Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology
Volume 9, No 12 December 2008
Featured Article
Article series: Post-transcriptional control
Translational control of localized mRNAs: restricting protein synthesis in space and time
Florence Besse & Anne Ephrussi
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2007 ISI Impact Factor 31.921(*Source of Impact Factor data)
Current Issue
Review
Transcription-coupled DNA repair: two decades of progress and surprises
Philip C. Hanawalt & Graciela Spivak
Transcribed genes are scanned by RNA polymerases, which can detect DNA damage and initiate the transcription-coupled repair (TCR) pathway. Understanding the clinical features and genetic deficiencies of human hereditary diseases that exhibit TCR defects will help to elucidate the mechanism of TCR in eukaryotes.
Current Issue
Review
One step at a time: endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation
Shruthi S. Vembar & Jeffrey L. Brodsky
The quality control process ERAD, endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-associated degradation, results in the removal of aberrant secreted proteins from the ER. Molecular chaperones and associated factors recognize and target substrates for retrotranslocation to the cytoplasm, where they are degraded by the ubiquitin–proteasome machinery.
Current Issue
Perspective
Article series: Stem cells
The regulation of human embryo and stem-cell research in the United Kingdom
Robin Lovell-Badge
The 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Act and its amendments regulate the derivation of human embryonic stem cells in the United Kingdom. A new bill, which has just passed through Parliament, will have important consequences for research in embryos and stem cells.
Advance Online Publication
Research Highlights
Nuclear transport:
Cell-cycle regulated mRNA traffic
Arianne Heinrichs
Cell-cycle regulation of the nuclear pore complex.
Protein degradation:
Fits like a glove
Francesca Cesari
The molecular mechanisms for target recognition in protein degradation have been revealed.
Article Series
Post-transcriptional control
The regulation of gene expression beyond the level of transcription is much more intricate than previously thought, and involves diverse mechanisms that regulate the processing, stability and localization of RNA species. In this new article series, we assess the basic mechanisms of post-transcriptional control and the interplay between them.
Focus
Cell polarity
Cell polarization is crucial for the development of unicellular and multicellular organisms and is achieved through the coordinated actions of signalling pathways, membrane trafficking mechanisms and cytoskeletal dynamics. This special Focus aims to capture the status quo of cell polarity research in a range of different systems by dissecting the underlying principles.
More Molecular Cell Biology
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Recommended Links
Links recommended by the Editors.
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Conferences
A calendar of forthcoming meetings and workshops from across the field of molecular and cell biology.
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Nature Milestones series
Collections of key discoveries that have shaped different scientific fields.
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molecular cell biology@nature.com
More articles on molecular cell biology from the Nature Publishing Group.
Noticeboard
Poster on Pluripotent cell isolation for regenerative medicine
Pluripotent cells offer great promise for regenerative medicine. In this Poster, Christopher Lengner and Rudolf Jaenisch compare and contrast the properties of pluripotent embryonic stem cells with those of laboratory-generated pluripotent cells. The Poster is freely available thanks to support from STEMCELL Technologies Inc.
RNAi Gateway
From humble beginnings as an obscure phenomenon in plants, RNA interference (RNAi) has evolved into an area of significant impact in numerous fields. The newly launched RNAi Gateway provides a convenient portal into publications relevant to every aspect of RNAi from journals throughout the Nature Publishing Group.
Focus on Lipids
This Focus provides a snapshot of lipid biology. The accompanying Poster, which was produced with support from Merck Serono International S.A. provides an overview of the protein–lipid signalling network and how this network can be exploited to attenuate proliferative, inflammatory and metabolic diseases.
Poster on Readout of chromatin marks
This Poster illustrates well-known histone marks and representative examples of histone-binding effector modules, and outlines emerging themes in the molecular recognition of modified histones. It also describes possible modes of multivalent chromatin mark recognition, which are also discussed in the accompanying article by C. David Allis, Dinshaw J. Patel & colleagues.
Stem cells series
In a Series of specially commissioned articles, Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology reports on the current hot and exciting topics in stem-cell research, discusses new technologies and resources to study stem cells and explores controversial issues, such as stem-cell ethics and funding.
Web Focus Collection
Please visit our archive of selected articles from the Nature Publishing Group on key current topics. Web Focuses are updated monthly with relevant Review and Perspective articles from Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology.
Journal Citation Reports, Thomson, 2008
