X-chromosome inactivation balances X-gene dosage between the sexes in eutherians and marsupials. The lncRNA Xist mediates X-inactivation in eutherians but is absent from marsupials. An evolutionarily ...

SMCHD1 is a key player in X chromosome inactivation in mammals and has been linked to two human disorders. Here, the authors present insight into SMCHD1’s mode of interaction and functionality at its ...

Understanding pluripotency

Regulation of X chromosome inactivation in mammals requires precise control of the levels of the non-coding RNA Xist. Almeida et al. describe an autoregulatory mechanism in which nascent Xist transcri...

The two scientists have been selected for outstanding contributions to their fields

Nature Reviews Genetics, Published online: 19 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41576-026-00973-zIn this Journal Club, Mary Gehring recalls a 1970 paper from Jerry Kermicle, which used elegant maize genetics to show that alleles behave differently depending on parental origin, laying the conceptual foundation for gene imprinting.

Nature Reviews Genetics, Published online: 08 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41576-026-00967-xIn this Journal Club, Annalisa Marsico describes a 1994 paper by Eddy and Durbin that formalized RNA sequence analysis with covariance models, which are powerful tools more recently applied to generative machine learning models for RNA design.

Nature Reviews Genetics - In this Journal Club, Claudia Keller Valsecchi recalls two seminal studies by Csankovszki et al. and by Wutz and Jaenisch that defined X-chromosome inactivation as an...

I'll be cycling from Exeter to Oxford (about 160 miles/260 km) - hopefully … Steven West needs your support for Cycling from Exeter to the 3' end (in Oxford)!

RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) considerably expand the information content of the genome and can determine the lifespan, localization and function of RNA, thereby controlling when, where and how much pro...

Estell and Łazowski et al. show that Integrator and Restrictor form distinct pathways for early attenuation of RNA polymerase II: Integrator acts at the promoter-proximal pause site, whereas Restricto...

Here Schwämmle et al. develop CRISPR reporter screens to map transcription-factor-regulatory element interactions at the Xist locus, revealing a two-step mechanism integrating developmental and X-dosage signals to initiate X-chromosome inactivation.

Wei et al. show that the primary function of m6A on the nuclear long noncoding RNA Xist, a master regulator of X inactivation, is to promote RNA degradation. Xist turnover is mediated by the nuclear e...

Gene regulation in oocytes relies heavily on poly(A) tail-length changes. Here, the authors develop PAL-AI, a neural network model that predicts tail-length changes, identifies regulatory motifs, and ...

Single-cell long-read RNA sequencing enables the high-fidelity mapping of single-cell expression data from highly sequence-similar transposable elements to unique genomic loci by correcting errors fro...

The chromosomal protein SMCHD1 is a GHKL ATPase that plays important roles in epigenetic silencing, including on the inactive X chromosome (Xi) and at the D4Z4 macrosatellite linked to regulation of D...

Nature - Ku limits RNA-induced innate immunity to allow Alu-expansion in primates

It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of Professor Béla Novák

This post provides tips for designing a prime editing experiment, from pegRNA design, PE tool selection, and choice of DNA sequence to edit.