The Top Ten lists in Biology feature papers published during the last
two years (excluding review articles) that were most cited in current
journal articles indexed by
Thomson Reuters
during a recent two-month period. Papers are ranked according to the
latest bimonthly citation count. The articles below are accompanied by
expert discussion and analysis (including comments from the
papers’ authors) written by one of four veteran
scientist-journalists and longtime ScienceWatch.com
contributors.
2009
Diseases
Yield More Secrets To Genome Wide Analysis
by Jeremy Cherfas
Three papers poised to enter the Top Ten examine, respectively,
three prevalent and intractable diseases: autism, breast
cancer, and type 1 diabetes. All the papers employ recent
techniques of genome-wide analysis and mapping in order to
provide a fuller picture of specific mutations and links that
give rise to disease. In the case of autism, for example,
analysis points not to particular genes, but to copy number
variations that are not present in the parents of autistic
subjects.
View
Article
May/June 2009
Atlas
Supports a New World of Neurogenomics
by Jeremy Cherfas
A team of researchers has produced a three-dimensional atlas of
gene expression in the mouse brain. By painstakingly examining
individual slices of mouse brain and determining gene activation by
in situ hybridization, the researchers have determined specific
locations in which more than 20,000 genes are expressed. The team
further determined that nearly 70% of the genes are expressed in
fewer than 20% of the cells. The atlas also provides insights into
the relationship between cell type and cellular function.
View Article
Nailing Down the Structure of the ß2
Adrenoreceptor
by Jeremy Cherfas
G protein-coupled receptors are trans-membrane signal receptors
involved in a large range of cellular responses to stimuli,
also serving as targets for upwards of half the therapeutic
drugs currently marketed. Recent work has supplied the crystal
structure of one such receptor, the ß2 adrenergic
receptor. These findings have provided insights into interior
water channels and other structural elements that suggest how
these receptors actually work.
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Article
January/February 2009
Help in
Understanding New Kinds of Helpers
by Jeremy Cherfas
Recent efforts in biology have centered on a particular
immune-system component known as T(h)-17, one of the immune
system's T helper cells. Specially adapted to fighting bacterial
and fungal diseases, T(h)-17 is also involved in such autoimmune
disorders as psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis. Biologists are
still unraveling the complex interplay of T(h)-17 with the
cytokines IL-6 and TGF-beta, along with other specifics on how
T(h)-17 cells are differentiated to respond to various immune
challenges.
View Article
November/December 2008
Newfound
Lands Added to the Genomic Atlas
by Jeremy Cherfas
A Nature paper reports on the use of single-molecule-based
sequencing technology in the creation of genome-wide maps to study
the DNA-protein complex known as chromatin and its effects on the
regulation and differentiation of cells. The paper details the
various gene promoters and markers that influence differentiation
and other developmental processes in embryonic stem cells,
embryonic fibroblasts, and other cell types.
View Article
HapMap,
The Next Generation: More SNPs, More Insights
by Jeremy Cherfas
The second-generation of the haplotype map known as HapMap details
more than 3.1 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs,
which are differences in a single letter of DNA. This udpated
HapMap has considerably aided the search for specific genetic
sequences associated with cancer and other conditions, in addition
to pointing the way toward possible therapies.
View Article
Reprogramming
Adult Cells Into Stem-Cell-Like State
by Jeremy Cherfas
Three separate teams of biologists succeeded in effectively
reprogramming adult cells to serve as pluripotent stem cells, which
are then able to differentiate into any cell type. This method of
creating stem cells without the need for embryonic tissue offers
enormous therapeutic potential for creating new tissue from a
patient’s own cells.
View Article
ENCODE Project: Junking the Idea of Junk
DNA
by Jeremy Cherfas
The pilot study for the ENCODE Project, an encyclopedic study of
variation in the human genome, has already produced evidence that
supposedly non-coding regions of genetic material, previously
dubbed ‘junk DNA,’ actually possess complex properties
whose role in gene function and evolutionary conservation remains
to be elucidated.
View Article
In MicroRNA Research, Silence is Looking
Golden
by Jeremy Cherfas
Research into the strands of microRNA (miRNA) has clarified the
role that these molecules play in gene expression and other aspects
of cellular function. In particular, miRNA has been implicated in
diseases such as cancer, hepatitis, and diabetes. A research team
developed so-called ‘antagomirs’ to silence miRNA,
helping to elucidate miRNA’s role in cell differentiation and
other processes.
View Article
Tireless
Research Hints at Boost for Tuckered T Cells
by Jeremy Cherfas
A study of CD8 T cells of the immune system during infection has
indicated that blocking the action of certain proteins may prevent the
T cells from becoming exhausted and ineffective, raising hope for
treatment of such chronic infections as HIV and hepatitis.
View Article
