REGENERATIVE BIOLOGY: The Body Electric
In a paper that could help bring the study of bioelectricity into the mainstream of 21st century science, Forsyth Institute researchers have identified a protein that serves as a natural source of electricity. By manipulating the protein, an ion transporter, Dany Adams (shown), Michael Levin, and Alessio Masi were able to induce frog tadpoles to regrow tails at a stage of development when such regrowth is typically not possible. The findings, which appear in the Feb. 28 online Development, could lead to a whole new way to repair and regrow injured spinal cords and other damaged tissue.

EPIGENETICS: The Wrapping, Not Contents, Makes the Difference
In cells, the histone packaging of DNA controls access to the underlying genes. HMS researchers and their colleagues have discovered the latest surprising player in the elaborate cast of enzymes that writes, reads, and erases molecular tags on the histone proteins. In some of the latest studies, appearing online Feb. 22 in Cell, researchers in the lab of Yang Shi and others have discovered an enzyme family that erases a histone mark thought to lock genes in the on position. Problems with these erasers are implicated in X-linked mental retardation and cancer cell dedifferentiation.

ONCOLOGY: Spelling Cancer
Recent studies in cancer genomics have begun to characterize the genetic aberrations in a wide range of tumor types and have uncovered new targets for therapy. But translating these findings into the clinic requires a different approach, since sequencing entire genomes is expensive and time-consuming. In a paper published in the March Nature Genetics, a team led by Levi Garraway demonstrates a technique that provides a quick read on the mutations in cancer genomes. The method could be used to study large sets of tumors and to support the use of emerging targeted therapies in patients.