Electron microscopy has been used to produce the first three-dimensional image of the PRC2 gene-silencing complex.

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.

The transcription machinery used to regulate gene expression and self-renewal in human embryonic stem cells is different from that found in other cells.

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.

The Notch signaling pathway has a central role in the formation of the circuit that controls egg-laying in the nematode worm C. elegans.

Detailed analysis of umbilical cord cells shows that the associations between DNA methylation, gene expression and genetic variation are complex and context-dependent.