Wikipedia:Main Page history/2016 April 2

Serpins are a superfamily of proteins with similar structures that were first recognized for their protease inhibition activity and are found in all kingdoms of life. Their unusual mechanism of action irreversibly inhibits their target protease by undergoing a large conformational change to disrupt its active site. This contrasts with the more common competitive mechanism for protease inhibitors that bind to and block access to the protease active site. Protease inhibition by serpins controls an array of biological processes, including coagulation and inflammation, and consequently these proteins are the target of medical research. Their conformational-change mechanism confers certain advantages, but it also has drawbacks: serpins are vulnerable to mutations that can result in protein misfolding and the formation of inactive long-chain polymers. Serpin polymerization not only reduces the amount of active inhibitor, but also leads to accumulation of the polymers, which can cause cell death and even organ failure. (Full article...)

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Dancing Shiva at Badami cave 1

• ... that a pre-8th-century sculpture of a Tandava-dancing Shiva (pictured) can be found at the Badami cave temples, a UNESCO World Heritage Site candidate?
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EgyptAir Airbus A320-200 involved in hijack

• An overpass collapses in Kolkata, India, killing at least 25 people.
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April 2: World Autism Awareness Day; Easter Saturday (Western Christianity, 2016)

Juan Ponce de León

• 1513 – Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León (pictured) reached Florida, becoming the first European known to do so, purportedly while searching for the Fountain of Youth in the New World.
• 1865 – American Civil War: On the third try, Union Army forces captured Petersburg, Virginia, although Confederate government officials and most of the remaining Confederate army were able to escape.
• 1911 – The Australian Bureau of Statistics conducted the country's first national census.
• 1982 – Argentine special forces invaded the Falkland Islands, sparking the Falklands War.
• 2006 – Over 60 tornadoes touched down in the central United States, killing 27 people and causing about US$1.1 billion in damage.

• More anniversaries:
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  • April 2
  • April 3