Nucleus and gene regulation.

www.sciencedirect.com At the close of a 1973 meeting on Chromosome Structure and Function, an observer commented that chromosomes resembled ‘‘a bad day at a macaroni factory’’ [1]. But things change. Only a few months later nucleosomes were discovered and within just a few more years it began to be appreciated that the nucleus is organized as functionally distinct domains. Even the regions between the chromosomes started to become interesting. Today, we see the nucleus as among the most dynamic centers of the cell, and the extant parts list has reached mind-numbing levels. Many current descriptions of the molecular events underlying a particular nuclear process require the use of so many protein acronyms per sentence as to hardly leave room for verbs and conjunctions. This is, of course, a good thing for cell biology (if not language).