Nature Reviews Genetics
Volume 10, No 7 July 2009
Featured Article
Article series: Modelling
From DNA sequence to transcriptional behaviour: a quantitative approach
Eran Segal & Jonathan Widom
2008 ISI Impact Factor 24.185(*Source of Impact Factor data)
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Review
Evolutionary analysis of the dynamics of viral infectious disease
Oliver G. Pybus & Andrew Rambaut
The rapid evolution of many important pathogens, particularly RNA viruses, means that their ecological and evolutionary dynamics occur on the same timescale. This Review discusses the insights into the transmission and epidemiology of viruses that have been provided by analyses of their evolutionary dynamics across a wide range of biological scales.
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Review
Fitness and its role in evolutionary genetics
H. Allen Orr
The concept of fitness is fundamental to understanding natural selection, but defining and measuring fitness involves some subtle distinctions. This Review explains theoretical aspects of fitness, introduces current experimental approaches and highlights issues that remain unresolved.
CURRENT ISSUE
Review
Making a firm decision: multifaceted regulation of cell fate in the early mouse embryo
Magdalena Zernicka–Goetz, Samantha A. Morris & Alexander W. Bruce
How cell fate decisions are made is a fundamental question in developmental biology. Recent analyses of the first two fate decisions in mammalian embryogenesis illustrate the potential interplay of transcriptional circuits, epigenetic modification, cell position and polarity in lineage choice.
CURRENT ISSUE
Review
Transcription factories: gene expression in unions?
Heidi Sutherland & Wendy A. Bickmore
Foci of transcriptional activity are observed in eukaryotic nuclei and have been called transcription factories. However, many uncertainties about their function and identity remain and the evidence can be conflicting, as the authors discuss in this Review.
CURRENT ISSUE
Perspective
Mitochondrial and plastid evolution in eukaryotes: an outsiders' perspective
Jeferson Gross & Debashish Bhattacharya
The mitochondrion and plastid are derived from bacterial endosymbionts that were transformed over time into organelles. Here the authors posit an explanation for how the eukaryotic hosts controlled the evolution of these organelles through the establishment of protein–sorting systems.
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Research Highlights
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MicroRNAs:
HITS–CLIP hits the microRNA target
Using Ago HITS–CLIP to precisely determine miRNA binding sites will enable future studies to accurately analyse the function of a large number of miRNAs.
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Ethics watch:
An offer you can't refuse? Ethical implications of non–invasive prenatal diagnosis
Dagmar Schmitz, Christian Netzer & Wolfram Henn
More Genetics
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Recommended Links
Links recommended by the Editors
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Web Focus Collection
Selected articles from the Nature Publishing Group on key current topics
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Article Series
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Genetics Conferences
A calendar of forthcoming meetings and workshops from across the field of genetics and genomics.
Noticeboard
Web Collection on Influenza
Influenza pandemics occur with some frequency, as indicated by the recent outbreak of swine flu (influenza A (H1N1)). Learn more about influenza, previous 'flu pandemics, preventative measures against 'flu and how the spread of disease can be modelled and possibly predicted with these selected Nature Reviews Microbiology and Nature Reviews Genetics articles.
Supplement on genomic medicine in developing countries
This collection of Perspective articles describes human genome variation studies taking place in Mexico, India, Thailand, and South Africa. It discusses the challenges and opportunities facing these and other developing countries in harnessing genomics for the benefit of their populations.
Milestones in DNA technologies
Nature Methods, Nature Reviews Genetics and Nature are proud to present The Nature Milestones in DNA technologies, a series of articles and commentaries highlighting the most influential developments in DNA–related techniques over the past half–century.
Visit the Milestones website made freely accessible thanks to the support of QIAGEN.
Web focuses
A Web Focus is a selection of articles on a related theme drawn from the entire Nature Publishing Group family of journals. With content ranging from Research Highlights, Reviews and Perspectives through to primary research papers, a Web Focus provides a panoramic view of a key area of biology.
RNAi animation
Nature Reviews Genetics and Arkitek present an animation of the RNAi process. Click here for access to the accompanying RNAi Web Focus, which includes relevant content from across Nature Publishing Group.
Statistical genetics audio supplement
How will advances in statistics aid genetic analyses? Find out what the experts think in our Focus audio supplement: 'Genetics by numbers'
Nature Omics gateway
The Nature Omics gateway is a comprehensive compilation of large-scale genomic biology content, drawn from the complete range of Nature Publishing Group publications. Content includes research and review articles, news, commentaries and research highlights.
Journal Citation Reports, Thomson, 2008
