Latest Research
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07 Jan
Qiangfeng Cliff Zhang at the School of…
In recent years, RNA has rapidly emerged as an important target in drug discovery. Accumulating evidence indicates that RNA is not merely a carrier of genetic information, but can also fold into complex and well-defined three-dimensional structures and engage in highly specific “lock-and-key” interactions with small molecules, thereby regulating critical biological processes. The successful a...
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29 Nov
A joint team led by Wei Xie, Xukun Lu …
A joint team led by Prof. Wei Xie from the School of Life Sciences at Tsinghua University, Dr. Xukun Lu from Institute of Women, Children and Reproductive Health at Shandong University, and Dr. Yu Zhang from Institute of Reproduction and Development at Fudan University unraveled how DNA methylation is re-established after implantation in mammals. Their study, titled “Reprogramming of H3K36me2 ...
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27 Oct
Wei Xie's group uncovers EZHIP's cr…
Epigenetic information, particularly heterochromatin modifications, can be stably transmitted across cell generations, thereby maintaining cell fate stability. This phenomenon is known as "epigenetic memory." During the transition from mammalian gametes to early embryos, cell fate undergoes drastic resetting, accompanied by extensive epigenetic reprogramming. Although the reprogramming landscap...
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29 Sep
Plants that fight back: scientists eng…
Plants that fight back: scientists engineer disease-resistant cropsA modification to plant proteins helps them recognize and attack pathogens such as viruses.Crop diseases are a huge drain on our food supply. The soybean mosaic disease, for example, is a highly destructive infection that leads to billions of dollars in losses on soybean yields every year around the world. For decades, farmers h...
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15 Sep
Wei Xie’s group reports on the esta…
During early animal embryonic development, the parental genomes undergo extensive three-dimensional chromatin restructuring after fertilization. Topologically associating domains (TADs) and compartments rapidly dissolve, leaving chromatin in a highly relaxed state. The gradual reestablishment of higher-order chromatin architecture coincides with zygotic genome activation (ZGA), a highly conserv...
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06 Aug
Wei Xie’s group and Liu Lin’s group …
A joint team led by Prof. Wei Xie from the School of Life Sciences at Tsinghua University and Prof. Lin Liu from the School of Life Sciences at Nankai University uncovered a novel mechanism by which Usp17l, a gene family activated during minor zygotic genome activation (ZGA), regulates the 2-cell-like program at both the transcriptional and post-translational levels. Their study, titled "USP17L...
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26 Jul
Fan Zhou’s group uncovers DNA methylo…
DNA methylation (DNAme) plays important roles in transcriptional regulation, genomic imprinting, X chromosome inactivation, cell fate, and state transition. Several studies have revealed global reprogramming of DNAme along mammalian embryogenesis. However, a systemically integrated, technology-neutral, high resolution, cross-species analysis of DNAme-RNA expression networks during peri-implanta...
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22 Jul
Zhi John Lu’s team published an AI mo…
Recently, Zhi John Lu’s research group from the School of Life Sciences of Tsinghua University, and collaborators, published a research paper titled "RNA-ligand interaction scoring via data perturbation and augmentation modeling" in Nature Computational Science [1]. This study breaks through the limitation of traditional drug design methods that rely on three-dimensional structures. In v...
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02 Jul
Wei Xie’s group, Yu Zhang’s group an…
June 13, 2025 — Beijing, China — In a research paper entitled "H2A.Z is essential for oocyte maturation and fertility in female mouse " published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, a collaborative research team led by Wei Xie’s team from Tsinghua University, in partnership with Yu Zhang’s group from Fudan University and Yunlong Xiang’s group from Chongqing Medical University, has re...
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19 Jun
Kun Li's group at the School of Life S…
Across evolution, interactions between the sexes have been essential for reproduction and survival. Yet one longstanding mystery remains: why does a female’s interest in sociosexual interactions rise and fall with her reproductive cycle? Female interest in mating typically peaks around ovulation, driven by hormonal changes. While the hormonal influence on mating behavior has been well document...