m6a RNA methylation: the implications for health and disease

The recent resurgence of interest in m6a has been spurred by some intriguing findings detailing the effects and dynamics of this epigenetic modification. The m6a modification is a highly reactive and fluid modification which can respond rapidly to a broad variety of stimuli, and translate these signals into cellular activity. The little information that has been established on its functional capacity has opened up many new avenues of research and has tremendous implications for several fields of study. Here we outline the breakthroughs which have led to the resurgence of interest in this modification and discuss the effects and potential they represent in terms of control in the immune system, viral replication and infection, as well as the occurrence and progression of cancer

Sirtuins, bioageing, and cancer

The Sirtuins are a family of orthologues of yeast Sir2 found in a wide range of organisms from bacteria to man. They display a high degree of conservation between species, in both sequence and function, indicative of their key biochemical roles. Sirtuins are heavily implicated in cell cycle, cell division, transcription regulation, and metabolism, which places the various family members at critical junctures in cellular metabolism. Typically, Sirtuins have been implicated in the preservation of genomic stability and in the prolongation of lifespan though many of their target interactions remain unknown. Sirtuins play key roles in tumourigenesis, as some have tumour-suppressor functions and others influence tumours through their control of the metabolic state of the cell. Their links to ageing have also highlighted involvement in various age-related and degenerative diseases. Here, we discuss the current understanding of the role of Sirtuins in age-related diseases while taking a closer look at their roles and functions in maintaining genomic stability and their influence on telomerase and telomere function

Let's talk about love: why other people have such bad taste. By Carl Wilson. New York: Bloomsbury, 2014. 243 pp. ISBN 978-1-4411-6677-7

No abstract available

Knowledge Brokerage in action in European Cities: key insights from five succesful knowledge brokerage initiatives

The Informed Cities Initiative applied the theory of knowledge brokerage to the field of urban sustainability, in a research project funded by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme. This brochure is one of the project’s outputs; it reports the findings from five European case studies, using data collected via structured questionnaires and follow-up telephone interviews with key figures in the brokerage process in the case study cities

Review of: Mark Slobin (2011) Folk Music: A Very Short Introduction

No abstract available

Dancing to the same beat

There is a longstanding historical and cultural relationship between Congo and Cuba via the slave trade and the ‘return’ of Cuban music to Africa. Do historic connections enable contemporary musicians from both worlds to recognise similarities in each other’s music

Institutions and Total Factor Productivity Convergence

The paper examines the effect that institutions have on Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth. This is done by creating a TFP gap between the leader and each of the following countries. The global leaders used are the USA and an average of OECD members. The coefficient on the gap measures each country's ability to learn or absorb new technology from the more advanced leader. The results show that institutions do not seem to have as significant a role in TFP growth as other literature has suggested. The most influential variables are country-specific factors: this would indicate that a one size fits all model will not help developing nations to catchup. When institution variables were added to the model they manage to only explain 31 per cent of TFP difference. This implies that there is still a large portion of TFP growth that is random and not explicable using current economic models.

The Distribution of Property Level Mortgage Arrears

This economic letter uses new micro loan-level data from Irish banks to gain a better understanding of the financial difficulties in the Irish mortgage sector. The availability of these data provide a more granular view of borrower distress and clarifies mortgage arrears within the participating institutions. The letter generates a two-by- two matrix of negative equity and arrears, to identify the distribution of mortgage distress. This analysis finds that the majority of borrowers are current on their principal mortgage repayments. It also finds that while a large portion of borrowers may be in negative equity only 7 per cent of these borrowers are also in arrears.