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.
Some epigenetic information can be passed from parents to offspring, but it is difficult to identify the molecular basis of information transferred through the gametes. This Review evaluates the extent of our understanding in mammals.
This article reviews our growing understanding of the varied roles of DM domain genes in metazoan sexual development: in the evolution of sexually dimorphic traits and new sex-determining mechanisms and, more recently, in maintaining cell fate in the gonad.
The discovery of common and rare genetic variants underlying infectious disease susceptibility in humans highlights the involvement of shared host signalling pathways in diverse infectious diseases, and provides insights into the genetic control of immune signalling.
Aneuploidy — an abnormal number of chromosomes — typically has a detrimental effect on viability. Somewhat paradoxically, it is a remarkably common feature of cancer. This Review discusses how aneuploidy occurs, the cellular responses to aneuploidy and how aneuploidy can provide particular selective advantages during tumorigenesis.
Transcription poses a risk to the genome through transcription-associated mutagenesis and recombination. This Review discusses recent findings about influences on this genomic instability, such as the rate and direction of transcription or nucleic acid structures, and how these phenomena may be considered across species.
The author discusses the advantages and challenges of 'cellular phenotyping' and the way in which this integrated analysis of cellular phenotypes is likely to advance our understanding of the genetic and long-term environmental influences on complex traits.
