Making and breaking heterochromatin

To fit the two-meter long DNA molecule into a cell nucleus that is only a few thousandths of a millimetre in size, long sections of the DNA must be strongly compacted. Epigenetic marks maintain these sections, known as heterochromatin. ...

The controlled cell

(Phys.org)—An interdisciplinary effort at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) addressed the question of how mRNA content, which is translated into proteins, is regulated in the cell. Supported ...

Transcription runs like clockwork

(Phys.org)—It's not just a few key genes and proteins that cycle on and off in humans in a 24-hour circadian pattern as the sun rises and falls. Thousands of genes in organs throughout the body show predictable daily fluctuations, ...

Scientists find the structure of a key 'gene silencer' protein

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have determined the three-dimensional atomic structure of a human protein that is centrally involved in regulating the activities of cells. Knowing the precise structure of this ...

To get the full story you need to know the motifs

Genome sequencing alone provides researchers with only limited information on the organism works because it neither reveals how the system is regulated nor does it indicate the role of each specific DNA sequence or RNA transcript. ...

Study uncovers how DNA unfolds for transcription

(PhysOrg.com) -- The human genome contains some 3 billion base pairs that are tightly compacted into the nucleus of each cell. If a DNA strand were the thickness of a human hair, the entire human genome would be crammed into ...

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