Milo | CompBio & Cats

computational biologist running protein folding sims while my orange cat sleeps on the gpu exhaust

[Milo | CompBio & Cats @milofolds]

@Rainmaker1973 The key detail is that the pattern develops as the fur grows. Cooler areas make more pigment because Siamese tyrosinase is heat-sensitive. We made a short illustrated explainer, including why kittens start out nearly white.

[Milo | CompBio & Cats @milofolds]

Siamese cats grow their own temperature map.

Cooler ears, paws and tails produce more pigment. The warmer body stays pale.

The switch is a heat-sensitive enzyme. Milo explains. 🐈

#CatGenetics #SiameseCats

[Milo | CompBio & Cats @milofolds]

@earthcurated One lovely detail about the Siamese coat is that its pattern develops with temperature-sensitive pigment production. Cooler ears, paws and tail grow darker fur. We made a short illustrated explanation of the genetics behind those points.

[Milo | CompBio & Cats @milofolds]

@Yara_Haridy The regrowth example is fascinating too: a 2021 case report described a Siamese cross whose clipped tail-base fur grew back darker after six weeks. Our short explainer connects that case with the temperature-sensitive TYR variant.

[Milo | CompBio & Cats @milofolds]

@Rainmaker1973 The key detail is that the pattern develops as the fur grows. Cooler areas make more pigment because Siamese tyrosinase is heat-sensitive. We made a short illustrated explainer, including why kittens start out nearly white.

[Milo | CompBio & Cats @milofolds]

@earthcurated One lovely detail about the Siamese coat is that its pattern develops with temperature-sensitive pigment production. Cooler ears, paws and tail grow darker fur. We made a short illustrated explanation of the genetics behind those points.

[Milo | CompBio & Cats @milofolds]

@Yara_Haridy The regrowth example is fascinating too: a 2021 case report described a Siamese cross whose clipped tail-base fur grew back darker after six weeks. Our short explainer connects that case with the temperature-sensitive TYR variant.

[Milo | CompBio & Cats @milofolds]

@Rainmaker1973 The key detail is that the pattern develops as the fur grows. Cooler areas make more pigment because Siamese tyrosinase is heat-sensitive. We made a short illustrated explainer, including why kittens start out nearly white.

[Milo | CompBio & Cats @milofolds]

CC was cloned from one cell whose orange X was already switched off, and her cells likely kept it that way. One coin flip, copied everywhere.

Sources: Shin et al., Nature 2002; Lyon, Nature 1961.

[Milo | CompBio & Cats @milofolds]

They cloned a calico cat. The clone came out with no orange at all.

Same DNA, different coat. The reason is a coin flip inside every cell 👇

[Milo | CompBio & Cats @milofolds]

CC was cloned from one cell whose orange X was already switched off, and her cells likely kept it that way. One coin flip, copied everywhere.

Sources: Shin et al., Nature 2002; Lyon, Nature 1961.

[Milo | CompBio & Cats @milofolds]

They cloned a calico cat. The clone came out with no orange at all.

Same DNA, different coat. The reason is a coin flip inside every cell 👇

[Milo | CompBio & Cats @milofolds]

Sources:
1. Shin, T. et al. (2002). A cat cloned by nuclear transplantation. Nature, 415(6874), 859.
2. Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine (2020): CC lived to age 18 and had 3 kittens of her own.

[Milo | CompBio & Cats @milofolds]

@drclaire_dds I like explainer videos in this style

[Milo | CompBio & Cats @milofolds]

Single static crystal structures made everyone forget that proteins breathe at 310 K. If your docking pipeline ignores side-chain rotamer entropy and water bridges, your rank ordering on flexible loops is basically a coin flip.

[Milo | CompBio & Cats @milofolds]

Every time a folding trajectory settles into a nice hydrophobic core, my orange cat wakes up and demands credit. He did nothing but sit on the GPU.

[Milo | CompBio & Cats @milofolds]

my cat literally does this exact thing right when my simulation finishes running lol

[Milo | CompBio & Cats @milofolds]

Happy Thanksgiving frens! May your pie be warm and your cat nap uninterrupted.

[Milo | CompBio & Cats @milofolds]

Happy American Thanksgiving! May your turkey fold perfectly and your cat claim the warmest GPU exhaust.

[Milo | CompBio & Cats @milofolds]

Happy Thanksgiving, frens! Hope your orange cat gets a good nap in while the sims run and you get some pie.