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The authors review the history, prospects and challenges of using molecular clock dating to estimate the timescale for the Tree of Life in the genomics era, and trace the rise of the Bayesian molecular clock dating method as a framework for integrating information from different sources, such as fossils and genomes.
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a class of RNAs with great molecular and regulatory diversity. This Review discusses how, beyond their lack of protein-coding potential, some types of lncRNAs are known to exhibit features that are distinct from mRNAs, including their transcriptional regulation, localization, processing, biological capabilities and degradation. Such properties underlie many of the key cellular functions of lncRNAs.
Researchers should embrace differences in genetic background to build richer disease models that more accurately reflect the level of variation in the human population, posits Clement Chow.
The differentiation of sex chromosomes in vertebrates created a need for mechanisms that compensate for differences in dosage of gene expression between the sexes. The author reviews the diversity of these mechanisms, their effects on gene expression, and their origin and evolution across the major vertebrate groups.