Retrotransposons have generated about 40% of the human genome. This review examines
the strategies the cell has evolved to coexist with these genomic “parasites”, focussing on …

The notion of the “biological individual” is crucial to studies of genetics, immunology,
evolution, development, anatomy, and physiology. Each of these biological subdisciplines …

Epigenetic inheritance is more widespread in plants than in mammals, in part because
mammals erase epigenetic information by germline reprogramming. We sequenced the …

Throughout the animal kingdom, p53 genes govern stress response networks by specifying
adaptive transcriptional responses. The human member of this gene family is mutated in …

Heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1a in Drosophila) is a conserved eukaryotic chromosomal
protein that is prominently associated with pericentric heterochromatin and mediates the …

The human genome encodes a vast repertoire of protein non-coding RNAs (ncRNA), some
specific to the brain. MicroRNAs, which interfere with the translation of target mRNAs, are of …

Piwi-interacting RNAs are small regulatory RNAs with key roles in transposon silencing and
regulation of gametogenesis. The production of mature piwi-interacting RNAs requires a …

Background The RNase III endonuclease Dicer is an important regulator of gene expression
that processes microRNAs (miRNAs) and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). The best …

The spermatozoa and oocyte are very specialized cells which possess the unique ability to
fuse and to produce an embryo. This embryo will develop into a mature organism capable of …

Modern immunology traditionally conceives of the immune system as providing defense
against pathogens. Alfred I. Tauber criticizes this conception of immunity as too narrow …