Inroads into silence

Governments make inroads into medical self-regulation.

DegrAAAded into Silence

In fission yeast, RNA interference (RNAi)-dependent heterochromatin formation silences transgenes inserted at centromeres. In this issue, Bühler et al. (2007) demonstrate that the RNAi machinery directly targets transgene transcripts. Furthermore, they link transgene silencing to a protein complex resembling the TRAMP complex of budding yeast, which promotes transcript degradation via the exoso...

Floral fragrance. New inroads into an old commodity.

The Kennedy Leigh Centre for Horticultural Research and The Otto Warburg Center for Biotechnology in Agriculture, Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel (A.V., D.W.); Newe Ya’ar Research Center, ARO, Ramat Yishay 30095, Israel (E.L.); and Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University o...

Into Great Silence without VGLUT3

The vesicular glutamate transporters VGLUT1 and VGLUT2 fill synaptic vesicles with glutamate, an essential prerequisite for glutamatergic transmission in the CNS. In contrast, the third isoform, VGLUT3, is not confined to glutamatergic neurons, and its function has remained enigmatic. In this issue of Neuron, Seal et al. show that mice lacking VGLUT3 are profoundly deaf and exhibit nonconvulsiv...

Dexmedetomidine: An Adjuvant Making Large Inroads into Clinical Practice

The introduction of newer more selective α(-2) adrenergic agonist, dexmedetomidine has made a revolution in the field of anesthesia owing to its varied application. The aim of the current review is to highlight the various clinical and pharmacological aspects of dexmedetomidine in daily routine practice of anesthesiology and intensive care besides its potential role in other clinical specialtie...