Journal Clubs

As far as James Haber is concerned, the big picture is all he wants of protein structures. This was not the case, however, with the structure of RecA, published in 2008.

Recognition of the innovative nature of the Beadle and Tatum experiment of mutation induction followed by selection has faded in the decades since; Bernard Strauss explains why.

Lynne Maquat reminds us that almost 20 years before the discovery of microRNAs, an antisense regulatory RNA was identified in embryonic chick muscle cells.

Azim Surani discusses how induced pluripotent stem cells have enabled researchers to demonstrate that it is possible to cross the germ line–soma barrier, known as the Weismann barrier.

Rong Li tells us about the discovery of the seven-subunit actin nucleator Arp2/3 complex.

M. Bishr Omary reminds us of the three articles that first uncovered a causative link between mutations in intermediate filaments (specifically, keratin 14) and human diseases.

Leonie Ringrose highlights how mathematical modelling can provide insights into fundamental mechanisms underlying epigenetic regulation.

Barry Thompson reminds us how Yorkie was discovered as the transcriptional coactivator downstream of Hippo signalling.

A prophetic theoretical article, which hypothesized that ribosomes have regulatory roles in controlling gene expression, inspired Maria Barna to rethink the value of purely theoretical scientific publications.

Ronald and Joan Conaway highlight studies that established the role of phosphorylation of the RNA polymerase II carboxy-terminal domain (CTD) in the transition from transcription initiation to elongation, which paved the ground for following work on the CTD in regulating co-transcriptional processes.

Robert Grosse discusses how optogenetic strategies have the potential to advance our understanding of protein function and localization in individual living cells.

Stephen J. Royle describes a cutting-edge study that provided definitive evidence for the first time that the kinetochore fibre is a bundle of parallel microtubules.

Bertrand Joseph describes the conversation that led him to research the nuclear regulation of autophagy.

Karl E. Kadler describes why the mechanism of collagen fibril assemblyin vivoremains elusive.

Andreas Strasser describes the first paper to outline a physiological role for apoptosis downstream of the death receptor FAS inlprmice.

Michael Rape provides a striking example of how basic research — in this case in the plant sciences — can be unexpectedly informative for drug development.

Frank Uhlmann discusses how biophysics and electron microscopy studies have shed light on what lies inside chromosomes.

Alfred Nordheim discusses how actin dynamics regulate the transcriptional activity of SRF.

Thanos D. Halazonetis describes the discovery that break-induced replication is conservative in budding yeast.

How the activities of AMPK and LKB1 were first observed.