5.09.10 - Research highlights

Research highlights

Nature Genetics 42, 737 (2010). doi:10.1038/ng0910-737

5.09.10 - Variable evolutionary signatures at the heart of enhancers

What is the best way to identify regulatory DNA sequences such as enhancers, promoters, insulators and silencers? A new study shows that specific binding by a coactivator protein identifies enhancers that are invisible to common detection methods based on evolutionary constraint.

5.09.10 - Putting a finger on the switch

The transition from fetal to adult β-like globin expression is a key step in the maturation of the red blood cell lineage. Two new studies show that the KLF1 zinc finger protein uses direct and indirect means to regulate the final switch from fetal to adult globin expression and that monoallelic loss of KLF1 expression leads to persistence of fetal hemoglobin.

5.09.10 - Infectious diseases not immune to genome-wide association

Two genome-wide association studies for meningococcal disease and tuberculosis identify new loci associated with susceptibility to these infectious diseases. They highlight a role for the acquired and innate immune systems in host control of several human pathogens and demonstrate that denser genotyping platforms and population-specific reference panels are necessary for genetic studies in African populations.

5.09.10 - Cite site

We now have adapted our preprint archive, Nature Precedings, to host project descriptions, community standards papers and funder policies. Citable project descriptions provide a guide to the resources available and create a mechanism to give data producers citation credit.

5.09.10 - [Report] A New Mixing Diagnostic and Gulf Oil Spill Movement

An ocean model can account for the trajectory and fragmentation of the recent Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Authors: Igor Mezić, S. Loire, Vladimir A. Fonoberov, P. Hogan

5.09.10 - [Report] The Genetic and Molecular Basis for Sunscreen Biosynthesis in Cyanobacteria

A gene cluster encodes a four-enzyme pathway that uses an unusual mechanism to synthesize small-molecule sunscreens.

Authors: Emily P. Balskus, Christopher T. Walsh

5.09.10 - [Research Article] Piezo1 and Piezo2 Are Essential Components of Distinct Mechanically Activated Cation Channels

Cation channel genes encode for a transducer molecule that converts mechanical stimuli into cell signaling.

Authors: Bertrand Coste, Jayanti Mathur, Manuela Schmidt, Taryn J. Earley, Sanjeev Ranade, Matt J. Petrus, Adrienne E. Dubin, Ardem Patapoutian

5.09.10 - [Report] Observing Supernova 1987A with the Refurbished Hubble Space Telescope

Images of the remnants of a stellar explosion reveal details of fast astrophysical shock waves.

Authors: Kevin France, Richard McCray, Kevin Heng, Robert P. Kirshner, Peter Challis, Patrice Bouchet, Arlin Crotts, Eli Dwek, Claes Fransson, Peter M. Garnavich, Josefin Larsson, Stephen S. Lawrence, Peter Lundqvist, Nino Panagia, Chun S. J. Pun, Nathan Smith, Jesper Sollerman, George Sonneborn, John T. Stocke, Lifan Wang, J. Craig Wheeler

5.09.10 - [Report] A Critical Role for LTA4H in Limiting Chronic Pulmonary Neutrophilic Inflammation

Cigarette smoke promotes lung inflammation by hindering an enzyme that degrades an immune cell chemoattractant.

Authors: Robert J. Snelgrove, Patricia L. Jackson, Matthew T. Hardison, Brett D. Noerager, Andrew Kinloch, Amit Gaggar, Suresh Shastry, Steven M. Rowe, Yun M. Shim, Tracy Hussell, J. Edwin Blalock