Controlling the double helix

Abstract

development in the sea urchin have delineated a regulatory network that has significant predictive power 16 (Fig. 2). Finally, systems approaches to metabolism in an archaeal halobacterium (an organism thriving in up to five-molar salt solutions, such as the Dead Sea) have revealed new insights into the inter-relationships among several modules controlling energy production in the cell 18 .The study of cellular and organismal biology using the systems approach is at its very beginning. It will require integrated teams of scientists from across disciplines -biologists, chemists, computer scientists, engineers, mathematicians and physicists. New methods for acquiring and analysing high-throughput biological data are needed. A powerful computational infrastructure must be leveraged to generate more effective approaches to the capture, storage, analysis, integration, graphical display and mathematic formulation of biological complexity. New technologies must be integrated with each other. Finally, hypothesis-driven and discovery science must be integrated. In short, both new science and technology must emerge for the systems biology approach to realize its promise. A cultural shift in the biological sciences is needed, and the education and training of the next generation of biologists will require significant reform.Gordon Moore, the founder of Intel, predicted that the number of transistors that could be placed on a computer chip would double every 18 months. It has for more than 30 years. This exponential growth has been a driver for the explosive growth of information technology. Likewise, the amount of DNA sequence information available to the scientific community is following a similar, perhaps even steeper, exponential increase. The critical issue is how sequence information can be converted into knowledge of the organism and how biology will change as a result. We believe that a systems approach to biology is the key. It is clear, however, that this approach poses significant challenges, both scientific and cultural 19 . The discovery of DNA structure started us on this journey, the end of which will be the grand unification of the biological sciences in the emerging, information-based view of biology.s s

VEGF mitigates histone-induced pyroptosis in the remote liver injury associated with renal allograft ischemia–reperfusion injury in rats

“…Histones are the proteins in chromatin that play an important role in controlling gene expression 27. There are 2 kinds of histones: core histones (including H2A, H2B, H3, and H4) and linker histones (namely, H1 and H5) 27.…”

“…Histones are the proteins in chromatin that play an important role in controlling gene expression 27. There are 2 kinds of histones: core histones (including H2A, H2B, H3, and H4) and linker histones (namely, H1 and H5) 27. Despite their vital role in gene regulation, histones in the extracellular space can cause inflammation and organ damage as reported in liver, lung, and kidney injury 10, 12, 28.…”

Biological consequences of tightly bent DNA: The other life of a macromolecular celebrity

“…[61][62][63][64][65] However, as is often the case in biology, the structure appears to be tuned for marginal net stability, with the attractive interactions slightly exceeding the elastic cost of wrapping tightly around the positively-charged protein spools. Probabilities depend exponentially on the energetics, so the probabilities overwhelmingly favor the wrapped state; but because the energetics are marginal, there will nevertheless be frequent (if short lived) unwrapping events.…”

Epigenetic Mechanisms of Neurodegeneration in Huntington's Disease

“…The mechanisms by which these pathogenic insults trigger epigenetic modifications remain to be determined. WT = wild-type chromatin region is associated with active gene transcription [51,52] (Fig. 1).…”