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Fruit Fly Research Sheds Light on Stem Cell Depletion and Aging Process

Scientists from the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR) have identified key changes to both chromosome structure and gene expression that affect stem cell function during aging.

10 Sep 2024

A New Approach to Understanding Enhancer-TF Interactions

Every cell in the human body has the same DNA, yet liver cells differ from brain cells, and skin cells from muscle cells.

9 Sep 2024

CDCA7's Role in DNA Methylation Maintenance Revealed in Recent Study

DNA methylation is a process in which a methyl group is attached to the cytosine base of the DNA molecule, and a major way that DNA is epigenetically marked. Epigenetic modifications can act as on-off switches to regulate gene expression and help generate diverse cell types without changing the underlying DNA sequence. It is how the body ensures that brain-related genes don't get turned on in heart cells, for example.

28 Aug 2024

Computational Modeling and Experimental Findings on Nucleosome Constraining in Mitosis

Individual cells divide through a process called mitosis, during which the cell's copied DNA is separated between two resulting daughter cells. Despite recent advances in cell biology, the mechanism by which DNA condenses during mitosis is still poorly understood. Researchers recently tracked small stretches of DNA wound around histone proteins, called nucleosomes, to better characterize nucleosome behavior during cell division.

27 Aug 2024

Advancing Genome Visualization with CRISPR/Cas9 Technology in Live Cells

Understanding the spatiotemporal organization of the genome in the nucleus is crucial for advancing our knowledge of chromatin structure and its functional dynamics in both normal and diseased states.

13 Aug 2024

Detailed Analysis of Cucumber Centromeres Uncovers Key DNA Sequences and Retrotransposons

Centromeres are crucial for chromosome segregation during cell division and consist of repetitive DNA sequences.

8 Aug 2024

Scientists Discover Fossils of Ancient Chromosomes in the Remains of Woolly Mammoth

A team led by scientists from Baylor College of Medicine, University of Copenhagen, and Centre Nacional d'Anàlisi Genòmica and Centre for Genomic Regulation report discovering fossils of ancient chromosomes in the remains of a woolly mammoth that died 52,000 years ago.

12 Jul 2024

Understanding How Motorized Processes Shape Chromosome Structures and Influence Cellular Functions

Researchers at Rice University are making strides in understanding how chromosome structures change throughout the cell's life cycle.

4 Jul 2024

Histone H3K9 Methylation Found to Act as a Dimmer Switch for Gene Regulation

Researchers led by Kannosuke Yabe, Asuka Kamio, and Soichi Inagaki of the University of Tokyo have discovered that in thale cresses histone H3 lysine-9 (H3K9) methylation, conventionally thought to be a mark of turning off gene transcription, can also turn on gene expression via the interactions of two other proteins and histone marks.

27 Jun 2024

Mapping Gene Targets of HNF4A and HNF1A in Human Pancreatic Beta Cells and Liver Cells

Scientists have generated a comprehensive map of the gene targets regulated by the transcription factors HNF4A and HNF1A in human pancreatic beta cells and liver cells.

26 Jun 2024

Scientists Identify Gene Region that Fuels Asthma Inflammation

Pollen and house dust mites are two common allergens that cause respiratory distress in asthma patients. But type-2 helper T (Th2) cells and group-2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) release a class of proteins known as type-2 cytokines in response to a variety of asthma triggers. GATA-binding protein 3 (GATA3) is essential for the maturation of Th2 and ILC2.

25 Jun 2024

First Evidence of Oocyte Cohesion Rejuvenation Discovered in Fruit Flies

A Dartmouth study conducted on fruit flies reports the first evidence in any organism that oocytes-;the cells that become eggs-;regularly rejuvenate the critical protein linkages that bind chromosomes together.

13 Jun 2024

Critical NPC Protein Nup358 Linked to Myeloid Disorders

Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) are channels composed of multiple proteins that ferry molecules in and out of the nucleus, regulating many critical cellular functions, such as gene expression, chromatin organization and RNA processes that influence cell survival, proliferation, and differentiation.

6 Jun 2024