Categoría: Trends in Genetics

Twenty-five years after the histone code hypothesis proposed that combinations of histone post-translational modifications (PTMs) direct gene regulation, fundamental questions remain unresolved. Here, I outline a call for a multi-laboratory initiative,…

Public interpretations of genetic science in popular media shape its meaning, regulation, and sometimes even its trajectory. Drawing on examples from film and television, we argue that cultural narratives are not merely reflections of science but activ…

De-extinction critiques focus on animal welfare, ecosystem disruption, threats to traditional conservation, and anxiety about human hubris. Respondents argue that humanity is obligated to reverse damage to species (natural or human-caused) and to pursu…

Genomics research has historically been biased toward individuals of European ancestry, which has the potential to exacerbate health inequities (Martin, A.R. et al.) To reduce these disparities, current efforts in human genetics emphasize the inclusion…

Recent studies have reported that catalytically dead histone-modifying enzymes can rescue the function of their null alleles. Histone ‘replacement’ experiments have similarly found a lack of phenotypes for some modifications. Do these findings foretell…

Gene activity is intricately shaped by its chromatin environment. Deciphering the chromatin landscape is essential for understanding the complex regulatory networks governing gene function. The newly re-recognized DNA N6-methyladenine (6mA) is relative…

The power of short-read DNA sequencing in biodiversity research and evolutionary genomics is rapidly growing due to advances in technology and bioinformatics. Short-read sequencing offers powerful solutions for taxonomic identification, biomass estimat…

When this article was first published, relevant funding information was inadvertently omitted. An Acknowledgments section with the funding information, as shown later, has now been added to the original article. The authors apologize for the unintentio…

Transposable elements (TEs) – long considered ‘junk DNA’ – challenge the binary of threat and therapeutic opportunity in cancer. Their reactivation is not a singular event but a convergence of evolutionary legacy, regulatory disruption, and technologic…

Complex diseases are heterogeneous and evolve along a continuum, limiting individual-level prediction with current approaches. The Human Phenotype Project (HPP) integrates deep phenotyping with generative artificial intelligence (AI) to identify early …