Computational design of conformation-biasing mutations to alter protein functions.

Most natural proteins alternate between distinct conformational states, each associated with specific functions. Intentional manipulation of conformational equilibria could lead to improved or altered protein properties. Here we develop Conformational Biasing (CB), a rapid and streamlined computational method that utilizes contrastive scoring by inverse folding models to predict variants biased towards desired conformational states.

Following Randolph Blake's furrow further.

In 1992, Randolph Blake, in collaboration with Robert Cormack and Eric Hiris, reported a strong deviation in perceived direction for a target moving over an oblique, static grating. Here we follow up on this effect, subsequently called the furrow illusion, to determine its origin. We find, unlike Cormack et al.

Hemifield Specificity of Attention Response Functions During Multiple Object Tracking.

The difficulty of tracking multiple moving objects among identical distractors increases with the number of tracked targets. Previous research has shown that the number of targets tracked (i.e.

Pupil dilation underlies the peripheral drift illusion.

A well-known motion illusion can be seen in stationary patterns that contain repeated asymmetrical luminance gradients, which create a sawtooth-like spatial luminance profile. Such patterns can appear to move episodically, triggered by saccadic eye movements and blinks. The illusion has been known since 1979, but its origin remains unclear.

Illusory shrinkage of objects under backward masking.

Backward masking is a powerful phenomenon that can reduce, often to zero, the visibility of targets. Here, we show that when the masking is less than completely effective so that the target remains visible, the masking has other effects, specifically reducing the perceived size of the target.