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This is an issue edsumm for 1422. Identification of the Palaeocene/Eocene thermal maximum in a marine sedimentary sequence shows that sea surface temperatures near the North Pole increased from roughly 18 degrees Celsius to over 23 degrees Celsius — such warm values imply the absence of ice and thus exclude the influence of ice-albedo feedbacks on this Arctic warming.
Lipoprotein lipase, the enzyme that hydrolyzes fatty acids from triglycerides carried by circulating lipoproteins, resides on the surface of the capillary endothelium. Analysis of a hypertriglyceridemic mutant mouse has now identified a protein, LMF1, that is critical for the transport of active lipoprotein lipase through the secretory pathway.
This is an issue edsumm for 1421. Identification of the Palaeocene/Eocene thermal maximum in a marine sedimentary sequence shows that sea surface temperatures near the North Pole increased from roughly 18 degrees Celsius to over 23 degrees Celsius — such warm values imply the absence of ice and thus exclude the influence of ice-albedo feedbacks on this Arctic warming.
Dramatically different mutant phenotypes usually reflect mutations in different genes, but this is not necessarily so, especially when microRNA regulation is involved. A beautiful example of this now comes from the discovery of the maize microRNA tasselseed4 and its target ids1/Tasselseed6, which uncovers a new facet in the control of inflorescence branching and sex determination in flowers.
A new study presents a comprehensive global analysis of the evolution of segmental duplications in the human genome. The authors identify the origin of ancestral duplication loci, regions of clustered duplicons, and evidence supporting a punctuated model of evolution.
A new study provides insight into the way plants integrate information from the environment to anticipate the onset of winter. Plants are able to combine information about light quality and ambient temperature to activate the cold- acclimation pathway.
Differences among dog breeds provide unique opportunities for studying the genetics of behavior, morphology and complex disease. Two new studies demonstrate how the unique evolutionary history of domestic dogs is particularly well suited to analysis by genome-wide association.
Two new studies explore the genetic mechanisms connecting aging and tumor growth in Caenorhabditis elegans. This work should provide a basis to consider ways to prevent and treat age-dependent cancers.
A new study in zebrafish shows that Birc2, a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) family, is required for endothelial cell survival. This discovery highlights an important in vivo function of this molecule and suggests potential avenues for the development of new antiangiogenic therapies.
Optimally positioned crossovers facilitate the proper segregation of chromosomes in meiosis. A new study in yeast implicates the spindle checkpoint in the rescue of crossovers that occur too distant from the centromere, possibly shedding light on the origins of nondisjunction in higher organisms.
The growing list of known microRNAs is only as useful as our ability to identify the mRNA targets they control. A new study stresses the role of messenger RNA structure in microRNA target recognition and suggests that binding of the RNA-induced silencing complex is largely controlled by the thermodynamics of RNA-RNA interactions.
MAGEL2 is located in a cluster of imprinted genes on human chromosome 15 that is implicated in Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). A new study shows that mice deficient for this gene show altered behavioral rhythmicity that resembles some features of PWS.
