Picked this up from my university's subscription to the journal science.... Progress just keeps on pushing it!
I'm unsure about imminst's policy on posting fulltexts, so here's the abstract:
Mitch Leslie
Document URL: http://sageke.scienc...ull/2006/9/nf14
Cell biologists once dismissed lamins as the backside of the nuclear membrane, but within the last 10 years, the proteins have hit the big time. Scientists have identified many new functions for lamins: The proteins help repair DNA, control gene activity, and spur precursor fat cells to grow up. Faulty lamins cause at least 12 diseases, and researchers have been discovering new mutations every year. Although lamin-related diseases remain untreatable, recent findings suggest that certain cancer drugs might alleviate symptoms in one type of illness. New work suggests that lamin defects might also underlie aging.
