DiscoveR8 - News for Life Science

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sea-maid submitted, created time 1 month 3 weeks (www.jcb.org)

Active genes can be sociable, snuggling up to one another. Brown et al. offer a new explanation for this clustering, suggesting that genes gather for the services of RNA splicing enzymes

A gene's location in the nucleus often reflects its activity. Hard-working genes tend to congregate in the interior of the nucleus, whereas their lazier counterparts hang out at the edge. Moreover, active genes on different chromosomes sometimes bunch up. How often active genes come together is uncertain

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Tension gets chromosomes oriented

sea-maid submitted, created time 5 months 2 weeks (www.jcb.org)

Using grasshopper cells in meiosis, Bruce Nicklas and Carol Koch show that attachments of mono-oriented chromosomes can be stabilized using a glass needle to pull on one of the chromosomes.

Thus tension between two kinetochores, generated only in the bi-oriented state, might discriminate between correct and incorrect attachments.

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CENP-E goes fishing for microtubules

sea-maid submitted, created time 6 months 6 days (www.jcb.org)

From this study, the scientist found CENP-E, an essential microtubule motor that clings to the kinetochore. It was used to explain how chromosomes retain connections to the microtubules that help move them around.

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Why Some Smokers Get Lung Cancer--And Others Are Spared

sumsung submitted, created time 7 months 1 week (www.sciam.com)

Smoking is the most potent known cause of lung cancer. The question is: Why do some longtime smokers come down with the deadly disease whereas others escape it? New research points to a genetic culprit that also was fingered as upping a person's likelihood of becoming hooked on cigarettes.

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How Worms Protect Their Chromosomes

jane2007 submitted, created time 8 months 1 week (www.sciencedaily.com)

A new study shows that the roundworm C. elegans constructs the protective tips of its chromosomes -- known as telomeres -- with a little more panache than do mammals, a finding that could deepen our understanding of the interrelationship of aging and cancer.

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Structural Variation of Chromosomes in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Charles submitted, created time 10 months 2 days (www.ajhg.org)

Autism (MIM 209850) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that manifests in the first three years of life. The group of pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs), also termed autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), includes autism as well as PDD-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) and Asperger's disorder. The three core characteristics of the ASDs are impairments of reciprocal social interactions, problems in communication, and a restricted range of behaviors and interests. Asperger's disorder differs from autism in that individuals have an absence of clinically significant cognitive and language delay

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After DNA Diagnosis: ‘Hello, 16p11.2. Are You Just Like Me?’

Eric wu submitted, created time 10 months 2 weeks (www.blueridgenow.com)

This may be a interesting topic.It was published on nytimes firstly,but the link may have some problems.Here is the new link:
http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20071228/ZNYT04/712280348/1170/NEWS/ZNYT04/Searching_for_Similar_Diagnosis_Through_DNA

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Sequencing method yields fuller picture

bianjie submitted, created time 1 year 4 months (www.eurekalert.org)

Sequence data for both chromosomes, can be inferred under the right circumstances through a new statistical method developed by USC biologists.

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Cdt1 degradation to prevent DNA re-replication: conserved and non-conserved pathways

Reviver submitted, created time 1 year 5 months (www.celldiv.com)

"In eukaryotic organisms, chromosomes are spatially organized within the nucleus. Such nuclear architecture provides a physical framework for the genetic activities of chromosomes, and changes its functional organization as the cell moves through the phases of the cell cycle. The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe provides a striking example of nuclear reorganization during the transition from mitosis to meiosis. In this organism, centromeres remain clustered at the spindle-pole body (SPB; a centrosome-equivalent structure in fungi) during mitotic interphase

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Reconstruction of the kinetochore: a prelude to meiosis

annatto submitted, created time 1 year 5 months (www.celldiv.com)

"In eukaryotic organisms, chromosomes are spatially organized within the nucleus. Such nuclear architecture provides a physical framework for the genetic activities of chromosomes, and changes its functional organization as the cell moves through the phases of the cell cycle. The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe provides a striking example of nuclear reorganization during the transition from mitosis to meiosis. In this organism, centromeres remain clustered at the spindle-pole body (SPB; a centrosome-equivalent structure in fungi) during mitotic interphase

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The Three-Dimensional Structure of Human Interphase Chromosomes Is Related to the Transcriptome Map

annatto submitted, created time 1 year 5 months (mcb.asm.org)

"The three-dimensional (3D) organization of the chromosomal fiber in the human interphase nucleus is an important but poorly understood aspect of gene regulation. Here researchers quantitatively analyze and compare the 3D structures of two types of genomic domains as defined by the human transcriptome map. While ridges are gene dense and show high expression levels, antiridges, on the other hand, are gene poor and carry genes that are expressed at low levels