Human disease: Joining the dots from SNPs to proteins | PDF (201 KB)

p496 | doi:10.1038/nrg2403

Gene expression: Inequalities among cells | PDF (147 KB)

p497 | doi:10.1038/nrg2406

Cancer genetics: Looking at the big picture | PDF (129 KB)

p498 | doi:10.1038/nrg2405

Development: Homeobox kick-off for Arabidopsis body plan | PDF (264 KB)

p498 | doi:10.1038/nrg2407

Development: How deep are your cells? | PDF (176 KB)

p500 | doi:10.1038/nrg2397

Computational biology: Assessing true homology | PDF (193 KB)

p500 | doi:10.1038/nrg2404

Systems biology: Merging data means more powerful networks | PDF (135 KB)

p501 | doi:10.1038/nrg2408

Cancer genetics: Pigmentation and skin-cancer risk | PDF (192 KB)

p502 | doi:10.1038/nrg2409

New roles for large and small viral RNAs in evading host defences

Christopher S. Sullivan

p503 | doi:10.1038/nrg2349

Some DNA viruses express abundant non-coding RNAs, but their function has been mostly unknown. Several recent reports show how viruses can use non-coding RNAs to tackle host defences and control their gene expression levels.

• Abstract
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Use and misuse of the gene ontology annotations

Seung Yon Rhee, Valerie Wood, Kara Dolinski & Sorin Draghici

p509 | doi:10.1038/nrg2363

The Gene Ontology project has provided a powerful tool for interpreting the biological significance of both experimental and computational data. However, some appreciation of how the database works is essential to avoid misinterpretations.

• Abstract
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• PDF (261 KB)
• Supplementary information

The genetics of multiple sclerosis: SNPs to pathways to pathogenesis

Jorge R. Oksenberg, Sergio E. Baranzini, Stephen Sawcer & Stephen L. Hauser

p516 | doi:10.1038/nrg2395

Progress in understanding the genetic basis of susceptibility to multiple sclerosis — a debilitating and genetically complex disease — is being obtained by a combination of advances in genome studies (through genome-wide association studies) and powerful systems-level approaches.

• Abstract
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Psychiatric genetics: progress amid controversy

Margit Burmeister, Melvin G. McInnis & Sebastian Zöllner

p527 | doi:10.1038/nrg2381

Psychiatric genetics has been fraught with controversy owing to the irreproducibility of many claimed risk factors. There is now some cause for optimism thanks to larger sample sizes and the incorporation of intermediate traits, rare mutations and environmental risk components into the analyses.

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• Supplementary information

Retinoic acid in development: towards an integrated view

Karen Niederreither & Pascal Dollé

p541 | doi:10.1038/nrg2340

How are the complex and varied roles of retinoic acid orchestrated at multiple developmental stages? Recent studies have highlighted the importance of tightly regulating its distribution, of switching the activities of its nuclear receptors, and of interactions with other key developmental signalling molecules.

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The art and design of genetic screens: RNA interference

Michael Boutros & Julie Ahringer

p554 | doi:10.1038/nrg2364

RNAi, a common gene knockdown technique, has been widely used in a variety of genetic screens. As part of our 'art and design of genetic screens' series, the authors discuss RNAi assay design and analytical approaches for large-scale screening experiments in cells and whole-animal experiments.

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