Stem Cells Take the Sting out of RadiotherapyFebruary 11, 2015Radiotherapy is an important and effective tool in the war against cancer, but its use for treating brain tumors brings with it unwanted side effects that can cause long term suffering to the patient. Radiation induces the depletion of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) which leads to the loss of the protective myelin sheath that covers […]
Culture Shock: The Transition to Transformed Cell Alters the MethylomeFebruary 10, 2015Whether it’s making the monumental move to high school, switching jobs or experiencing the culture shock from moving countries, adjusting to a new environment isn’t always easy. Often we have to make concessions and tradeoffs, the extent of which is very much dependent on the type of environment we find ourselves in. It turns out […]
Turn on Your Genes with a Helping Hand from CRISPR-Cas9February 10, 2015We all know that the genome editing superhero CRISPR-Cas9 is a master of modifying the genome, but a recent paper from Zhang lab shows that it is more than just a one-trick pony. This latest research boosts the previously developed CRISPR-Cas9 transcriptional activators both in terms of the level of gene induction and in the […]
Cell Organelles Trip the Light Fantastic with OptogeneticsFebruary 10, 2015The future is looking bright for optogenetics – a technique which uses light to control cellular processes. Following on from a previous illuminating study covered here at Epigenie (Shedding Light on Stem Cell Therapy for Parkinson’s with Optogenetics), another group of researchers have utilized optogenetics in a novel manner – the light-mediated control of sub-cellular […]
SynBioLGDB: A Gateway for Logical BiologyFebruary 9, 2015Electrical engineering is a strong contender for the central analogy of synthetic biology. Synthetic biologists often think of electrical circuits when designing gene networks, and logic gates are central to the metaphor. Biological logic gates can be difficult to design from scratch, however, and they can’t just be bought at Radio Shack, even before it […]
