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In this Tools of the Trade article, Khalid Ibrahim (Radenovic and Lashuel labs) describes a tool for the artificial intelligence (AI)-driven detection of cellular aggregates that bypasses the need for fluorescent labelling.
In this Tools of the Trade article, Lei Yuan (from the Cai lab) highlights a new culture system that allows in vitro reconstitution of a dynamic miniature mammary gland.
Rapid reactivation of gene expression following mitosis-induced silencing is facilitated by a network of redundantly acting nuclear receptors that function as mitotic bookmarks.
L. Villiger, J. Joung et al. review CRISPR applications for programmable editing of the genome, epigenome and transcriptome. They discuss how CRISPR–Cas systems can be optimized to further improve editing specificity and efficiency and highlight a multitude of applications in basic biological research and for changing clinical practice.
This Review discusses the emerging roles of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the regulation of transcription, for example by controlling the expression of transcription factors. Some lncRNA loci function in trans, but most function in cis, through their own transcription or through the lncRNA transcripts themselves.
Farmer et al. show that mRNAs encoding abscission proteins are targeted to the midbody during cell division and are locally translated to enable cytokinesis.
In this Tools of the Trade article, Yohan Lee (Stachowiak lab) describes a method to generate free-standing planar lipid membranes for the study of membrane-associated protein phase separation.
tRNA-derived small RNAs (tdRs) have long been considered mere intermediates of tRNA degradation. This Review discusses the biogenesis and regulation of tdRs and focuses on their emerging gene regulation roles in cell metabolism, immune responses, development and cancer.
The Rho GTPases are small GTP binding proteins that regulate basic biological processes such as cell locomotion, cell division and morphogenesis by promoting cytoskeleton-based changes in the cell cortex. These different functions are driven by the ability of Rho GTPases to self-organize, forming diverse spatiotemporal cortical patterns.
Cell quiescence dampens mTOR signalling and enables AGO2 localization to the nucleus, where it suppresses retrotransposons by directly cleaving their RNA.
Cell death can result from the activation of dedicated programmed cell death machineries or disruption of pro-survival mechanisms. This Review describes the different major mechanisms of cell death and discusses recent insights into their relevance to disease.
Scientists are captivated by the prospect of creating a fully synthetic cell, offering the potential to revolutionize biology, medicine and biotechnology. In this Viewpoint, a panel of experts discusses the definitions of a synthetic cell and highlights current achievements, challenges and future opportunities of building such systems.
Plant cells assemble a strong yet extensible primary cell wall consisting largely of polysaccharides. Emerging models of wall growth integrate physical properties such as mechanical strength and tension with cellular processes that govern wall loosening and expansion.
Adherens junctions (AJs) are canonical mediators of cell–cell adhesion that support embryonic development and tissue homeostasis. This Review discusses how the properties and behaviours of embryonic tissues emerge from the collective molecular interactions that occur at AJs.
White adipose tissue serves a plethora of physiological functions, which are compromised in obesity. The mechanisms through which obese white adipose tissue contributes to pathologies including insulin resistance, dyslipidaemia, chronic inflammation, cancer and decreased fertility are emerging. In the future, these insights can be translated into novel drugs for obesity and obesity-associated diseases.
ATP-dependent chromatin remodellers regulate chromatin transactions — transcription, replication and DNA repair — by re-arranging nucleosomes. Recent studies have elucidated the organization of remodeller complexes, their ATPase activity, their regulation and their pathological dysregulation.
