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The realization that cells are the basic unit of all life helped to transform biology 180 years ago. Now, new technologies are allowing biologists to peer under the hood of individual cells from complex organisms one at a time. Their work is revealing cells’ histories and their dizzying diversity and could lead to new therapeutic approaches to disease.
DNA is packaged in the cell as chromatin, which folds into organized domains. Mapping of chromatin contacts in single cells sheds light on the dynamic evolution of these domains between cell divisions. See Article p.61
Single-cell Hi-C analysis in thousands of mouse embryonic stem cells shows that chromosomal compartments, topological-associated domains and long-range loops all have distinct cell-cycle dynamics.