How packing away DNA stabilizes cell fate decisions

Susan Gasser and her group at the FMI have identified in C. elegans a much sought-for anchor protein, a previously uncharacterized chromodomain protein called CEC-4 that directly sequesters inactive chromatin at the nuclear ...

DNA strands often 'wiggle' as part of genetic repair

Sometimes, the molecules that make up life exhibit strange behavior. For instance, in simple organisms such as yeast, when genetic material becomes damaged, the affected DNA strands increase their motion, waving about inside ...

Chemists solve major piece of cellular mystery

Not just anything is allowed to enter the nucleus, the heart of eukaryotic cells where, among other things, genetic information is stored. A double membrane, called the nuclear envelope, serves as a wall, protecting the contents ...

Blueprints for the construction of nuclear pores deciphered

In a recent study, a team of researchers led by Alwin Köhler at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories (MFPL) belonging to the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna offer new insights into how nuclear pores are ...

New technique reveals a role for histones in cell division

(Phys.org) —Proteins known as histones give structure to DNA, which coils around them like string on spools. But as is so often the case in biology, it turns out there is more to these structures than meets the eye. Scientists ...

Cell nuclei harbor factories that transcribe genes

Our genetic heritage is contained—and protected—in the nucleus of the cells that compose us. Copies of the DNA exit the nucleus to be read and translated into proteins in the cell cytoplasm. The transit between the nucleus ...

Programming cells: The importance of the envelope

In a project that began with the retinal cells of nocturnal animals and has led to fundamental insights into the organization of genomic DNA, researchers from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich show how the nuclear ...

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