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Olivier Voinnet proposes that movement of gene-silencing small RNAs (sRNAs) in plants can be regulated by intracellular sRNA biogenesis and activity factors expressed in silencing-signal emitting, traversed and recipient cells.
‘Alpha helix’ was not Linus Pauling’s first choice of a name for the protein structural motif. Egli and Zhang recount what the original name was, why it was changed and what is between the alpha helix and the DNA double helix.
Mike Henne discusses the pioneering work of Jean Vance, which revealed that mitochonodria-associated membranes (MAMs) are sites for inter-organelle phospholipid exchange and step-wise synthesis reactions.
Prior to introduction of the first DNA–protein structure, Ned Seeman et al. correctly conceived how proteins recognize specific sequences in double-helix nucleic acids.
Rana et al. show that in the gut epithelium, gasdermin B has an inherent, non-pyroptotic function, supporting the maintenance of the epithelial barrier when challenged with inflammatory damage.
A long non-coding RNA is found to enable the assembly of a glycolytic metabolon that contributes to cell adaptation to metabolic stress and cell survival.
Cells in the embryo are subject to autonomous and external mechanical forces that help steer embryonic tissue patterning. Technical developments, such as in vitro models of early embryos, allow probing of the roles of mechanical forces in animal and human embryonic development.
Small RNAs (microRNAs, siRNAs, piRNAs and others) function as agents of intercellular communication, particularly in development, reproduction, immunity and inheritance. Chen and Rechavi discuss mechanisms and roles of plant and animal small RNAs in the exchange of information between cells, organisms and even species.
Satellite cells are skeletal muscle stem cells that are largely quiescent. They are activated upon muscle damage and differentiate into muscle cells or return to quiescence. These processes are controlled by cell-intrinsic mechanisms and by signals from the niche, and are deregulated in ageing, leading to impaired muscle regeneration.