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The fusion of myoblasts into myofibers has been studied extensively in Drosophila, but it is not known if the same mechanisms operate in vertebrates. A new study suggests an unanticipated degree of similarity in zebrafish.
Human cancers are characterized by widespread reduction in microRNA gene expression, but what role does this have in the pathobiology of the disease? A new study proves that reduction in microRNA expression does indeed promote tumorigenesis, changing the way we think about cancer.
The genetic basis of aggression may be conserved from lobsters to humans. A new study uses the genetics of Drosophila melanogaster to explore the underlying neurochemical mechanisms.
Three new reports leverage genome-wide studies to localize and replicate multiple independent variants strongly associated with prostate cancer on chromosome 8q24. These findings provide a significant advance toward deciphering the genetic basis of this disease, although further work is needed to clarify the biological mechanisms underlying these associations.
Understanding the molecular genetic mechanisms governing agronomic traits such as grain yield is important for genetics as well as agriculture. A newly discovered quantitative trait locus, GW2, which encodes a new RING-type E3 ubiquitin ligase, has been found to regulate rice grain width. This insight should prove useful for improving the yield of staple grains.
Epistasis is an interaction among genes that makes the phenotypic effect of an allele dependent on which alleles are present at other loci. Two new genomic studies find abundant epistasis in the yeast genome, with significant implications for the evolution of sex and for the inference of genetic pathways from genomic data.
DNA methylation is a heritable epigenetic mark found in a wide range of eukaryotes. By mapping DNA methylation within the majority of human promoters, the authors of a new study uncover intriguing insights into genome evolution, cellular differentiation and potential links to tumorigenesis.
The possibility of deep population resequencing of genes has generated excitement over its potentially promising role in understanding complex human traits. A new study has now demonstrated the utility of this approach, reporting the resequencing of a lipid metabolism gene in a large multiethnic population and definitively showing that coding variants in the gene are associated with plasma triglyceride levels.
A new study suggests that manipulating the expression of a Drosophila melanogaster neurofibromatosis-1 ortholog affects organismal lifespan through protein kinase A–mediated regulation of mitochondrial respiration and reactive oxygen species production. These results provide a new and unexpected twist to the study of NF1 signaling.
Recent reports of premature aging in mutant mice with greatly increased rates of mitochondrial DNA mutagenesis (so-called 'mitochondrial mutator mice') appeared to confirm that accumulation of mtDNA mutations is a key mechanism of normal aging. Now, in a dramatic turnaround, a new study reports that levels of point mutations in tissues of aged normal mice are much lower than in the mutator mice, apparently ruling out a causal role in normal aging.
A new approach that scans the modification states of histones along the chromosome allows the identification of enhancer elements in the complex genomes of higher eukaryotes. This is an important step in the functional annotation of the genome.
Signaling pathways are frequently connected through shared intracellular molecules, yet they manage to maintain remarkable specificity to distinct stimuli. A new study identifies mechanisms to explain how this specificity is shaped for MAP kinase modules within the yeast signaling network.
In the current era of large-scale cancer genome sequencing, the interpretation of somatic sequence alterations is a formidable challenge. A new study of known mutations represents an important step in cataloging somatic mutations in individual tumors.
In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, dosage compensation is mediated by a subtle twofold downregulation of both X chromosomes. A new study provides a significant advance in our understanding of how the X is targeted for dosage compensation and how this global regulation is integrated with regulation of the expression of each gene.
