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A new study indicates that closely related genes in yeast may be less redundant than expected. Instead, the stability of genetic networks—which buffers the deleterious effect of mutations—may be due to the actions of unrelated genes.
The imprinting of a large cluster of paternally expressed genes at the Prader-Willi syndrome locus is established by an imprinting centre in human and mouse. Deletions carried by a member of a rare family and by chimaeric mice demonstrate that the imprinting centre is additionally required for postzygotic maintenance of paternal identity.
Multiple mechanisms regulate adipose mass and body weight. In addition to factors controlling appetite and energy expenditure, mechanisms controlling adipocyte number, triglyceride synthesis and triglyceride breakdown have important functions. But recent studies challenge our concepts concerning each of these.
Genomic sequencing has made it clear that a large fraction of the genes specifying the core biological functions are shared by all eukaryotes. Knowledge of the biological role of such shared proteins in one organism can often be transferred to other organisms. The goal of the Gene Ontology Consortium is to produce a dynamic, controlled vocabulary that can be applied to all eukaryotes even as knowledge of gene and protein roles in cells is accumulating and changing. To this end, three independent ontologies accessible on the World-Wide Web (http://www.geneontology.org) are being constructed: biological process, molecular function and cellular component.