Tau Hyperphosphorylation & Neurofibrillary Tangle Nucleation

This simulator models the molecular sequence behind Alzheimer's-associated neurofibrillary tangles: tau protein normally clings to the microtubule lattice, but kinase-driven hyperphosphorylation strips it off, and the resulting pool of free monomers self-assembles through a real nucleation-elongation mechanism into paired helical filaments. Drag the phosphorylation slider to watch the microtubule destabilize and tangles nucleate, adjust the tau pool to see concentration-dependent aggregation kinetics, or inject a preformed seed to demonstrate the prion-like templated spreading documented in tauopathy research.