Uncovering Neural Differentiation Step-by-StepJanuary 9, 2015The Laetoli footprints made by humans 3.6 million years ago in Tanzania are perhaps the most famous footprints of all time. However, more recent footprints have been uncovered by the laboratories of Yechiel Elkabetz and Alexander Meissner. These epigenetic footprints represent each “step” in the process of neuronal differentiation from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), […]
Smoking Damages the Epigenome for a LONG timeJanuary 8, 2015While we all know that smoking is bad for you, and even your baby, it seems that the effects last longer than you may think. Researchers from Imperial College London investigate and show that while there are epigenomic benefits to giving up smoking, there are also some changes that persist for what seems to be a lifetime. Previously, […]
Plotting the Path to Pluripotency Uncovers Key Role of DNA MethylationDecember 29, 2014If you’ve read our recent piece ‘Reprogramming Roadmap Reveals Fuzzy New Stem Cells‘ you’ll already know how “Project Grandiose” [1, 2], the brainchild of Andras Nagy, identified a new pluripotent state (the F-class stem cell). While the discovery of this new class is thrilling, the main purpose of this grand project was to uncover the […]
A “Grandiose” Project Provides a Fuzzy New Future for iPSC ResearchDecember 17, 2014Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSCs) research burst on to the scene in 2006 with a paper which has since spawned thousands of studies and has proved to be a quantum leap for regenerative medicine. This reached a crescendo this year when a Japanese patient became the first recipient of retinal cells generated from iPSCs made […]
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 […]
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 […]
Reprogramming to Pluripotency: Lessons from the EggDecember 8, 2014Have you ever wish you could just clone yourself? How much more work you’d be able to get done in a day! While creating an exact copy of yourself that knows everything you do is still very much in the realms of science fiction, cloning human cells is a reality. The first big leap came […]
Understanding How H3K4me1 Affects the Ageing Stem CellDecember 4, 2014Even though we don’t want to admit it, we all see changes in ourselves as the years pass by. A few more inches round the waistline here, and a little less muscle tone there, all due to a little less exercise and a little more food and drink! But what changes occur in our stem […]
Unwinding the Chromatin–Cancer ConnectionDecember 4, 2014There’s no denying that epigenetics and cancer are intimately intertwined, and that untangling this connection is vitally important in expanding our understanding of cancer initiation and development. Epigenetic signals are reversible regulators of gene expression and as such, make compelling targets in the study and treatment of cancer. As high-throughput data analysis becomes the norm, entire panels […]
