August 2006

• Measuring growth

  A new optical-tweezers-based method can be used to observe the assembly dynamics of individual microtubules at molecular resolution.

  Original research paper: Nature,
  (25 June 2006); doi:10.1038/nature04928

• A modifier of motility

  Arginylation of -actin prevents filaments from aggregating and facilitates the formation of lamellae.

  Original research paper: Science,
  (22 June 2006); doi:10.1126/science.1129344

• Compare and contrast

  Comparative oncogenomics has enabled the identification of an important new gene in metastatic melanoma - Nedd9 (neural precursor cell expressed, developmentally downregulated 9).

  Original research paper: Cell 125, 1269-1281
  (2006)

• Circuit maps for the cell

  A global analysis of crosstalk between signalling pathways indicates that many external stimuli converge on a small number of interaction mechanisms that determine context-dependent signalling.

  Original research paper: Nat. Cell Biol. 8, 571-580
  (2006)