring robots from Geekplus,” said Med24.dk CEO Nils Træholt. “We believe that this new and innovative technology can help us realize our growth ambitions, while maintaining good delivery times for the benefit of our customers.”
Morten Kirch, System Teknik’s CSO, added: “Due to Med24.dk’s growth, we are thrilled to be able to deliver a tailor-made, automated solution that matches their needs.”
Geekplus offers a suite of Goods-to-Person mobile order fulfillment solutions — the only comprehensive robotic offering controlled by a single software platform.
“Through trusted partners like System Teknik, we’re showing customers all over Europe that Geekplus truly is a one-stop shop for modular warehouse automation,” Shkodrani said.
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The company has global footprints across 120+ countries, serves over 10,000+ content creators, and educators across 3,000+ platforms
GURUGRAM, India, April 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — VdoCipher, a leading provider of video player and piracy protection solutions for content creators, e-learning, and media platforms, has announced significant success in combating video piracy with its latest innovation, the Piracy Tracker Engine. In just six months, this cutting-edge technology has blocked over 60,000 piracy attempts across 700+ content platforms, reinforcing VdoCipher’s commitment to safeguarding digital content and revenues.

For over eight years, VdoCipher has been pioneering DRM Encryption and Dynamic Watermark technologies, offering robust security solutions to content creators worldwide. Six months ago, the company introduced the Piracy Tracker and Hacker Identification Engine, aimed at identifying and blocking piracy attempts. This innovative solution targets various forms of piracy, including DRM breaches, credential sharing, and illegal clone applications.
VdoCipher, with a significant presence across the European market, serves over 10,000+ content creators across 3,000 platforms. Vibhav Sinha, CTO, VdoCipher, commented, “Every year we try to add an additional layer of technology to our security stack. Adding to strong Video DRM encryption, we now identify a combination of 12 viewer behavior patterns using our secure player. We provide an easy-to-use dashboard for our customers to get all piracy info. Some of the popular e-learning platforms have already made use of this tool to catch hackers, grow users, and enhance their revenues.”
The proliferation of internet video piracy tools poses a significant challenge, particularly in Europe. Recent statistics reveal that streaming accounted for 58% of piracy in the EU in 2022, with downloading comprising 32%. Top 10 popular global video downloaders have 110+ Million users.
Additionally, a report analyzing online piracy facts worldwide shows that Europeans have the biggest piracy problem (45.72%). In Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, UK and France, film piracy has soared during the Covid19 pandemic. Moreover, Telegram and other platforms have facilitated the widespread dissemination of pirated content, with hundreds of groups each having over 10,000 users leaking course videos.
In the past six months, VdoCipher’s Piracy Tracker Engine has yielded impressive results:
63,210 sessions blocked for potential piracy attempts.12,330 unique devices/IPs blocked.1,690 users were detected for credential misuse.384 user accounts proactively blocked based on piracy data.Legal actions were initiated against 5 users.Siddhant Jain, CEO of VdoCipher, emphasized, “One problem in online education and the content creator economy that no one talks about is video piracy. Video piracy robs creators of revenue but also robs students of learning from good-quality teachers. Teachers fear putting their best content online due to piracy; so ultimately, it also harms the student community. At VdoCipher, with our video hosting solutions, it is our mission to bring more educators and content creators online by ensuring that they do not lose revenues due to online piracy; at the same time, viewers across the globe have the best viewing experience.”
Contact: Siddhant [email protected]
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