Nature Podcast |
Featured
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News Feature |
How to kill the ‘zombie’ cells that make you age
Researchers are using new molecules, engineered immune cells and gene therapy to kill senescent cells and treat age-related diseases.
- Carissa Wong
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Review Article |
Decoding the interplay between genetic and non-genetic drivers of metastasis
This Review discusses the importance of genetic and non-genetic reprogramming events during the metastatic cascade.
- Panagiotis Karras
- , James R. M. Black
- & Jean-Christophe Marine
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Article
| Open AccessThe rise of baobab trees in Madagascar
We carried out genomic and ecological analyses of all eight extant baobab species, providing insights into their evolutionary history and recommendations for conservation efforts.
- Jun-Nan Wan
- , Sheng-Wei Wang
- & Qing-Feng Wang
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News & Views |
The phenomenon of genomic imprinting was discovered 40 years ago
Some genes carry an ‘imprint’ on either the maternal or the paternal copy, which determines whether or not that copy is expressed. This 1984 discovery changed how scientists think about gene regulation and inheritance.
- Anne C. Ferguson-Smith
- & Marisa S. Bartolomei
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Research Briefing |
Mega study charts how genetic variants affect metabolism
A genome-wide association study of metabolic biomarkers in 136,000 participants discovered more than 400 independent genomic regions affecting metabolism. The study also highlighted the importance of participant characteristics, such as fasting status, that can substantially affect the genetic associations.
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Research Briefing |
A jawless-fish genome untangles the history of vertebrate genome multiplications
Clarifying how genome duplication and triplication events shaped early vertebrate genomes has presented a challenge in evolutionary biology. The genome of the jawless hagfish provides a missing piece of this puzzle.
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Research Highlight |
CRISPR therapy restores some vision to people with blindness
People with an inherited condition that causes vision loss in childhood had vision improvements after treatment to replace a mutated gene.
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Research Highlight |
How the cauliflower got its curlicues
More than 2,000 years of domestication have given the popular vegetable its short stem and clumpy ‘curds’.
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Technology Feature |
Powerful ‘nanopore’ DNA sequencing method tackles proteins too
Latest methods bring the speed, portability, and long read lengths of nanopore sequencing to proteomics.
- Caroline Seydel
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Nature Podcast |
Dad’s microbiome can affect offspring’s health — in mice
Disrupting gut microbes increases risk of growth issues in the next generation, and understanding geographic variations in cancer rates.
- Benjamin Thompson
- & Nick Petrić Howe
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News & Views |
Genomics reveal unknown mutation-promoting agents at global sites
Genetic sequencing of human kidney cancers worldwide has revealed associations between geographical locations and specific mutation patterns, indicating exposure to known and unknown mutation-promoting agents.
- Irene Franco
- & Fran Supek
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Article
| Open AccessPaternal microbiome perturbations impact offspring fitness
Disturbances in the gut microbiota of male mice manifest as fitness defects in their offspring by affecting plancenta function, revealing a paternal gut–germline axis.
- Ayele Argaw-Denboba
- , Thomas S. B. Schmidt
- & Jamie A. Hackett
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Technology Feature |
85 million cells — and counting — at your fingertips
Chan Zuckerberg CELL by GENE Discover aims to be a one-stop shop for single-cell RNA sequencing data storage, access and analysis.
- Jeffrey M. Perkel
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News |
Bird flu virus has been spreading among US cows for months, RNA reveals
Genomic analysis suggests that the outbreak probably began in December or January, but a shortage of data is hampering efforts to pin down the source.
- Smriti Mallapaty
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News |
Could a rare mutation that causes dwarfism also slow ageing?
People with Laron syndrome have a low risk of heart disease and a number of other age-related disorders, hinting at strategies for new treatments.
- Mariana Lenharo
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News & Views |
Marsupial genomes reveal how a skin membrane for gliding evolved
A parachute-like skin membrane, the patagium, evolved independently in several marsupial species. Genomic analysis suggests that this trait came about through different changes to the regulation of the same gene.
- Darío G. Lupiáñez
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Article
| Open AccessEmx2 underlies the development and evolution of marsupial gliding membranes
Patagia—the mammalian gliding membrane—repeatedly originated through a process of convergent genomic evolution, whereby the regulation of Emx2 was altered by distinct cis-regulatory elements in independently evolved species.
- Jorge A. Moreno
- , Olga Dudchenko
- & Ricardo Mallarino
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World View |
Ecologists: don’t lose touch with the joy of fieldwork
Amid the data deluge provided by lab-based techniques, such as environmental-DNA analysis, true connection still comes only in the outdoors.
- Chris Mantegna
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News & Views |
Targeting RNA opens therapeutic avenues for Timothy syndrome
A therapeutic strategy that alters gene expression in a rare and severe neurodevelopmental condition has been tested in stem-cell-based models of the disease, and has been shown to correct genetic and cellular defects.
- Silvia Velasco
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News & Views |
Ancient DNA traces family lines and political shifts in the Avar empire
Genetic pedigrees spanning nine generations uncover the social organization of a nomadic empire that dominated much of central and eastern Europe from the sixth to the early ninth century.
- Lara M. Cassidy
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News & Views |
Tumours form without genetic mutations
Researchers find that brief and reversible inhibition of a gene-silencing mechanism leads to irreversible tumour formation in fruit flies, challenging the idea that cancer is caused only by permanent changes to DNA.
- Anne-Kathrin Classen
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Nature Podcast |
How gliding marsupials got their ‘wings’
Researchers find the genetic mutations that allow some marsupials to soar, and an ultra-accurate clock is put through its paces on the high seas.
- Benjamin Thompson
- & Elizabeth Gibney
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News |
DNA from ancient graves reveals the culture of a mysterious nomadic people
Hundreds of genomes shed light on the marriage habits and social norms of the Avar people of central Europe.
- Michael Eisenstein
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Article
| Open AccessSingle-cell analysis reveals context-dependent, cell-level selection of mtDNA
A new method for tracking single-cell heteroplasmy, called SCI-LITE, is combined with mitochondrial DNA base editing to reveal principles of heteroplasmy dynamics in dividing cells.
- Anna V. Kotrys
- , Timothy J. Durham
- & Vamsi K. Mootha
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Article
| Open AccessTransient loss of Polycomb components induces an epigenetic cancer fate
A transient perturbation of transcriptional silencing mediated by Polycomb proteins is sufficient to induce an epigenetic cancer cell fate in Drosophila in the absence of driver mutations.
- V. Parreno
- , V. Loubiere
- & G. Cavalli
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Article
| Open AccessPhylogenomics and the rise of the angiosperms
Phylogenomic analysis of 7,923 angiosperm species using a standardized set of 353 nuclear genes produced an angiosperm tree of life dated with 200 fossil calibrations, providing key insights into evolutionary relationships and diversification.
- Alexandre R. Zuntini
- , Tom Carruthers
- & William J. Baker
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Article
| Open AccessNetwork of large pedigrees reveals social practices of Avar communities
Analysis of ancient DNA from 424 individuals in the Avar period, from the sixth to the ninth century AD, reveals population movement from the steppe and the prolonged existence of a steppe nomadic descent system centred around patrilineality and female exogamy in central Europe.
- Guido Alberto Gnecchi-Ruscone
- , Zsófia Rácz
- & Zuzana Hofmanová
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Research Highlight |
Dozens of genes are linked to post-traumatic stress disorder
Findings underscore that genetic factors contribute to development of the condition after a traumatic incident.
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News & Views |
Surprise hybrid origins of a butterfly species
Mating between different species has often been considered an evolutionary dead end, but a study in longwing butterflies suggests that such hybridization could underlie the origins of a new species.
- Megan E. Frayer
- & Jenn M. Coughlan
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Analysis
| Open AccessRefining the impact of genetic evidence on clinical success
Human genetic evidence increases the success rate of drugs from clinical development to approval but we are still far from reaching peak genetic insights to aid the discovery of targets for more effective drugs.
- Eric Vallabh Minikel
- , Jeffery L. Painter
- & Matthew R. Nelson
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Article
| Open AccessHybrid speciation driven by multilocus introgression of ecological traits
Genomic studies of Heliconius butterflies provide evidence that Heliconius elevatus is a hybrid species, and that its speciation was driven by introgression of traits from Heliconius melpomene into the other parent, an ancestor of Heliconius pardalinus.
- Neil Rosser
- , Fernando Seixas
- & Kanchon K. Dasmahapatra
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Research Briefing |
Genetic risk variants lead to type 2 diabetes development through different pathways
The largest genome-wide association study for type 2 diabetes so far, which included several ancestry groups, led to the identification of eight clusters of genetic risk variants. The clusters capture different biological pathways that contribute to the disease, and some clusters are associated with vascular complications.
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Nature Podcast |
The ‘ghost roads’ driving tropical deforestation
Researchers find that a huge number of roads that don’t appear on official maps, and the protein that could determine whether someone is left-handed.
- Nick Petrić Howe
- & Benjamin Thompson
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Article |
Cell-type-resolved mosaicism reveals clonal dynamics of the human forebrain
Using mosaic variant barcode analysis, clonal dynamics of specific cell types are deconvolved in the human forebrain.
- Changuk Chung
- , Xiaoxu Yang
- & Joseph G. Gleeson
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Comment |
AI can help to tailor drugs for Africa — but Africans should lead the way
Computational models that require very little data could transform biomedical and drug development research in Africa, as long as infrastructure, trained staff and secure databases are available.
- Gemma Turon
- , Mathew Njoroge
- & Kelly Chibale
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Research Highlight |
Advanced CRISPR system fixes a deadly mutation in cells
Applying a ‘base editor’ allows cells to crank out increased levels of a vital metabolic enzyme.
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Research Briefing |
Five steps to connect genetic risk variants to disease
Genetic variants contribute to the risk of developing certain diseases, but identifying the genes and molecular pathways under their control has been difficult. Now, a systematic approach to pinpointing these factors yields insights into how a specific pathway in endothelial cells influences the risk of coronary artery disease.
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Nature Podcast |
Pregnancy’s effect on ‘biological’ age, polite birds, and the carbon cost of home-grown veg
We round up some recent stories from the Nature Briefing.
- Benjamin Thompson
- , Noah Baker
- & Flora Graham
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Article
| Open AccessThe variation and evolution of complete human centromeres
A comparison of two complete sets of human centromeres reveals that the centromeres show at least a 4.1-fold increase in single-nucleotide variation compared with their unique flanks, and up to 3-fold variation in size, resulting from an accelerated mutation rate.
- Glennis A. Logsdon
- , Allison N. Rozanski
- & Evan E. Eichler
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Article
| Open AccessImproving prime editing with an endogenous small RNA-binding protein
Genome-scale genetic screens identify the small RNA-binding protein La as a strong mediator of prime editing.
- Jun Yan
- , Paul Oyler-Castrillo
- & Britt Adamson
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News |
Right- or left-handed? Protein in embryo cells might help decide
Gene that codes for structural protein could determine the dominant side of the human brain.
- Sumeet Kulkarni
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Article
| Open AccessComplexity of avian evolution revealed by family-level genomes
Using intergenic regions and coalescent methods to analyse the genomes of 363 bird species, the authors present a well-supported tree confirming that Neoaves experienced rapid radiation at or near the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary.
- Josefin Stiller
- , Shaohong Feng
- & Guojie Zhang
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News |
Scientists made a six-legged mouse embryo — here’s why
A rodent with two extra limbs instead of genitals shows the crucial role of a gene pathway in determining the fate of a primordial structure.
- Sara Reardon
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Nature Podcast |
How climate change is affecting global timekeeping
Melting polar ice could delay major time adjustment, and the strange connection between brain inflammation and memory.
- Elizabeth Gibney
- & Nick Petrić Howe
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Article
| Open AccessThe complex polyploid genome architecture of sugarcane
We build a polyploid reference genome for hybrid sugarcane cultivar R570, improving on its current ‘mosaic monoploid’ representation, enabling fine-grain description of genome architecture and the exploration of candidate genes underlying the Bru1 brown rust resistance locus.
- A. L. Healey
- , O. Garsmeur
- & A. D’Hont
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Article |
Targeting DCAF5 suppresses SMARCB1-mutant cancer by stabilizing SWI/SNF
DCAF5 has a quality-control function for SWI/SNF complexes and promotes the degradation of incompletely assembled SWI/SNF complexes in the absence of SMARCB1.
- Sandi Radko-Juettner
- , Hong Yue
- & Charles W. M. Roberts
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News |
Pregnancy advances your ‘biological’ age — but giving birth turns it back
Carrying a baby creates some of the same epigenetic patterns on DNA seen in older people.
- Saima Sidik
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Technology Feature |
One year, three researchers, millions of cells: how a small team created the largest mouse-embryo atlas so far
A map of mouse development from conception to birth tracks 12.4 million cells at single-cell resolution as they mature into organs and other tissues.
- Sara Reardon
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Research Briefing |
Neuron migration to brain regions key to memory and navigation continues into childhood
This study identifies a major migratory route for young neurons in the brains of young children. This route forms during pregnancy and links the birthplace of these nerve cells to their destination in highly interconnected brain regions that are responsible for memory and spatial processing.
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