Table of contents
September 2006 Vol 7 No 9
Research Highlights
Human evolution: RNA on the brain makes us different | PDF (163 KB)
p662 | doi:10.1038/nrg1952
Gene regulation: Sniffing out regulation at a distance | PDF (214 KB)
p663 | doi:10.1038/nrg1954
Gene regulation: The insulating role of an RNAi architect | PDF (245 KB)
p664 | doi:10.1038/nrg1942
Systems biology: Network fundamentals, via hub genes | PDF (245 KB)
p664 | doi:10.1038/nrg1949
Web Watch
Would Mendel have been a blogger? | PDF (100 KB)
p664 | doi:10.1038/nrg1957
In brief
Evolutionary genetics | Gene regulation | Gene expression | Genome evolution | PDF (240 KB)
p665 | doi:10.1038/nrg1958
Developmental biology: What vitamins can do for hedgehog | PDF (190 KB)
p666 | doi:10.1038/nrg1955
Evo-Devo: It doesn't take two to tango | PDF (190 KB)
p666 | doi:10.1038/nrg1956
In brief
Behavioural genetics | Gene expression | Epigenetics | Systems biology | PDF (128 KB)
p666 | doi:10.1038/nrg1959
Chromosome biology: POT-tering about the telomere | PDF (164 KB)
p667 | doi:10.1038/nrg1951
Ethics watch
Promoting equality and diversity in UK biomedical and clinical research | PDF (123 KB)
p668 | doi:10.1038/nrg1946
Fungal genetics: Fungal resistance needs a little extra | PDF (123 KB)
p668 | doi:10.1038/nrg1950
Reviews
Reconstructing human origins in the genomic era
Daniel Garrigan & Michael F. Hammer
p669 | doi:10.1038/nrg1941
The availability of new genome sequence data and sophisticated analysis methods are enriching our understanding of human demographic history. The emerging model is more complex than the single origin hypothesis, and instead invokes a degree of gene flow between subpopulations.
Dissecting the complex genetic basis of mate choice
Stephen F. Chenoweth & Mark W. Blows
p681 | doi:10.1038/nrg1924
Because of the complex phenotypes that are involved, the genetic basis of mate choice is particularly hard to unravel. Approaches that integrate classical quantitative genetics with modern genomic approaches promise to accelerate progress in this area.
Evolution of primate gene expression
Philipp Khaitovich, Wolfgang Enard, Michael Lachmann & Svante Pääbo
p693 | doi:10.1038/nrg1940
If most evolutionary changes affect the regulation rather than the structure of proteins, then studying the evolution of gene expression levels will help us to understand phenotypic changes. How can this approach identify the defining differences between humans and chimpanzees?
Insulators: exploiting transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms
Miklos Gaszner & Gary Felsenfeld
p703 | doi:10.1038/nrg1925
Recent advances from a range of systems have led to a rethink of how insulators prevent inappropriate interactions between neighbouring chromatin domains. The results suggest that, rather than having novel modes of action, insulators use adaptations of known regulatory mechanisms.
Analysis
JmjC-domain-containing proteins and histone demethylation
Robert J. Klose, Eric M. Kallin & Yi Zhang
p715 | doi:10.1038/nrg1945
Chromatin modifications affect many aspects of epigenetic inheritance and cell biology. The authors focus on evolutionary relationships among proteins containing the Jumonji C domain — the largest class of histone demethylases — and discuss their functions in relation to potential enzymatic activities.
Perspective
Guidelines: From artificial evolution to computational evolution: a research agenda
Wolfgang Banzhaf, Guillaume Beslon, Steffen Christensen, James A. Foster, François Képès, Virginie Lefort, Julian F. Miller, Miroslav Radman & Jeremy J. Ramsden
p729 | doi:10.1038/nrg1921
Artificial evolution implements the rules of natural evolution in algorithms that aim to solve biological and computational problems. The authors propose a new discipline, computational evolution, that replaces the outdated principles of artificial evolution with a modern understanding of biology.
