Volume 13 Issue 11, November 2012

A conserved mechanism protects against heatstroke-mediated necrosis and neurodegeneration.

Sensing of nodal flow for symmetry breaking occurs via PKD2 localized at cilia.

The asymmetric modification of sister histones can alter the nucleosome functional state.

The 2012 Lasker award recognized basic cytoskeletal research and early molecular cloning studies.

The sequence-specific transcription factors PAX3 and PAX9 promote heterochromatin formation.

Taz1 is recruited to telomeric sequences and regulates replication timing in fission yeast.

This study describes a new class of lncRNAs flanked by snoRNAs and shows that they have a role in splicing.

Clues into how newly formed procentrioles emerge at a right angle from the mother centriole.

The multiprotein nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) that mediate nucleocytoplasmic transport are universal and essential for cell viability. However, cell type-specific expression of particular NPC components and specialized NPC functions now point towards a previously unrecognized heterogeneity in these ancient pores.

Nonsense-mediated decay (NMD) is one of the surveillance pathways that ensure fidelity in gene expression by recognizing and degrading aberrant mRNAs. How the factors involved in NMD discriminate between normal and prematurely terminated mRNAs, and how they carry out their functions downstream of recognition, has been the subject of intense investigation.

Worldwide increases in life expectancy have been paralleled by a greater prevalence of chronic and age-associated disorders, particularly of the cardiovascular, neural and metabolic systems. Patient-specific induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are finding applications in disease modelling, drug testing and drug discovery, thus enabling researchers to undertake studies for treating diseases 'in a dish'.

Three surveillance pathways specialize in the degradation of mRNA molecules trapped in stalled translation complexes: the non-stop decay (NSD), the no-go decay (NGD) and the 18S-rRNA decay (18S-NRD) pathways. These quality control mechanisms degrade faulty mRNAs and contribute to maintaining the production of functional proteins.

Cryo-electron tomography has provided a means of characterizing the architecture of macromolecular complexes in their native environment, and facilitated a better understanding of cellular processes. By combining this method with fluorescence and super-resolution microscopy, the full potential of this approach can be realized.

Researchers assess the contribution of studies in three-dimensional (3D) systems to our understanding of cell migration, both in terms of the mechanisms used to drive single cell and collective cell migration and how cells adapt to a changing environment.