GABA Keeps up an Appetite for Life
The neuropeptides NPY and AgRP play a vital role in the maintenance of energy homeostasis. In this issue, Palmiter and colleagues show that mice with AgRP-ablated neurons don’t feed, because these neurons no longer provide GABA signaling input to the parabrachial nucleus in the brainstem. Preview by Dietrich and Horvath.

Damaged Gut Epithelium Calls in Stem Cell Support
Gut epithelia is in a state of constant self-renewal due to stresses associated with digestion. Edgar and colleagues now report that damaged gut tissue in flies produces cytokines, which activate Jak/Stat signaling in intestinal stem cells. The cells respond by dividing and differentiation, thereby ensuing regeneration of the gut. Preview by Conder and Knoblich.

Actin’ like a Ratchet in Dorsal Closure
In fly embryogenesis, an opening in the developing epidermis is sealed by a process called dorsal closure. Brunner and colleagues show that cells that fill the opening produce a pulsing force that pulls on the surrounding tissue. Closure begins when a supracellular actin cable forms around the opening, acting like a ratchet. Preview by Rauzi and Lecuit.

Mitochondrial Links to Genomic Instability in Aging
Watch and listen as Dan Gottschling takes you on a brief, personally guided tour of his lab's discovery of a mitochondria-based impact on nuclear genomic instability during aging. See also the paper by Veatch et al.

A New Regulator of Asymmetric Cell Division in Plant Cells
Like in animals, asymmetric cell division is a key component of multiple essential processes in plant development and physiology. However, plants use fundamentally different molecules and mechanisms to regulate polarity, and so far we know mainly about cell-extrinsic mechanisms. Dominique Bergmann and colleagues now report the discovery of a protein that regulates cell-intrinsic polarity in plant cells. See also the Minireview by Menke and Scheres.

In this PaperClip, Dr. Fabiola Rivas speaks with Dr. Dominique Bergmann about the discovery of BASL, a new polarity factor in plant cells.

You can listen directly by clicking on the player above.

In this Review, Jennifer Phillips and Victor Corces examine the evidence that CTCF is a master regulator of higher-order chromatin architecture.

CTCF: Master Weaver of the Genome
Jennifer E. Phillips and Victor G. Corces

In our June podcast, we hear from Dr. Brigid Hogan about a new study in Cell Stem Cell that reports on a stem cell population that can repair damaged lung tissue (start 1:04), and then we learn from Dr. Josh Mendell about his study in Cell showing that delivery of a microRNA to liver tumors in mice halts tumor growth (start 10:25). And stay tuned for a conversation with Dr. Gabriel Varani about his study in Chemistry & Biology reporting that RNA may be a useful drug target (start 18:41).

You can listen directly by clicking on the player above. For a complete archive of Cell Press podcasts, click here.

In this PaperClip, Dr. Connie Lee speaks with Dr. Allan Basbaum about his results on opioid receptor distribution and the implications for pain therapy.

You can listen directly by clicking on the player above. For a complete list of Cell PaperClips, click here.