Histones bound to lipid droplets inside cells offer protection against bacteria in flies, and possibly mice, thus suggesting a possible new innate immunity pathway.

The use of tissue culture reduces the chemical modification of plant DNA, and this has lasting effects on gene expression in the plants and their descendants.

When a protein involved in DNA repair malfunctions, it can anneal RNA molecules to DNA molecules, creating hybrids that increase the frequency of mutations in the DNA.

A DNA transposon, or ‘jumping gene’, controls its amplification within a genome through a competition between the enzyme multimers that are responsible for its mobility.

A comprehensive study of human transcription factors reveals that a greater number of these proteins bind to methylated DNA sequences than previously thought.

A comprehensive and genome-wide description of the genomic make-up and frequency of meiotic recombination in Arabidopsis thaliana reveals regional preferences, including nucleosome-free regions, and two associated recombination motifs.

The ability to target transcripts from high-copy regions of the genome is an emergent property of a minimal RNA interference system.

The short lifetime of orphan genes is a major factor explaining the stability of gene number in Drosophila.

Combining in vitro and in vivo assays demonstrates that the cytidine deaminase APOBEC3A can inhibit LINE-1 retrotransposition by deaminating transiently exposed single-strand DNA that arises during the process of LINE-1 integration.

Individual scientists, scientific communities and scientific journals can do more to assess the publication of irreproducible results, to promote good science, and to increase the efficiency with which the scientific community self-corrects.