Table of contents
December 2008 Vol 9 No 12
Also this month:
- Article series: Post-transcriptional control
Stem cells
Stem cells
From the editors
p917 | doi:10.1038/nrm2591
Research Highlights
Endocytosis: The importance of ART in trafficking | PDF (179 KB)
p919 | doi:10.1038/nrm2590
Mechanisms of disease: Supporting stability | PDF (142 KB)
p920 | doi:10.1038/nrm2544
Cancer biology: Another string to the bow | PDF (193 KB)
p920 | doi:10.1038/nrm2587
Chromatin: Chopping the ends | PDF (253 KB)
p921 | doi:10.1038/nrm2588
Protein translocation: Surfing the channel | PDF (221 KB)
p922 | doi:10.1038/nrm2547
Cell signalling: Range over strength | PDF (175 KB)
p922 | doi:10.1038/nrm2551
Protein stability: GPS for proteomes | PDF (127 KB)
p922 | doi:10.1038/nrm2554
In brief
Cell adhesion | Cytoskeleton | DNA repair | PDF (128 KB)
p923 | doi:10.1038/nrm2555
Development: Dogma overturned | PDF (210 KB)
p924 | doi:10.1038/nrm2545
Technology Watch
Developmental blueprint | Computing RNA devices | PDF (131 KB)
p924 | doi:10.1038/nrm2553
An Interview With...
Matthew Meselson | PDF (203 KB)
p926 | doi:10.1038/nrm2552
Corrigendum: Ataxia-telangiectasia: from a rare disorder to a paradigm for cell signalling and cancer
Martin F. Lavin
p927 | doi:10.1038/nrm2598
Reviews
Fluorescent probes for super-resolution imaging in living cells
Marta Fernández-Suárez & Alice Y. Ting
p929 | doi:10.1038/nrm2531
Recent advances in fluorescent probe technology have improved spatial and temporal resolution, bringing us closer to the ideal of imaging individual cellular features in real time with molecular (1–5 nm) resolution. In parallel, the development of super-resolution imaging techniques has revolutionized fluorescence microscopy.
One step at a time: endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation
Shruthi S. Vembar & Jeffrey L. Brodsky
p944 | doi:10.1038/nrm2546
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.
Transcription-coupled DNA repair: two decades of progress and surprises
Philip C. Hanawalt & Graciela Spivak
p958 | doi:10.1038/nrm2549
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.
Article series: Post-transcriptional control
Translational control of localized mRNAs: restricting protein synthesis in space and time
Florence Besse & Anne Ephrussi
p971 | doi:10.1038/nrm2548
The localization of mRNAs coupled with precise translational control is an important mechanism that is used by cells to establish functionally distinct compartments. Translation of localizing mRNAs is repressed by mechanisms that target translation initiation, and is derepressed following arrival at the final destination.
Design principles of biochemical oscillators
Béla Novák & John J. Tyson
p981 | doi:10.1038/nrm2530
Biochemical oscillations are generated by complex interactions between genes, proteins and cellular metabolites and underlie many processes. Oscillatory behaviour is characterized by negative feedback with time delay, nonlinearity of the reaction kinetics and proper balancing of the timescales of opposing chemical reactions.
Perspectives
Article series: Stem cells
Science and society
Stem cells: US policies on human embryonic stem cells
Richard O. Hynes
p993 | doi:10.1038/nrm2528
In the absence of federal regulations, guidelines for human embryonic stem-cell research in the United States have been developed by independent scientific organizations. These guidelines ensure the ethical conduct of stem-cell research and serve as a template for the development of individual states' legislations.
Article series: Stem cells
Science and society
The regulation of human embryo and stem-cell research in the United Kingdom
Robin Lovell-Badge
p998 | doi:10.1038/nrm2550
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.
Opinion
Autophagic cell death: the story of a misnomer
Guido Kroemer & Beth Levine
p1004 | doi:10.1038/nrm2529
The question of whether cell death can occur by autophagy cannot yet be answered definitively, although the occurrence of cell death with autophagy is common. The term autophagic cell death should therefore be considered a misnomer until this issue has been resolved.
