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.

A chromatin boundary factor that is only active during early embryo development has been discovered in Drosophila.

A protein that can recognize regions of DNA with a high proportion of unmethylated CpG dinucleotides, and then recruit polycomb group proteins to these CpG islands, has been identified.

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.

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

COPII vesicles regulate the metabolism of cholesterol through the selective transport of secretory proteins.

A combination of detailed sampling and mathematical modeling suggests that the response of immune cells to reactivation of herpes simplex virus 2 is extremely rapid and effective within microscopic areas of genital skin.

A lipid acts to promote the development of nematode worm larvae through activation of an enzyme complex called TORC1.

Goblet cells secrete mucins—which are key components of mucus—in a process that is regulated by calcium ions, which enter the goblet cells via a mechanism involving a channel protein called TRPM5.