Remodelling chromatin with RNA
Article Abstract:
Nearly all the genes on the X chromosome in female mammals are expressed from only one of the two copies, and the other X chromosome is transcriptionally silenced. However, the signal for this X-inactivation has been obscure since its discovery. The region of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) responsible to an area including the Xist gene has been narrowed down by recent mapping data. Two groups now independently show that the Xist gene does have the properties of the expected signal. This means that the chromosome is silenced by a coat of the ribonucleic acid encoded by the Xist gene, implying that the sequence of the silenced DNA may be largely irrelevant.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1997
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Worlds of difference
Article Abstract:
People perceive the same colors differently due to the variation of one nucleotide in the X chromosome. This finding is important to psychology because it provides a genetic basis for assigning people to distinct phenomenal realms. Three research groups used tissue culture to express genes for the opsins of the three normal retinal cones. The first group began with chemically synthesized genes, while the second group used complementary DNA clones derived from human retinae. The third research group examined the DNA of 50 color-normal males.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1992
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Sexual orientation and the X
Article Abstract:
A recent preliminary study suggested the possibility of a gene on the X chromosome that influences men to become homosexual. The study was weighted to locate any X-chromosome similarities among gay brothers, thereby limiting its value for generalization to all gay men. The study investigated 40 pairs of homosexual brothers and 14 of their mothers, finding that 33 pairs, rather than the expected 20, inherited the same alleles for markers at Xq28.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1993
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