14 July 2006

Arginylation of Beta Actin Regulates Actin Cytoskeleon and Cell Motility  
Anna Kashina Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania

While post-translational modifications such as phosphorylation and glycosylation are well characterized, the function of arginylation, or the addition of arginine to the N-terminus of proteins, remains a mystery. In this Science Online Seminar, Dr. Anna Kashina, at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses the role of arginylation of beta actin in vivo. These findings indicate that posttranslational arginylation of a single protein target, beta actin, can regulate its intracellular function, inducing global changes on the cellular level, and may contribute to cardiovascular development and angiogenesis.

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Read the related Research Article by M. Karakozova, et al.

30 June 2006

Pre-mRNA splicing requires proofreading of U2AF/3' splice site recognition by DEK  
Juan Valcárcel, ICREA and Centre de Regulacio Genomica

Juan Valcárcel discusses his lab's work characterizing a novel mechanism for 3' splice site discrimination involving DEK, a chromatin-associated protein implicated in autoimmunity and cancer.

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Read the related Report by L. M. Mendes Soares et al.

16 June 2006

Examining Natural Selection in Humans  
Stephen S. Schaffner and Pardis C. Sabeti, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard

Stephen Schaffner and Pardis Sabeti review the approaches for detecting natural selection in humans using genome-wide data surveys, describe results from recent studies examining genome-wide data sets and discuss the prospects and challenges ahead.

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Read the related Review by P. C. Sabeti et al.

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