Histone H2A.Z Subunit Exchange Controls MemoryDecember 17, 2014Memory is one fancy cellular function that seems to be the niche of the epigenome. Through it a cell can remember its identity and past exposures. But what about that other type of memory? Ya know, neuroepigenetic memory. We’ve already seen that histone methylation has a role in long-term memories and altered histone acetylation (H4K12) is involved […]
Vitamin C Promotes ESC Self-Renewal by Modulating miRNA ExpressionDecember 16, 2014We all know “an apple a day, keeps the doctor away”, but it requires a lot of discipline to ensure that our diet contains enough vitamins. This holds especially true for the daily vitamin C uptake. Unfortunately, humans (and – for some mysterious reason – guinea pigs) lost the ability to synthesize this now essential […]
Alpha-ketoglutarate: Small Metabolite With Big Influence on Stem Cell PluripotencyDecember 15, 2014Many of us go through the morning ritual of picking up store-brewed coffee, although we could just as easily make it ourselves. Most mammalian cells feel the same about glutamine, which they require in abundance, even though glutamine is a non-essential amino acid. Now, stem cell researchers from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center show that glutamine […]
Dynamic Pseudouridylation of ncRNA and mRNADecember 15, 2014Pseudouridine (Ψ) is not only the most abundant post-translational modification (PTM) of RNA in all organisms, but it is also amongst the first discovered, way back in the futuristic 50’s, where it was deemed the 5th nucleotide of RNA. Ψ doesn’t discriminate against cellular functions or evolutionary distinct species. And while studied intently in rRNA […]
Epigenetic Exploitation of Host Cells by VirusesDecember 14, 2014Exploitation is a common theme in all fields of biology and viruses are no exception. But now it seems that viruses are up to some creative tricks when it comes to keeping a low profile in preparation for their full attack and sneaking out a few infections, a process known as viral latency. While DNA methylation may function as […]