Biochemical and genetic tests have revealed that a liver protein called NTCP is a functional receptor for hepatitis B and D viruses, which should lead to an improved understanding of the infections caused by these viruses and assist the development of new intervention strategies.

Genome-wide measurements on mouse liver cells show that transcription, and a particular key transcription factor, have a smaller than expected influence on the mouse circadian system.

Structural and functional studies of a potassium ion channel that is opened and closed by different ligands have revealed a novel gating mechanism.

A combination of cellular, biochemical, genetic and genomic techniques have revealed a new molecular player in the production of fat cells in mice, which could improve our understanding of obesity.

The HITS-CLIP sequencing method is used to demonstrate that cryptic exons can detect messenger RNA that contains nonsense mutations, and then cause this RNA to decay, which shows that these exons are involved in maintaining the electrical balance of neurons and, possibly, preventing epilepsy.

Neurons in the hippocampus modulate the rates at which they fire, and the locations in which they fire, so as to encode the information that is central to forming memories about personal experiences.

Islands of non-methylated DNA are shown to perform a similar epigenetic role in many different vertebrate species.

Electron cryo-microscopy has been used to determine the structure of Chikungunya virus-like particles and to provide new insights into their interactions with four different antibodies.

The details of how the enzyme DNA polymerase α initiates the polymerization of nucleotides in DNA replication, a critical step in the synthesis of new chromosomal DNA, have been revealed in atomic detail.

The circadian clock in the model plant organism Arabidopsis thaliana is best described as a highly connected network made up of clock-regulated activators and repressors of transcription, rather than two coupled, repressor-based feedback loops.