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.
Translational regulation in cellular and developmental processes allows a rapid response to external signals and contributes to protein localization. The mechanisms of translational regulation are shared between these processes and occur at all stages of translation.
The adoption of electronic health records will provide a rich resource for biomedical researchers. This Review discusses the potential for their use in informed decision making in the clinic, for a finer understanding of genotype–phenotype relationships and for selection of research cohorts, along with the current challenges for their mining and use.
Progress in synthetic biology is facilitating the design and implementation of synthetic gene circuits. The parts and modules that must be combined in these systems and the barriers that must be overcome before more complex circuits are implemented are presented in this Review.
A suprisingly large proportion of mammalian genes are now known to be subject to random monoallelic expression. This Review discusses our latest understanding of the underlying mechanisms and of the implications for cellular functions and organismal evolution.
The ability of cells to maintain their differentiated identity has important implications for therapeutic reprogramming approaches and for disease. This Review discusses the molecular mechanisms that maintain cellular identity; the robustness of these mechanisms seems to vary according to the organismal roles of distinct cell types.
The authors argue that far from driving innovation, patent claims on human genes and genetic diagnostic methods are largely counterproductive. Although possible solutions to the inconsistencies in the current system are proposed, the authors expect patents to die out naturally.
