Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles

NHS Instructed To Plan For Up To 65,000 Swine Flu Deaths, UK
In a week that has seen the British swine flu death toll reach 29 and it is estimated that 55,000 people have caught the virus, hospitalizing 652 of them, the

All Together Now - Primary Care's Role In A Tough Economic Climate
The financial crisis and lack of trust in public services mean that the NHS and the government face tough political and economic challenges ahead. In this climate, improvements in health services will only be possible if primary care takes the lead and political leaders sharpen up their vision.
News of the day
Today's Opinions And Editorials
What"s Up, Docs? The Wall Street Journal
Health Insurance

Cohesin Jigsaw Begins To Fit

The essential chromosomal protein complex cohesin has crucial roles in sister chromatid cohesion, DNA repair and transcriptional regulation. Despite its conserved function, cohesin"s disparate association patterns in different organisms did not quite add up. New research published in the open access journal Genome Biology works towards completing the cohesin puzzle, reconciling some of these differences. Christine Schmidt, Neil Brookes and Frank Uhlmann working together at the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute, performed high-resolution analysis of cohesin binding patterns along fission yeast chromosomes. The authors" findings suggest that features thought to differentiate cohesin between organisms actually collectively define the overall behaviour of fission yeast cohesin. In fact cohesin"s mechanisms of action might be much more similar between organisms than previously thought. Earlier studies investigated cohesin"s chromosomal binding sites in different model organisms, including Drosophila and budding yeast. Despite its conserved function in DNA repair and mitosis, no common rule had emerged that defined these sites. "Our findings suggest that features that were thought to differentiate cohesin behaviour between organisms collectively define the overall behaviour of fission yeast cohesin", writes Uhlmann. "Apparent differences between organisms could reflect an emphasis on different aspects, rather than different principles, of cohesin behaviour." Cohesin complexes have a central role in cell division, mediating the association between sister chromosomes. Cohesin forms large proteinaceous rings, and is thought to bind to and holds sister chromatids together in a topological embrace. Conserved features of cohesin binding along fission yeast chromosomes Christine K Schmidt, Neil Brookes and Frank Uhlmann Genome Biology (in press) http://genomebiology.com/ Charlotte Webber BioMed Central


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009