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WHAT'S HOT IN... BIOLOGY

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

July/August 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.
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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.
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March/April 2009

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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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.
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2008

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.
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September/October 2008

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.
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July/August 2008

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.
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May/June 2008

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.
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March/April 2008

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.
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January/February 2008

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.
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