In cats, the fur pigmentation gene is X-linked, and depending on which copy of the X chromosome each cell chooses to leave active, either an orange or black coat color results. X inactivation only ...

About one-quarter of the hundreds of genes on the inactivated X chromosome in XX cells manage to escape that silencing, at least some of the time. When X-linked genes evade silencing on the “inactive” ...

Each mouse line used a tissue-specific promoter to drive Cre, and the red and green fluorescent lines were bred to generate heterozygous females containing one of each X chromosome. The team analyzed ...

However, the process of X-inactivation is not complete. As many as 20% of the genes on the inactivated X chromosome may still be used, meaning that cells in women have more of these genes than ...

In each female cell, one X chromosome must be inactivated—crumpled up in such a way that the genetic code it contains cannot be read out. RNA plays an important role in this inactivation process.

The overlooked influence of this genetic library could be a key reason why females live longer than males and exhibit slower ...

Women are more prone to autoimmune diseases due to genetic, hormonal, and environmental factors. We got in touch with an expert who explains how the X chromosome, estrogen levels, and lifestyle ...