NEUROLOGY:
Genetics of Huntington’s Further Unwrapped
Researchers have been struggling to understand how a defect in a single protein
produces Huntington’s disease. Jang-Ho Cha, Caroline Benn, and colleagues
have recently hit upon a surprising answer. They argue that mutant huntingtin
produces Huntington’s hallmark symptoms—the springlike, kinetic,
twisted movements—by a kind of relaxing of the DNA. The findings appear
in the Oct. 15 Journal of Neuroscience.
THE SCHOOLS:
HSPH State of the School Address Offers 10-Year Retrospective
In the Oct. 8 State of the School Address at HSPH, outgoing dean Barry
Bloom (left) reviewed his 10 years at the helm and looked toward the
arrival of incoming dean Julio Frenk. During the event, James Ware (right)
gave a report on the past year’s changes in HSPH leadership and
educational programs.
GENETICS:
Noncoding RNA Recruits Factors to Silence X-chromosomeRecently,
small noncoding RNAs, such as microRNAs, have garnered a lot of attention
for their roles in gene regulation. Less familiar are the large noncoding
RNAs, which stand to play an equally important role in gene regulation
and chromatin remodeling. In the Oct. 31 Science,
HMS researcher Jeannie Lee (left) and postdoctoral fellow Jing (Crystal)
Zhao (right), along with their co-authors, describe a new large noncoding
RNA, transcribed from the X-chromosome, that they call RepA. By directly
interacting with the polycomb complex, which methylates histones, RepA
facilitates the epigenetic silencing of the X-chromosome during female
embryogenesis.
ONCOLOGY:
Talks Toe Edge of Cancer Research
Researchers have been targeting the kinome for cancer therapy for 20
years, with more than 10 approved kinase inhibitors and nearly 100
in clinical trials today. But just as these targeted therapies are
becoming familiar territory, entirely new frontiers are opening up.
At Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s first annual Cancer
Symposium, titled “Defining New Frontiers to Eradicate Cancer,” 27
speakers, including Lewis Cantley (left) and Pier Paolo Pandolfi, gave
attendees a glance at the outer reaches of cancer research. Their talks,
which amounted to a three-day collaborative conversation about cutting-edge
science, ran the gamut from new targets, triggers, and technologies
to novel translational methodologies.
Copyright 2008 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College