Mobile DNA

Exciting update! Repbase and Dfam are being unified into a single, fully open access framework, with Repbase released under CC-0 and its core curation team joining the Dfam project. Read about this update in a newly published comment in Mobile DNA link.springer.com/article/10.118…

📢Collection open! Mobile DNA welcomes submissions to our collection 'Transposable Elements & Development' Looking at how developing systems control TEs, & how mobile genetic elements themselves shape developmental processes 👉Read more or submit here: link.springer.com/collections/cb…

"Her work reminds us that major discoveries often come from a deep understanding of a system, sustained curiosity, and the patience to follow observations wherever they lead." - Leandro Quadrana, Université Paris-Saclay

🧬Happy Transposon Day!🧬 Each year on the 16th of June we commemorate Barbara McClintock's birthdate, this year we've compiled quotes from various members of the Mobile DNA community on the life and legacy of McClintock.🌽 Check out the blog here: go.nature.com/4v2I4Hu

"Although the importance of Mendel’s work wasn’t initially recognized, McClintock’s deep insight allowed her to apply Mendelian principles to make profound advances in genetics.[...]"- Dr Henry Levin, NIH

🧬Ahead of DNA Day, celebrated on the 25th of April, the Editors-in-Chief of Mobile DNA have taken part in a Q&A to discuss the journal, how TE research relates to DNA day, and share some advice on submitting to the journal!🧬 Give it a read! go.nature.com/47XIYvj

This month’s #TransposableElements Editor’s Picks are live! Explore the latest hand-picked research from Mobile DNA. link.springer.com/journal/13100/…, the link picks featuring cutting-edge work on TE evolution, function & regulation. Fig adapted from Law & Burns, Cell Genomics (2026).

How we discriminate between self and nonself is a central question in immunology and is particularly relevant in cancer immunology, where cells that start as self can acquire features visible to the immune system as they evolve. When approaching this problem from AI/ML the impulse is to train a classifier on molecules that the immune system senses as nonself versus those from the self proteome and learn their underlying differences. In our work "How different are self and nonself?" with @andimscience, our amazing Jonathan Levine, @wbialek and great colleagues, we show viruses and self proteins are basically using the same language model, so the usual impulse is subverted. As a result, the immune system can train on self and learn sequences close to it, a kind of "overfitting". We show that in antigen databases, consistently, peptides the immune system senses are often only one mutation from self. A cancer neoantigen that is just one mutation from self is therefore not a strange antigen at all. Proud to publish this work in PRX Life with the American Physical Society. This project was a great deal of fun, opened my thinking up on the central question of our lab... 👇👇👇 @MSKCancerCenter

Henry L. Levin, Ph.D. has updated his Editor’s Picks for January with standout papers covering topics such as LINE-1 retrotransposons and other advances in genome biology. Take a look 👇 link.springer.com/journal/13100/… 📸 Figure adapted from Grinwald MF et al., Trends in Genetics, 2025.

🧬Fascinating new research exploring how transposon activity diverges among polar bear sub-populations living across different climate zones. Curious about genome evolution and climate adaptation? Don’t miss this 👇🔗 link.springer.com/article/10.118… by @AliceGodden & @SimoneImmler

Henry L. Levin, Ph.D. has updated his Editors’ Pick list with standout papers covering topics such as LINE-1 retrotransposons and other advances in genome biology. Take a look 👇 link.springer.com/journal/13100/… 📸 Figure adapted from Béguin et al., PNAS (2025).

This month’s #TransposableElements Editors’ Picks are live! Explore the latest hand-picked research from Mobile DNA📚🔗mobilednajournal.biomedcentral.com/editors-picks Featuring exciting new work on TE evolution, function & regulation. Fig credit: Kelsey MMG, Kalekar RL & Sedivy JM, Mobile DNA (2025)

New month, new #TransposableElements reading list from Henry L. Levin, Ph.D. Catch up on the latest TE papers here: link.springer.com/journal/13100/… Great resource for anyone obsessed with genomes + mobile DNA! 📖✨ Fig credit: Jin et al., Science, 2025, doi:10.1126/science.adu3433

📢Submit to our collection: Viral Mimicry🦠🧬 Focusing on unanswered questions about the evolution of viral mimicry, its role as a broad sensor of transcriptional dysregulation, & the degree to which it plays a role in inflammation in aging & diseases link.springer.com/collections/gf…

Just two weeks to go until The Mobile Genome: Genetic and physiological impacts of transposable elements There is still one week left to register for virtual attendance! Click the link for more: embl.org/about/info/cou…

🚨Collection open!🚨 Mobile DNA is calling for submissions to 'Viral Mimicry' Focussing on the evolution of viral mimicry; its role as a broad sensor of transcriptional dysregulation; and the role it plays in inflammation in aging and diseases biomedcentral.com/collections/VI…

🚀 Hot off the press: September Editors’ Picks are now live! Dive into cutting-edge research on #Retrotransposons, #CellStress, and #Proteostasis. 🔗link.springer.com/journal/13100/… 📸 Figure adapted from Rosenberg & Vabret, Trends in Cancer (2025).

📢We are delighted to be a Media Partner for The mobile genome: genetic and physiological impacts of transposable elements Conference! 🧬Details: 04-07 Nov 2025 in Heidelberg. ⌛️On-site registration closes tomorrow!⌛️ 🖥️Virtual registration: 28 Oct embl.org/about/info/cou…

🔥 Hot off the press! The August Editors’ Picks are live - discover the latest cutting-edge research in Mobile DNA 🧬 👉 mobilednajournal.biomedcentral.com/editors-picks

Open for submissions! We are excited to announce the launch of our new collection: Viral Mimicry 🦠✨ Submit your latest research exploring how viruses imitate host processes to evade immunity and regulate infection. 🔗 biomedcentral.com/collections/VI… #CallForPapers #ViralMimicry