News & Comment

In this Tools of the Trade article, Sarah Paramore (from the Devenport and Nelson labs) discusses the use of mouse strains carrying genomic alterations in PCP genes and how they can increase our understanding of mammalian planar cell polarity.

Two papers published in 1991 established a new class of human genetic disorders, caused by expansion of simple DNA repeats.

The first study to show, in C. elegans, that sensory neurons have a role in lifespan regulation.

Antennapedia proteins were among the first proteins found to be exchanged intercellularly. This discovery by Alain Prochiantz and colleagues has inspired researchers of various backgrounds.

Liang et al. show that mitochondria can be expelled from cells via extracellular vesicles as a route of quality control that is an alternative to lysosomal degradation.

Bulut-Karslıoğlu remembers the publication of two seminal papers that described bivalent chromatin and how this discovery continues to affect research to this day.

To activate noncanonical LC3B lipidation and NLRP3 inflammasome formation, stimulator of interferon genes (STING) forms a proton channel in Golgi membranes.

Anne West recounts the study that showed postnatal accumulation of non-CpG DNA methylation in neurons coinciding with postnatal synapse maturation, suggesting that it contributes to brain function.

In the amphibian axolotl, the kinase mTOR is hyper-sensitive and activates a protein synthesis response that is crucial for wound healing and tissue regeneration.

Cutler and Vijg remind us of the publication that laid the foundation for genetic mutation theories of ageing.

In this Tools of the Trade article, Joleen Cheah (from the Ting lab) discusses the development of TransitID, which allows researchers to capture protein trafficking pathways in vivo without a priori knowledge of specific proteins of interest.

Cremer et al. show that the ubiquitin ligase RNF26 and vimentin-based intermediate filaments cooperate to control perinuclear ER membrane organization and thus facilitate recovery from ER stress.

Recent studies show that antigenic peptides are derived from the translation of precursor mRNAs. Robin Fåhraeus argues that it is therefore time to re-evaluate nuclear translation and its interesting implications.

In this Tools of the Trade article, Roffay and Mercier (from the Roux lab) describe the development of fluorescent Flipper probes that allow measurement of membrane mechanics in vivo.

Cycles of stretch and compression, such as during cell migration through tissues, lead to stabilization of microtubules owing to redistribution of the plus-end-binding protein CLASP2 along microtubule lengths.

Transcription factors bind RNA through an Arg-rich motif; these interactions potentially promote transcription and development, and their dissociation can contribute to disease.

Shi et al. show the role of myosin VI in the protection of stalled replication forks during replication stress.

Diana Pinheiro recounts two seminal papers describing how cell surface tension dictates how cells sort into different tissues during development.

During cellular stresses, the mRNA internal 7-methylguanosine (m⁷G) modification is bound by QKI-7, which regulates the stability and/or translation of the mRNAs by sequestering them in stress granules.

In this Tools of the Trade article, William Leineweber (from the Fraley lab) describes the set-up of an integrated biophysical imaging platform that allows researchers to assess the interactions between cells and the surrounding extracellular matrix.