Show Notes
This release contains only the music track from Base by Base Episode 431.
Song title: Plaque of Light
Original Base by Base episode: 431: KIAP4 and the ARND family: essential proteins for Leishmania–sand fly adhesion
Article metadata:
Article title: Identification of a conserved gene family with an essential role in
Leishmania
parasite–insect vector adhesion
Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2603653123
Reference: Owino BO, Yanase R, Pruzinovac K, Farr H, Lopez Y, Marron AO, Vaughan S, Volf P, Sunter JD. Identification of a conserved gene family with an essential role in Leishmania parasite–insect vector adhesion. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2026;123(30):e2603653123. doi:10.1073/pnas.2603653123
Lyrics:
Verse 1
Under cold blue screens, the night stays wide awake
A tiny traveler learns the hold it has to take
On a narrow threshold where the currents twist and roll
It builds a quiet landing gear for its whole soul
Pre-Chorus
Threads align where the flagellum meets the wall
A hidden scaffold answers to the call
Not fire, not fuel—just shape and fit
A lock made of contact, molecule by bit
Chorus
Hold on, hold fast, at the edge of the flow
A plaque of light where the pathways go
If we break that grip, the story can bend
Stop the ride before it starts again
Verse 2
A conserved code repeats in cousins far apart
Same silent engine with a missing start
No Walker to walk, no spark to burn
Still it pulls the pieces where they need to turn
Bridge
Name it KIAP4—watch it rise with the change
As haptomonads form, the pattern rearranges
Cut the gene and the anchor comes undone
No valve to colonize, no race to be run
Final Chorus
Hold on, hold fast, at the edge of the flow
A plaque of light where the pathways go
Find that scaffold, cut the chain, defend
Stop transmission—let the cycle end
