Featured
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Nature Podcast |
Could this one-time ‘epigenetic’ treatment control cholesterol?
Regulating gene expression lowers blood cholesterol in mice, and how the Universe’s cosmic fog was lifted.
- Nick Petrić Howe
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News |
‘Epigenetic’ editing cuts cholesterol in mice
Changes to chemical tags on DNA in mice dial down the activity of a gene without cuts to the genome.
- Heidi Ledford
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Spotlight |
Stealthy stem cells to treat disease
Gene-editing strategies that allow stem cells to evade the immune system offer hope for universal cell-replacement therapies.
- Elie Dolgin
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News & Views |
A mobile DNA sequence could explain tail loss in humans and apes
The lack of a tail is one thing that separates apes — including humans — from other primates. Insertion of a short DNA sequence into a gene that controls tail development could explain tail loss in the common ancestor of apes.
- Miriam K. Konkel
- & Emily L. Casanova
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Article
| Open AccessDurable and efficient gene silencing in vivo by hit-and-run epigenome editing
Experiments in mice show that designed epigenome editors that contain domains of transcriptional repressors can enable stable epigenetic silencing of Pcsk9, a gene with a role in cholesterol homeostasis, without inducing DNA breaks.
- Martino Alfredo Cappelluti
- , Valeria Mollica Poeta
- & Angelo Lombardo
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Article
| Open AccessOn the genetic basis of tail-loss evolution in humans and apes
An insertion of an Alu element into an intron of the TBXT gene is identified as a genetic mechanism of tail-loss evolution in humans and apes, with implications for human health today.
- Bo Xia
- , Weimin Zhang
- & Itai Yanai
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News |
The surprising link between gut bacteria and devastating eye diseases
Finding raises hopes that antibiotics could treat some genetic diseases that can cause blindness — but also prompts doubts.
- Saima Sidik
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News |
‘All of Us’ genetics chart stirs unease over controversial depiction of race
Debate over figure connecting genes, race and ethnicity reignites concerns among geneticists about how to represent human diversity.
- Max Kozlov
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News |
Why citizen scientists are gathering DNA from hundreds of lakes — on the same day
Massive environmental DNA project will take a record-setting snapshot of biodiversity worldwide.
- Lydia Larsen
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Technology Feature |
Super-speedy sequencing puts genomic diagnosis in the fast lane
Streamlined workflows for DNA and RNA sequencing are helping clinicians to deliver prompt, targeted care to people in days — or even hours.
- Michael Eisenstein
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Article
| Open AccessGenomic data in the All of Us Research Program
A study describes the release of clinical-grade whole-genome sequence data for 245,388 diverse participants by the All of Us Research Program and characterizes the properties of the dataset.
- Alexander G. Bick
- , Ginger A. Metcalf
- & Joshua C. Denny
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News |
Ambitious survey of human diversity yields millions of undiscovered genetic variants
Analysis of the ‘All of Us’ genomic data set begins to tackle inequities in genetics research.
- Max Kozlov
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Article
| Open AccessGenetic drivers of heterogeneity in type 2 diabetes pathophysiology
A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of type 2 diabetes (T2D) identifies more than 600 T2D-associated loci; integrating physiological trait and single-cell chromatin accessibility data at these loci sheds light on heterogeneity within the T2D phenotype.
- Ken Suzuki
- , Konstantinos Hatzikotoulas
- & Eleftheria Zeggini
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News |
Move over, CRISPR: RNA-editing therapies pick up steam
Two RNA-editing therapies for genetic diseases have in the past few months gained approval for clinical trials, raising hopes for safer treatments.
- Mariana Lenharo
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Article |
Deep whole-genome analysis of 494 hepatocellular carcinomas
The Chinese Liver Cancer Atlas project depicts a panoramic genomic landscape of hepatocellular carcinoma, covering candidate coding and non-coding drivers, mutational signatures, extrachromosomal circular DNA, subclonal catastrophic events and detailed evolutionary history.
- Lei Chen
- , Chong Zhang
- & Hongyang Wang
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Article
| Open AccessGenetic determinants of micronucleus formation in vivo
Genetic screening identifies a rich catalogue of regulators of micronucleus formation.
- D. J. Adams
- , B. Barlas
- & G. Balmus
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Article
| Open AccessA single-cell time-lapse of mouse prenatal development from gastrula to birth
Single-cell transcriptome profiling of mouse embryos and newborn pups is combined with previously published data to construct a tree of cell-type relationships tracing development from zygote to birth.
- Chengxiang Qiu
- , Beth K. Martin
- & Jay Shendure
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News |
Glow way! Bioluminescent houseplant hits US market for first time
Engineered petunia emits a continuous green glow thanks to genes from a light-up mushroom.
- Katherine Bourzac
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Article |
Convergence of coronary artery disease genes onto endothelial cell programs
Variant-to-gene-to-program is a new approach to building maps of genome function to link risk variants to disease genes and to convergent signalling pathways in an unbiased manner; its strength is demonstrated in coronary artery disease.
- Gavin R. Schnitzler
- , Helen Kang
- & Jesse M. Engreitz
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Article
| Open AccessTranslation selectively destroys non-functional transcription complexes
Translation actively dislodges stalled transcription elongation complexes (ECs) from damaged DNA, which enables lesion repair and restoration of transcription activity, and coupled ribosomes discriminate between active ECs and stalled ECs, ensuring destruction of only the latter.
- Jason Woodgate
- , Hamed Mosaei
- & Nikolay Zenkin
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Book Review |
It’s time to admit that genes are not the blueprint for life
The view of biology often presented to the public is oversimplified and out of date. Scientists must set the record straight, argues a new book.
- Denis Noble
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News |
Why autoimmune disease is more common in women: X chromosome holds clues
Rogue antibodies are drawn to the protein–RNA coating on half of the X chromosomes in an XX cell.
- Elie Dolgin
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Nature Video |
Why human brain cells grow so slowly
Some human neurons take years to reach maturity; an epigenetic ‘brake’ could be responsible.
- Shamini Bundell
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News & Views |
An early look at birth cohort genetics in China
Genetic sequencing data from more than 4,000 Chinese participants in the Born in Guangzhou Cohort Study provide insights into the population, and a snapshot of what is to come in future phases of the project.
- Nicholas John Timpson
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Article |
The Born in Guangzhou Cohort Study enables generational genetic discoveries
Analysis of data from the Born in Guangzhou Cohort Study comprising mainly of trios and mother–infant pairs reveals novel East Asian-specific genetic associations with maternal bile acid, gestational weight gain and infant cord blood traits.
- Shujia Huang
- , Siyang Liu
- & Xiu Qiu
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News |
New genetic variants found in large Chinese mother–baby study
The study is one of the first in Asia to examine links between the genomes of mothers, babies and their health.
- Smriti Mallapaty
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Nature Podcast |
Ancient DNA solves the mystery of who made a set of stone tools
Analysis of stone tools and DNA reveals when modern humans reached northern Europe, and why human brain cells grow so slowly.
- Nick Petrić Howe
- & Shamini Bundell
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News & Views |
From the archive: Mendelian inheritance, and an enigmatic echo
Snippets from Nature’s past.
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News & Views Forum |
The journey to understand previously unknown microbial genes
The analysis of DNA sequences sheds light on microbial biology, but it is difficult to assess the function of genes that have little or no similarity to characterized genes. Here, scientists discuss this challenge from genomic and microbial perspectives.
- Jakob Wirbel
- , Ami S. Bhatt
- & Alexander J. Probst
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News |
‘Wildly weird’ RNA bits discovered infesting the microbes in our guts
Rod-shaped structures named ‘obelisks’ are even smaller than viruses but can still transmit instructions to cells.
- Saima Sidik
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News |
Syphilis microbe’s family has plagued humans for millennia
Ancient DNA recovered from Brazilian remains shows that treponemal diseases originated some 10,000 years earlier than previously thought.
- Ewen Callaway
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Article
| Open AccessRedefining the treponemal history through pre-Columbian genomes from Brazil
Reconstruction of four Treponema pallidum genomes associated with human remains from around 2,000 years ago suggests that T. pallidum existed in the Americas and diverged to its modern subspecies before the fifteenth century European contact with the Americas.
- Kerttu Majander
- , Marta Pla-Díaz
- & Verena J. Schuenemann
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News |
All arabica coffee is genetically similar: how can beans taste so different?
Flavour variations are mainly the result of changes at the chromosome level, sequencing effort finds.
- Bianca Nogrady
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Article
| Open AccessThe hagfish genome and the evolution of vertebrates
A chromosome-scale genome assembly for the hagfish Eptatretus atami, combined with a series of phylogenetic analyses, sheds light on ancient polyploidization events that had a key role in the early evolution of vertebrates.
- Ferdinand Marlétaz
- , Nataliya Timoshevskaya
- & Daniel S. Rokhsar
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Technology Feature |
Seven technologies to watch in 2024
Advances in artificial intelligence are at the heart of many of this year’s most exciting areas of technological innovation
- Michael Eisenstein
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Article
| Open AccessDeciphering cell states and genealogies of human haematopoiesis
An improved, single-cell lineage-tracing system, based on deep detection of naturally occurring mitochondrial DNA mutations with simultaneous readout of transcriptional states and chromatin accessibility, is used to define the clonal architecture of haematopoietic stem cells.
- Chen Weng
- , Fulong Yu
- & Vijay G. Sankaran
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News |
Did the Black Death shape the human genome? Study challenges bold claim
An ancient-DNA study of medieval Cambridge found no sign of genes that helped people to survive the plague, casting doubt on an earlier study.
- Ewen Callaway
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Article
| Open AccessAlternative splicing of latrophilin-3 controls synapse formation
Latrophilin-3 organizes synapses through a convergent dual-pathway mechanism in which Gαs signalling is activated and phase-separated postsynaptic protein scaffolds are recruited.
- Shuai Wang
- , Chelsea DeLeon
- & Thomas C. Südhof
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Article
| Open AccessAffinity-optimizing enhancer variants disrupt development
Low-affinity transcription factor binding sites are prevalent across the genome, and single nucleotide changes that increase binding affinity even slightly can cause gain-of-function gene expression and phenotypes (such as polydactyly).
- Fabian Lim
- , Joe J. Solvason
- & Emma K. Farley
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News |
Cloned rhesus monkey lives to adulthood for first time
A method that provides cloned embryos with a healthy placenta could pave the way for more research involving the primates.
- Miryam Naddaf
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News |
Ancient DNA reveals first known case of sex-development disorder
Researchers identified six ancient humans with chromosomal conditions, including the earliest case of Turner syndrome.
- Carissa Wong
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News & Views |
Prehistoric events might explain European multiple sclerosis risk
An exploration of more than 1,600 ancient Eurasian genomes suggests that genetic changes that increase autoimmune-disease risk in modern Europeans could have protected ancient Europeans from pathogens.
- Samira Asgari
- & Lionel A. Pousaz
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Research Briefing |
Deadly mismatch between nuclear and mitochondrial genes in swordtail fish hybrids
An analysis of the genomes of hybrids of distinct swordtail fish species uncovered a lethal incompatibility between certain combinations of nuclear and mitochondrial genes that encode subunits of complex I — a component of the mitochondrial respiratory chain. The evolutionary history of this incompatibility indicates that the genes involved were transferred between the species through hybridization in the past.
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News |
Ancient DNA reveals origins of multiple sclerosis in Europe
A huge cache of ancient genomes spanning tens of thousands of years reveals the roots of traits in modern Europeans.
- Sara Reardon
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Article
| Open Access100 ancient genomes show repeated population turnovers in Neolithic Denmark
Integrated data, including 100 human genomes from the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Early Bronze Age periods show that two major population turnovers occurred over just 1,000 years in Neolithic Denmark, resulting in dramatic changes in the genes, diet and physical appearance of the local people, as well as the landscape in which they lived.
- Morten E. Allentoft
- , Martin Sikora
- & Eske Willerslev
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Article
| Open AccessA lethal mitonuclear incompatibility in complex I of natural hybrids
Analysis of naturally hybridizing swordtail fish species reveals a mitonuclear genetic incompatibility among three genes that encode components of mitochondrial respiratory complex I, providing insights into the emergence of hybrid incompatibilities and reproductive barriers.
- Benjamin M. Moran
- , Cheyenne Y. Payne
- & Molly Schumer
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Article
| Open AccessPopulation genomics of post-glacial western Eurasia
An analysis involving the shotgun sequencing of more than 300 ancient genomes from Eurasia reveals a deep east–west genetic divide from the Black Sea to the Baltic, and provides insight into the distinct effects of the Neolithic transition on either side of this boundary.
- Morten E. Allentoft
- , Martin Sikora
- & Eske Willerslev
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Article
| Open AccessThe selection landscape and genetic legacy of ancient Eurasians
Analyses of imputed ancient genomes and of samples from the UK Biobank indicate that ancient selection and migration were large contributors to the distribution of phenotypic diversity in present-day Europeans.
- Evan K. Irving-Pease
- , Alba Refoyo-Martínez
- & Eske Willerslev
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