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[
Nat Genet,
2006]
Systematic mapping of genetic interactions for Caenorhabditis elegans genes involved in signaling pathways implicated in human disease reveals a network of 350 interactions. The topology of this network resembles that mapped previously in yeast, reinforcing the idea that similar networks may underlie the genetic basis of complex human disease.
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[
Esquire,
1985]
In the end, it is attention to detail that makes all the difference. It's the center fielder's extra two steps to the left, the salesman's memory for names, the lover's phone call, the soldier's clean weapon. It is the thing that separates the men from the boys, and, very often, the living from the dead. Professional success depends on it, regardless of the field. But in big-time genetic research, attention to detail is more than just a good work habit, more than a necessary part of the routine. In big-time genetic research, attention to detail is the very meat and the god of science. It isn't something that's expected; it is simply the way of things. Those in the field, particularly those who lead the field, are slaves to detail. They labor in submerged mines of it, and haul great loads of it up from the bottom of an unseen ocean-the invisible sea of biological phenomena, upon which all living things float. Detail's rule over genetics is total and cruel. Months and even years of work have literally gone down the drain because of the most minor miscalculations. Indeed, perhaps the greatest discovery in the history of the discipline-the double-helix structure of DNA-might have been made by Linus Pauling instead of James D. Watson and Francis H. C. Crick. But Pauling's equations contained a simple mistake in undergraduate-level chemistry, a sin against detail that is now part of the legend. Each of the six scientists singled out here has made his mark by mastering his own particular set of
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[
Nat Cell Biol,
2004]
Why are proteins glycosylated? On the basis of new studies, I propose two models to clarify the specific functions of glycosylation in worms. The first explains how intra- and inter-cellular trafficking of an N-glycosylated disintegrin-metalloprotease guides somatic gonadal cells through their migratory route, determining the shape of an organ. The second explains how rigid coats of secreted chondroitin proteoglycans bend membranes to drive cytokinesis and epithelial invagination.
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[
Nat Methods,
2006]
RNA interference (RNAi) and automated high-throughput screening is a promising combination. But the first systematic large-scale mapping of genetic interactions in an animal shows that manual methods still have advantages over sophisticated automated screens.
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[
Trends Endocrinol Metab,
2001]
In Caenorhabditis elegans, an insulin-like signalling pathway culminates in a transcription factor (TF) that is homologous to a subfamily of Tps responsible for the regulation of a subset of insulin-responsive genes in humans. Under harsh conditions, C. elegans reduces signalling through this pathway and arrests developmentally in a manner that is similar to the metabolic syndrome of humans. We propose that an understanding of this pathway could lead to drugs with optimal potency and selectivity in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus.
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[
Science,
1990]
An exhaustive study of the tiny roundworm C. elegans has revealed a wealth of information about development and the brain. And now the effort to decipher the worm's genome is fast becoming the benchmark by which the human genome project will be measured.
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[
Discover,
1991]
Undulating under the microscope, its muscle and nerve cells visible within its transparent body, the tiny roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans is normally a creature of surprising grace. But one mutant strain is not elegans at all. It thrashes about in such an uncoordinated fashion that researchers have dubbed the mutant worm "unc"...
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[
Nat Genet,
2009]
The global patterning of histone lysine methylation has been scrutinized over the years in an effort to uncover unique features indicative of chromatin function. A study in Caenorhabditis elegans now shows that nucleosomes covering exons and introns on active genes are differentially marked by H3K36 trimethylation, suggesting a new mode of communication between chromatin and pre-mRNA processing.
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[
Experimental Neurology,
1975]
The precision of neuronal development is programmed genetically. The genes involved must be expressed in an orderly sequence so that their products appear in the right cell at the right time. By studying mutants in which this sequence is altered, it should be possible to dissect the development and recognize the steps controlled by individual genes.