Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Two new studies in Science characterize a CRISPR-associated nuclease–protease system that can be leveraged as a programmable protease-based RNA sensor.
Alternative splicing of pre-mRNAs is key for cellular function and underpins the aetiology of numerous diseases. Here, we review major advances in understanding the structures and functions of the splicing machinery and its regulation, and in harnessing this knowledge for the design of novel therapies.
A comparative genomics study published in Nature Communications provides new insight into the genomic changes underlying the convergent evolution of sociality in spiders.
A study in Nature reports the identification of new germline variants associated with particular subtypes of clonal haematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) and their links to different health outcomes.
In this Review, the authors discuss our latest understanding of the spatial aspects of cancer evolution, including the roles of cancer subclonal structure, tissue architecture, and interactions between cancer cells and diverse cell types of the microenvironment at local and distant sites.
In this Review, Berger and Yu discuss how the sheer amounts of sequence data create bottlenecks in downstream analytical pipelines that must be overcome by new analysis strategies, each with their own trade-offs for properties such as speed, accuracy and applicability.
A new study in Nature Methods describes a computational method named UTAG (unsupervised discovery of tissue architecture with graphs) that aims to identify and quantify higher-level tissue domains from biological images without previous knowledge.
Riccardo Marioni discusses how the publication of Horvath’s epigenetic clock has affected research into ageing, rejuvenation and epigenetic epidemiology.
Luis Saraiva recalls a 1997 paper by Krings et al., which reports the sequencing of mitochondrial Neanderthal DNA extracted from a 40,000-year-old bone, enabling the direct study of the relationship between ancient and modern humans.
In this Journal Club, Morgan Levine discusses a publication by Rose and Charlesworth that provided direct evidence of the impact of natural selection on differential ageing rates.
This Review surveys the known mechanisms of communication between RBPs and their effectors and their roles in reducing the complexity of RNA networks. The authors review the emerging roles of RBP–effector interactions in the control of RNA processing and regulation of biological outcomes, and their contribution to human health and disease.
A new paper in Science reports that human genomes encode a large repertoire of retroviral envelope-derived proteins, with potential roles in protecting from infection by other retroviruses.
A microscopy-based pooled CRISPR screening approach described in Cell enables the cellular functions of thousands of genes to be assessed at remarkable phenotypic depth.
A new study in Science reports the refactoring of genetic codes in Escherichia coli to create a bidirectional ‘genetic firewall’ that prevents genetic transfer from or to synthetic organisms.
A new study reports Epigenomic MERFISH, an imaging method that combines CUT&Tag and MERFISH to interrogate histone marks representing cis-regulatory elements in single cells while preserving spatial information.
In this Review, Spitale and Incarnato discuss how the application of sequencing-based RNA structure mapping methods to entire transcriptomes in living cells is providing insight into the RNA structurome, the dynamics of RNA ensembles and how RNA structure regulates cellular processes.
In this Review, Chen and Liu discuss the latest developments in prime editing systems, including improvements to their editing efficiency and capabilities, as well as diverse emerging applications in research and preclinical therapeutic studies.
A new study in Cell describes how topologically associating domains (TADs) of chromosomes can restructure to resolve the regulatory conflict that arises when a new gene incorporates into an ancestral TAD.
Non-B DNA secondary structures, such as G quadruplexes, H-DNA or Z-DNA, have key roles in genetic instability and disease aetiology. The authors review the impact of non-B DNA on transcription, replication, recombination and DNA damage and repair, the mechanisms of non-B DNA-induced mutagenesis and the role of non-B DNA sequences in human disease.
In this Perspective, Harden reviews the terms genetic determinism, genetic essentialism and genetic reductionism to provide consensus and clarity about the meaning of these terms. She discusses common misconceptions, illustrates examples and concludes with recommendations for science communication.
