Table of contents
December 2006 Vol 7 No 12
Research Highlights
Epigenetics: An epigenetic cause of adaptive variation | PDF (261 KB)
p900 | doi:10.1038/nrg2019
Genomics: Sweet sequencing rewards | PDF (185 KB)
p901 | doi:10.1038/nrg2011
In brief
Development | RNA world | Gene expression | Epigenetics | PDF (185 KB)
p901 | doi:10.1038/nrg2023
Evolution: Good mothers have bad sons | PDF (223 KB)
p902 | doi:10.1038/nrg2015
Gene therapy: Getting into mitochondria | PDF (223 KB)
p902 | doi:10.1038/nrg2018
Evolution: From organelle to nucleus | PDF (121 KB)
p902 | doi:10.1038/nrg2022
In brief
Genome evolution | Genomics | Cancer genetics | DNA repair | PDF (215 KB)
p903 | doi:10.1038/nrg2024
Epigenetics: The DNA's fixed, but what about the histones? | PDF (228 KB)
p904 | doi:10.1038/nrg2016
Epigenetics: Imprinting links embryogenesis and tumour formation | PDF (186 KB)
p904 | doi:10.1038/nrg2021
Genomics: The dawn of Neanderthal genomics | PDF (188 KB)
p905 | doi:10.1038/nrg2020
Human genetics: Haplotype maps go global | PDF (408 KB)
p906 | doi:10.1038/nrg2014
Web Watch
Complete Darwin on the web | PDF (408 KB)
p906 | doi:10.1038/nrg2017
Reviews
How flies get their size: genetics meets physiology
Bruce A. Edgar
p907 | doi:10.1038/nrg1989
Both genetic and physiological studies are contributing to our understanding of insect body size, a trait that affects fitness in many ways and is therefore subject to intense selection. Many of the genes that determine body size in insects have similar roles in mammals.
Genetics of autoimmune diseases — disorders of immune homeostasis
Peter K. Gregersen & Timothy W. Behrens
p917 | doi:10.1038/nrg1944
Combined with advances in immunology, genetic studies in human populations are revealing the diverse alterations in adaptive immunity that underlie autoimmune diseases. Recent studies have also highlighted an unexpected contribution of the innate immune system to these complex diseases.
Signature-tagged mutagenesis: barcoding mutants for genome-wide screens
Piotr Mazurkiewicz, Christoph M. Tang, Charles Boone & David W. Holden
p929 | doi:10.1038/nrg1984
DNA signature tags, also known as molecular barcodes, were first developed in bacteria to facilitate functional screens by identifying mutants in mixed populations. Adaptations and refinements of this technology have yielded a wealth of information on a broad range of biological processes.
Human laminopathies: nuclei gone genetically awry
Brian C. Capell & Francis S. Collins
p940 | doi:10.1038/nrg1906
Intense investigation of the laminopathies has revised the traditional structural view of the nuclear lamina, highlighting crucial roles in processes including gene regulation and differentiation. This research has also led to a range of promising therapies for these rare diseases.
Perspectives
Essay
Heredity before genetics: a history
Matthew Cobb
p953 | doi:10.1038/nrg1948
How were hereditary traits understood before genetics emerged as a field? Insights from science, medicine and agriculture shaped thinking in this area, setting the scene for the crucial advances of Mendel and Darwin in the nineteenth century.
Opinion
The balance between heritable and environmental aetiology of human disease
Kari Hemminki, Justo Lorenzo Bermejo & Asta Försti
p958 | doi:10.1038/nrg2009
Using cancer as an example of complex disease, the authors revisit the evidence for the hypothesis that human diseases result from interactions between genetic variants and the environment.
Science and society
Defining the spectrum of genome policy
Susanne B. Haga & Huntington F. Willard
p966 | doi:10.1038/nrg2003
New developments in genomics require changes in the policies of various government bodies to address the legal and ethical implications of genomics and prioritize research and educational needs. This article surveys the changes that have been and need to be made.
