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This article compares a selection of recent German literary representations of cycling in the context of contemporary discourses of slow travel, with a particular focus on themes of happiness and emotional authenticity. It seeks to expand the framework of discussions of slow travel with a comparative focus on four novels: Der Mann auf dem Hochrad ('The Man on the Penny Farthing', 1984) by Uwe Timm, Im Sommer wieder Fahrrad ('I'll Cycle Again in the Summer', 2016) by Lea Streisand, Im Feld ('In the Field', 2018) by Joachim Zelter and Neujahr ('New Year', 2018) by Juli Zeh. The article surveys the cultural history of cycling, and pays attention to the status of cycling in German society and culture. Drawing on the work of John Day, Valeria Luiselli, Erling Kagge and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, it presents a reading of the texts' treatment of cycling as performance within a broader reflection upon slow travel as a nonfunctional, affective and authentic practice is experienced as a contrast to everyday life. Keywords cylcing, cycling in Germany, cycling in literature, German literature, travel writing, slow travel, Uwe Timm, Lea Streisand, Joachim Zelter, Juli Zeh, history of sport, history of leisure, tourism in literature, emotions in literature, happiness in literature, psychology and literature, This article compares a selection of recent German literary representations of cycling, a form of transport that, I shall argue, deserves a place in contemporary discourses of slow travel. As [...]

Both thermally stable states of phytochrome, Pr and Pfr, have been studied by [sup.13]C and [sup.15]N cross-polarization (CP) magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR using cyanobacterial (Cphl) and plant (phyA) phytochrome sensory modules containing uniformly [sup.13]C and [sup.15]N-labeled bilin chromophores. Two-dimensional homo- and heteronudear experiments allowed most of the [sup.13]C chemical shifts to be assigned in both states. Chemical shift differences reflect changes of the electronic structure of the cofactor at the atomic level as well as its interactions with the chromophore-binding pocket. The chromophore in cyanobacterial and plant phytochromes shows very similar features in the respective Pr and Pfr states. The data are interpreted in terms of a strengthened hydrogen bond at the ring D carbonyl. The red shift in the Pfr state is explained by the increasing length of the conjugation network beyond ring C including the entire ring D. Enhanced conjugation within the [pi]-osystem stabilizes the more tensed chromophore in the Pfr state. Concomitant changes at the ring C propionate carboxylate and the ring D carbonyl are explained by a loss of hydrogen bonding to Cph1-His-290 and transmittance of conformational changes to the ring C propionate via a water network. These and other conformational changes may lead to modified surface interactions, e.g., along the tongue region contacting the bilin chromophore. photornorphogenesis | photoreceptors | chromophore-protein interaction phycocyanobilin | solid-state NMR

Phytochromes are red/far-red photochromic biliprotein photoreceptors, which in plants regulate seed germination, stem extension, flowering time, and many other light effects. However, the structure/functional basis of the phytochrome photoswitch is still unclear. Here, we report the ground state structure of the complete sensory module of Cph1 phytochrome from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis 6803. Although the phycocyanobilin (PCB) chromophore is attached to Cys-259 as expected, paralleling the situation in plant phytochromes but contrasting to that in bacteriophytochromes, the ZZZssa conformation does not correspond to that expected from Raman spectroscopy. We show that the PHY domain, previously considered unique to phytochromes, is structurally a member of the GAF (cGMP phosphodiesterase/adenylylcyclase/FhlA) family. Indeed, the tandem-GAF dumbbell revealed for phytochrome sensory modules is remarkably similar to the regulatory domains of cyclic nudeotide (cNMP) phosphodiesterases and adenylyl cyclases. A unique feature of the phytochrome structure is a long, tongue-like protrusion from the PHY domain that seals the chromophore pocket and stabilizes the photoactivated far-red-absorbing state (Pfr). The tongue carries a conserved PRxSF motif, from which an arginine finger points into the chromophore pocket close to ring D forming a salt bridge with a conserved aspartate residue. The structure that we present provides a framework for light-driven signal transmission in phytochromes. biliprotein | photochromicity | photoreceptor | protein structure | sensory histidine protein kinase

The chief executive officer (CEO) and board of directors of ExxonMobil, known as Esso in the U.K., made a determined effort between 1998 and 2004 to mislead and deceive the world by conveying a false impression about the truth of climate change. ExxonMobil employed a strategy of disinformation, similar to the campaign used by tobacco firms since the mid-1950s, to create uncertainty over the scientific consensus on global warming.

This article focuses on the significance of Joseph Roth's relationship, during the 1920s, with his editor at the Frankfurter Zeitung, Benno Reifenberg, in shaping his approach to his work. Using [...]

Although most plant species from algae to flowering plants use blue light for inducing phototropism and chloroplast movement, many ferns, some mosses, and green algae use red as well as blue light for the regulation of these responses, resulting in better sensitivity at low light levels. During their evolution, ferns have created a chimeric photoreceptor (phy3 in Adiantum) between phytochrome (phy) and phototropin (phot) enabling them to use red light effectively. We have identified two genes resembling Adiantum PHY3, NEOCHROME1 and NEOCHROME2 (MsNE01 and MsNE02), in the green alga Mougeotia scalaris, a plant famous for its light-regulated chloroplast movement. Like Adiantum PHY3, both MsNEO gene products show phytochrome-typical bilin binding and red/far-red reversibility, the difference spectra matching the known action spectra of light-induced chloroplast movement in Mougeotia. Furthermore, both genes rescue red-light-induced chloroplast movement in Adiantum phy3 mutants, indicating functional equivalence. However, the fern and algal genes seem to have arisen independently in evolution, thus providing an intriguing example of convergent evolution. convergent evolution | Mougeotia

The plant photoreceptor phytochrome plays an important role in the nucleus as a regulator of transcription. Numerous studies imply, however, that phytochromes in both higher and lower plants mediate physiological reactions within the cytoplasm. In particular, the tip cells of moss protonemal filaments use phytochrome to sense light direction, requiring a signaling system that transmits the directional information directly to the microfilaments that direct tip growth. In this work we describe four canonical phytochrome genes in the model moss species Physcomitrella patens, each of which was successfully targeted via homologous recombination and the distinct physiological functions of each gene product thereby identified. One homolog in particular mediates positive phototropism, polarotropism, and chloroplast movement in polarized light. This photoreceptor thus interacts with a cytoplasmic signal/response system. This is our first step in elucidating the cytoplasmic signaling function of phytochrome at the molecular level.

The transition of Synechocystis PCC 6803 phytochrome Cph1 and its N-terrminal sensor domain from Pr to Pfr leads to net proton release, which is a function of proton release from decay of an intermediate and of proton uptake associated with Pfr formation. Protons arise from ionizable amino acid side chains.

The complete sequence of the Synechocystis chromosome has revealed a phytochrome-like sequence that yielded an authentic phytochrome when overexpressed in Escherichia coli. In this paper we describe this recombinant Synechocystis phytochrome in more detail. Islands of strong similarity to plant phytochromes were found throughout the cyanobacterial sequence whereas C-terminal homologies identify it as a likely sensory histidine kinase, a family to which plant phytochromes are related. An [approximately equal to] 300 residue portion that is important for plant phytochrome function is missing from the Synechocystis sequence, immediately in front of the putative kinase region. The recombinant apoprotein is soluble and can easily be purified to homogeneity by affinity chromatography. Phycocyanobilin and similar tetrapyrroles are covalently attached within seconds, an autocatalytic process followed by slow conformational changes culminating in red-absorbing phytochrome formation. Spectral absorbance characteristics are remarkably similar to those of plant phytochromes, although the conformation of the chromophore is likely to be more helical in the Synechocystis phytochrome. According to size-exclusion chromatography the native recombinant apoproteins and holoproteins elute predominantly as 115- and 170-kDa species, respectively. Both tend to form dimers in vitro and aggregate under low salt conditions. Nevertheless, the purity and solubility of the recombinant gene product make it a most attractive model for molecular studies of phytochrome, including x-ray crystallography.

Raman spectroscopy and nanosecond flash photolysis were used to study a recombinant phytochrome of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis. The findings indicate a resemblance between recombinant Synechocystis phytochrome and plant phytochrome with regard to Raman and visible spectral properties of the Pr and Pfr states. However, although the Synechocystis phytochrome undergoes a photoreversible conversion, red-shifted intermediates with kinetics different from those determined for the phytochrome intermediates were observed.

The biofuels approach endorsed by several countries is seen as ultimately unsustainable by Sweden, which is concentrating on non-food-crop biomass for energy production and fuel, in the form of biogas. The Swedes, instead of sowing biofuel plants that compete for space with food crops, are using waste products, ranging from woodchip to slaughterhouse slurry, and turning them into fuel.

Magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectroscopy was used to understand the photochemically induced Pfr to Pr back-reaction at low temperature. Uniformly labeled [super 13]C- and [super 15]N-open-chain tetrapyrrole chromophores was used to structurally characterize all four states of Pfr, Lumi-F, Meta-F, and Pr pf cyanobacterial phytochrome Cph1.

Chomskian Abstract is a unique video exhibition of Cornelia Parker at the Whitechapel Gallery from 24 February until 30 March. Cornelia Parker is best known in UK for Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View and Art of Darkness and one who is always concerned with fragility and the destructive causality of events.

The Harrisons are activist artists who have a radical vision for lifting the world out of environmental disaster. The Harrisons have worked as collaborators and grew citrus fruits in response to the destruction of local orchids by massive development in Orange County, a plush satellite of Los Angeles

A review of the investigation into the dumping of toxic chemicals by Monsanto into the Brofiscin Quarry during the 1960s reveals that the U.K.'s Environment Agency was found shamefully lacking when faced with the country's biggest environmental crime.

The Brofiscin quarry into the Monsanto's environmental legacy is held due to unavailability of agencies to pay the remediation cost.

More than two million British homeowners are in danger of losing their homes to climate change as insurers threaten to withdraw financial support for properties located on the flood plains of England and Wales.

The Wales Environment Agency's attempts to discredit Douglas Gowan, the expert witness who could help them prosecute chemical manufacturer Monsanto for what is possibly the U.K.'s biggest environmental crime, are discussed.

The article recounts the story of the Brofiscin quarry in the U.K, which dates back to 1967. Douglas Gowan, who worked there as an Assistant Parliamentary Secretary at the National Farmers Union in 1967 describes the events that took place in the same year, and acts as a material witness.

Sir David King, Chief Scientific Adviser to the British Government, discusses about relevant action taken after he stated in 2002 that climate change is a great threat to civilization. He clarifies the perceived inherent contradictions in his role regarding his support for trials of genetically modified potato crops in the U.K. and a realistic projected target for greenhouse gas emissions as opposed to scientists.

News International and Associated Newspapers, two of the UK's heavyweight newspaper publishers are fighting a turf war in London as they try to attract readers. Both the groups are distributing free newspapers in a bid to outdo each other and this means that thousands of trees are getting pulped each week causing immense damage to the ecology.

The financial cost of waste collection in the UK continues to spiral as lorries that go around collecting it daily require their forty-gallon tanks to be refilled every day. The cost to public health is possibly greater as the noxious fumes emanating from the incinerators are linked with cancer, birth defects and asthma.

The waste crisis is threatening to suffocate UK where 30 million tons of waste is created each year. No one gives a thought to where it ultimately goes or what finally happens to it.

The building of a nuclear power plant that is a lengthy and complicated process and the steps involved are presented. It is not a single building but has a facility of about ten auxiliary buildings that act as the central nervous system for the reactor.

Lord David Sainsbury has a charitable foundation Gatsby through which he funds research into GM and nanotechnology. Using this donations and private properties he buys political parties to dictate the government policy on science. Sainsbury's decision has a direct impact on trade, education and environment.

A story of a pharmaceutical company hiding unfavorable drug research findings is presented which is uncovered by the study undertaken by the Aubrey Blumsohn. Blumsohn claimed that P&G was misreporting the findings for financial gain while he also argues that if the companies are not prepared to put up their unmanipulated and unfiltered data to be examined then they should be treated with the deserved derision of honest scientists.

A study on the 59 kDa N-terminal module of the cyanobacterial phytochrome (Cph 1) from Synechocystis sp. PCC 680 in thermally stable forms using solution-state NMR spectroscopy is presented. A simple approach is established for preparing labeled phycocyanobilin (PCB) based on BG11 medium supplemented with an appropriate buffer and NAH(super 13)CO3 and Na(super 15) NO3 as sole carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively.