Cell

14 February, 2013
Volume 152, Issue 4

Volume 152, Issue 4

On the cover: Based on genome-wide screens for adaptive alleles that arose during recent human evolution, Kamberov et al. (pp. 691–702) introduce into mice a variant of the human Ectodysplasin receptor, which originated in central China 30,000 years ago and leads to a single amino acid change. The mice exhibit altered hair thickness and mammary and sweat gland morphology, and these effects mirror differences observed in people according to their Ectodysplasin receptor genotype. A companion paper by Grossman et al. (pp. 703–713) presents a compendium of hundreds of potential adaptive variants as revealed from the analysis of data from the 1000 Genomes Project, providing a roadmap for understanding human biological history and modern day variability. Artwork by Sigrid Knemeyer.

» Microbiome and host health
» Mitochondria
» Genes, circuits, and behavior
» Immunometabolism
» Cancer epigenomics
» Human evolution
» Stem cells for modeling and treating disease
Click here to find out about these topics and our Cell Symposia series.

Coming February 28th

» CRISPR interference
» E3 battles in circadian timing
» New job for jumonji

Review Issue: Human Disease

Editorial Openings

Most-Read Papers

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Cell 2011 Impact Factor: 32.403
Source: © Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Reports (2012)

Hallmarks of Cancer Panel Discussion

Hallmarks of Cancer Panel Discussion, "Translational Cancer Research: A Coming Crisis?" is now available.

Panelists Sandra Horning, Lynda Chin, Richard Gilbertson, and Bob Weinberg offer important insights into the opportunities and challenges for translational research in the context of cancer hallmarks.

Watch now for free!

Announcing Stem Cell Reports

Stem Cell Reports is a new open access journal from the ISSCR and Cell Press. Stem Cell Reports is currently accepting submissions for the first issue in June 2013.

Parasites: From single-celled to multicellular, these tiny organisms can be a nuisance or fatal, or somewhere in between.

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Interviews
Videos
SnapShots

Xenobiotics Shape Microbiome

Peter Turnbaugh shows gut microbes are rapidly affected by host-targeted drugs.

MeCP2 Recognizes 5hmC

Nathaniel Heintz explains how MeCP2 can bind to both 5hmC and 5mC, with implications for Rett syndrome.

Blood Retina Barrier Plasticity

Jeremy Nathans characterizes Norrin's role in maintaining the blood retina barrier.

Listen to more PaperClips.

On-Board Energy for Axonal Transport
Saudou and colleagues
January 31, 2013

Tumorigenesis through Dedifferentiation
Greten and colleagues
January 17, 2013

Hot Spots for De Novo Germline Mutation
Sebat and colleagues
December 21, 2012

View more PaperFlicks.

p38 MAPK Signaling
Natalia Trempolec, Natalia Dave-Coll, and Angel R. Nebreda

Selective Autophagy
Meiyan Jin, Xu Liu, and Daniel J. Klionsky

Viral and Eukaryotic Protein Fusogens
Sebastien Igonet and Felix A. Rey

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p38 MAPK Substrates
Natalia Trempolec, Natalia Dave-Coll, and Angel R. Nebreda

NEW! Spotlight on China:
Informational Supplement to Immunity

Cell Press is proud to bring you Spotlight on China. This informational supplement captures the ongoing progress in immunology research in China.

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Free access made possible by: The Chinese Society for Immunology, CNBG, GlaxoSmithKline, Sino Biological, Inc.

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Issue Highlights

RESEARCH

Modeling Human Evolution

Two studies uncover intriguing human adaptive traits, demonstrating the ability to go from an unbiased genome scan to hypotheses of human evolution via a new mouse model.

Articles by Kamberov, Sabeti et al. and Grossman, Sabeti et al.

Preview by Vohr and Green

RESEARCH

Branching Microtubule Nucleation

Visualizing microtubules in meiotic Xenopus egg extracts reveals branching nucleation from the sides of existing microtubules.

Article by Vale et al.

Preview by Zheng and Iglesias

RESEARCH

Longevity in a Cold Climate

A cold-sensitive ion channel detects temperature drops in the environment and actively promotes longevity in worms.

Article by Xu et al.

Preview by Conti and Hansen

RESEARCH

Clonal Evolution in CLL

Discerning evolutionary patterns of distinct clones enables a temporal ordering of mutations in CLL, revealing the association of clonal evolution with chemotherapy and linking the presence of subclonal driver mutations with adverse clinical outcomes.

Article by Wu et al.

Cell PaperFlicks

PaperFlicks Modeling Recent Human Evolution in Mice by Expression of a Selected EDAR Variant
Pardis Sabeti and colleagues describe their analysis of human sequence data from the 1000 Genomes Project to reveal hundreds of potential adaptive variants. In a second study, the authors engineered mice to express an allele of the human Ectodysplasin receptor, which originated in China ~30,000 years ago, to model recent human evolution.

PaperFlicks Tit-for-Tat: Type VI Secretion System Counterattack during Bacterial Cell-Cell Interactions
John Mekalanos and colleagues describe their surprising findings of the bacterial swordplay that occurs when P. aeruginosa is attacked by a type VI secretion system (T6SS) from a neighboring cell of another species. The bacterium under siege mounts its own lethal T6SS counterattack from the point where it was targeted.

Featured Article free

SMARCA3, a Chromatin-Remodeling Factor, Is Required for p11-Dependent Antidepressant Action
Paul Greengard describes how a combined approach utilizing biochemical, structural, cellular, and behavioral analyses in mice revealed that SMARCA3 is a nuclear target for p11 and that formation of a complex consisting of p11, Annexin A2, and SMARCA3 is required for the cellular and behavioral effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.

In this issue's interview, Dr. Greengard discusses the hope that this study may lead to the development of improved antidepressants.

This PaperClip features the musical theme, "the phoenix - 1st sonata for helena in style of 303" (the phoenix) / CC BY 3.0.

Have 5 minutes to learn about cutting-edge research in Cell? Browse our PaperClip archive.

Leading Edge Featured Article free

The Sweet Spot: Understanding Insulin Resistance
Jerry Olefsky discusses the the heterogeneous etiology of insulin resistance, focusing in particular on the roles of inflammation, lipid metabolism, and the gastrointestinal microbiota.

The Origins and Drivers of Insulin Resistance
Jerrold Olefsky

Cell Podcast

Podcast From Appetite Control to Molecular Networks
February 2013

In this month's Cell Podcast, we learn:

» How understanding neural control of appetite might help fight obesity, with Tamas Horvath (0:00) (Trends in Neurosciences)
» How elemental design principles can provide insight into biological processing, with Wendell Lim (8:42) (Molecular Cell)
» Plus, sample a selection of the hottest new papers from Cell Press (16:12)

Music for the podcast includes "TinyJazz" (axjack) / CC BY 3.0.

You can listen directly by clicking on the player above. For a complete list of Cell Press podcasts, you can subscribe via iTunes or view the archive.

Cell PaperClip from January 17th

Xenobiotics Shape the Physiology and Gene Expression of the Active Human Gut Microbiome
Peter Turnbaugh describes how the gene expression and metabolic activity of a distinctive set of active gut microbes are rapidly affected by host-targeted drugs and antibiotics.

In this issue's interview, Turnbaugh highlights the unintended consequences of xenobiotics and indicates the microbiota as another factor to consider in developing personalized medicines.