Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Text mining — retrieving information from papers and databases — is increasingly used in data-rich fields such as genomics, systems biology and biomedical research. This Review discusses recent tools that can aid researchers and sets out the potential of enhancing integrative research using text mining.
This Review discusses recent improvements to ChIP–seq and a range of complementary techniques, such as DNaseI hypersensitivity mapping, for studying protein–DNA interactions. Functional characterization of protein binding can be improved by methods analysing chromatin conformation or allele-specific binding.
The growing availability of primate genome sequences has allowed an evaluation of the genetic and genomic changes that may have contributed to human-specific traits. This article focuses on these unique changes and the potential mechanisms by which they may have occurred.
The theoretical principles of adaptive evolution are being put to the test in a growing range of species and populations, particularly with new sequencing technologies and high-throughput experimental methods making headway in this area.
This Review discusses the roles of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations in human disease. In addition to many primary mitochondrial diseases, there is emerging — and sometimes controversial — evidence that mutations in mtDNA are involved in complex traits such as neurodegeneration, ageing and cancer.
