Subtle changes, big effects
Published Date: 11/18/2019
Source: phys.org
"Does the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?," Edward Lorenz, once famously wondered at the 139th meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Scientists have recently discovered the mechanism by which a minuscule change in 3 atoms in a protein molecule can affect immune signalling in cells. This 'butterfly effect' is used by the bacterium, Shigella flexneri, to survive within the host cells that it infects.