[
Cell,
2009]
The memory of somatic cell gene expression is reset in the germline in a process that is accompanied by dramatic changes in chromatin modifications. In this issue, Katz et al. (2009) show that the histone demethylase Lsd1/Spr-5 may participate in this resetting process in the worm, thereby preventing a decline in germ cell epigenetic stability and viability over ensuing generations.
[
Science,
2002]
As any homeowner knows, timely maintenance is vital for keeping a building functioning properly after construction is finished. The same is evidently true for the complex architecture of the nervous system - at least in the roundworm. On page 686, neuroscientists Oliver Hobert, Oscar Aurelio, and David Hall describe a new family of proteins that help keep the wiring of the worm's nervous system tangle free.