7.342:Discussion

Post discussion, questions, or comments about the course material here.

Week 1: Introduction

Week 2: Chromatin Functions to Define Cell State

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Questions about the first paper:

I don't really understand why ATV genes are sensitive to digestion. The paper says the globin genes are active, and therefore more have an altered subunit structure, which is more susceptible to pancreatic DNAse digestion. I don't understand how this fits with less active RNA tumour virus genes also being digested.

Question about the second paper:

In figure 4C, the NPCs show a very clear line on the gel electrophoresis, which is not seen on the ESCs. This is present both before and after digestion with micrococcal nuclease. What does this line represent? It suggests some undigestible element of the nucleus, present in NPCs, and not in ESCs. I'd investigate this further.