This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"It’s a feared moment for every scientist: the discovery that years of painstaking research has led to results that can't be repeated. Many think that poorly characterized antibodies have contributed to this reproducibility crisis more than any other laboratory tool. A new study published in Molecular Cell supports this hypothesis, at least in the context of chromatin immunoprecipitation. Although accurate ChIP interpretation depends on near-perfect antibody specificity, the report shows that many of these reagents are far less capable than their advertising suggests, which calls into question several widely accepted paradigms on genomic regulation. The study focused on histone post-translational modifications; specifically all three methylation states of lysine 4 on histone H3. Through ChIP experiments, H3K4 methylation has been strongly linked to transcriptional control..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Biology is designed for multi-semester biology courses for science majors. It is grounded on an evolutionary basis and includes exciting features that highlight careers in the biological sciences and everyday applications of the concepts at hand. To meet the needs of today’s instructors and students, some content has been strategically condensed while maintaining the overall scope and coverage of traditional texts for this course. Instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand—and apply—key concepts.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Describe the structure of prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomesDistinguish between chromosomes, genes, and traitsDescribe the mechanisms of chromosome compaction

During development a single totipotent cell gives rise to the vast array of cell types present in the adult human body, yet each cell has essentially the same DNA sequence. As cells differentiate, distinct sets of genes must be coordinately activated and repressed, ultimately leading to a cell-type specific pattern of gene expression and a particular cell fate. In eukaryotic organisms, DNA is packaged in a complex protein super structure known as chromatin. Modification and reorganization of chromatin play a critical role in coordinating the cell-type specific gene expression programs that are required as a cell transitions from a pluripotent stem cell to a fully differentiated cell type. Epigenetics refers to such heritable changes that occur in chromatin without altering the primary DNA sequence. This class will focus on the role of epigenetic regulation with respect to developmental fate and also consider the fact that the epigenetic mechanisms discussed have broad implications, including how seemingly normal cells can be transformed into cancerous cells.
This course is one of many Advanced Undergraduate Seminars offered by the Biology Department at MIT. These seminars are tailored for students with an interest in using primary research literature to discuss and learn about current biological research in a highly interactive setting. Many instructors of the Advanced Undergraduate Seminars are postdoctoral scientists with a strong interest in teaching.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Epithelial cells form continuous coverings over all surfaces in the human body and have distinct top and bottom sides, but they can sometimes transform to function more like mesenchymal cells, losing their tight connections to adjacent cells and gaining mobility. This process, known as epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), can be beneficial for wound healing and embryonic development but can also promote the progression of cancer. Research suggests that acetylation, or the addition of an acetyl group to another molecule, may play an important role in EMT and that this process is controlled by the activity of lysine acetyltransferase enzymes. In particular, the acetylation of specific histones, proteins that provide structural support to chromosomes and can regulate gene activity, could promote EMT. But recent studies have also shown that the acetylation of non-histone proteins could also be involved. For example, the acetylation of the protein E-cadherin has been found to accelerate EMT in cancer cells..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"An international team of biologists has done the seemingly impossible. They’ve revived cell nuclei from a 28,000-year-old frozen woolly mammoth. While the world will have to wait for the first full-blown mammoth resurrection, this could be a big step in that direction. The team’s findings offer researchers hope that ancient DNA, though damaged, could one day be made functional. The research team salvaged the nuclei from the muscle of “Yuka,” a young woolly mammoth well preserved in Siberian permafrost since the last ice age. They then transplanted them into mouse egg cells. This process, called somatic cell nuclear transfer, is the same one used to clone animals like Dolly the sheep. But unlike for Dolly, the development of those nuclei stopped short of cell division. After the transfer, researchers observed filling of the transplanted nuclei with mouse proteins—namely, histone and tubulin— and the formation of a new nucleus-like structure..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"TRF2 is a protein in charge of protecting the endcaps of chromosomes known as telomeres. But increasing evidence suggests that TRF2 also carries out important non-telomere-related functions, including DNA repair and transcription regulation. To better understand these functions, researchers recently mapped out where else TRF2 sites might exist. ChIP-Seq assays of fibrosarcoma cells revealed extra-telomeric TRF2 sites throughout the genome, which were highly enriched in DNA sequences with the potential to form G-quadruplexes, a DNA structure formed by G-rich sequences with a specific pattern, known to play a critical role in gene expression. TRF2 bound tightly to these sites, and further experiments revealed that TRF2 occupancy resulted in altered mRNA expression in nine target genes. Because naturally occurring intracellular G-quadruplexes are difficult to detect, TRF2 binding may serve as a new tool to specifically detect these regions..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.