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Planar cell polarity (PCP), the polarization of a field of cells within the plane of a cell sheet, is required for various developmental processes. This Progress article discusses recent developments in PCP — from the signals that orient polarity inDrosophila, to new insights into vertebrate collective cell movements and cilial functions.
The Hedgehog proteins have fundamental roles in the development of many metazoans, but comparative analyses are revealing intriguing differences, as well as similarities in the Hedgehog pathway among species. Such studies are also improving our understanding of Hedgehog regulation and how it contributes to patterning.
Circadian clocks are archetypal complex biological systems and so clock research has been at the forefront of developing and exploiting systems biology research approaches. This work has uncovered systems-level properties, such as robustness and periodicity, and provides lessons for other research fields.
Increasing efforts are being made to integrate electronic health records into disease genetics and genomics studies and to use the biological 'by-products' of health-care for research. Such efforts promise to decrease the cost of genomics studies and increase their clinical relevance.
Recent studies have greatly increased our understanding of the molecular actors that regulate X-chromosome inactivation in female mammals. A complex interplay ofcis- and trans-regulatory mechanisms ensures the differential activities of the two X chromosomes during female development.
An overview of the steps required in converting next-generation sequencing (NGS) data into accurate called SNPs and genotypes, a process that is crucial for the many downstream analyses of NGS data.