Rewiring Stem Cell Transcriptional CircuitrySeptember 12, 2014It seems all that was needed for human stem cells to maintain their pluripotent state, was just a little transcriptional rewiring. This cellular circuitry wasn’t handled by a master electrician though, but rather a group of Cambridge area researchers. A collaboration involving the Babraham Institute, Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and the European Bioinformatics Institute, led […]
Endogenous Retroviruses Shape the Road to Stem Cell ReprogrammingSeptember 6, 2014It’s been a while now since Yamanaka and his team discovered the recipe of everlasting youth, for cells at least. Yet, the road leading from differentiated cell to pluripotency passes through largely uncharted territory. Now, Yamanaka and colleagues show that the activation of human endogenous retroviruses is a key landmark on the induced pluripotency highway. […]
Total Histone Content Contributes to Embryonic Stem Cell PluripotencySeptember 5, 2014Histones, the powerful regulators of the nucleus that can make our genetic material expand and contract faster than interest rates on the economy, are deeply involved in stem cell differentiation dynamics. But what about the total amount of histones in a cell? Until recently researchers have viewed histone content as fairly fixed, but an Italian […]
Online Stem Cell Diploma from University of Ulster 2014August 13, 2014The University of Ulster is offering an entirely online, postgraduate diploma course in Stem Cell Biology and it’s starting soon. The course is designed to allow students to break into, or advance in a career in the stem cell field. They’ve assembled a panel of international stem cell industry experts advising on the course content […]
Patient Specific iPSCs Team Up with CRISPR/Cas9August 12, 2014Some villains are so tough that it might take a few heroes to take them on. β-thalassemia is just that evil, an all too common genetic disease at the worldwide level. Caused by simple mutations in the hemoglobin beta (HBB) gene, this beast is Mendelian in nature. Which makes a perfect target for CRISPR/Cas9, a duo with […]
The Embryonic Journey of DNA Methylation DynamicsAugust 5, 2014Two recent Nature papers made big strides in understanding mammalian embryonic DNA methylation. The Meissner and Eggan team from Harvard focused in on CpG dynamics and how they compare to mice, specifically in terms of parental contribution. While the Qian and Tang team from Bejing examined how DNAm effects the epigenetic embryonic landscape in terms of histone […]
Webinar: Using CRISPR/Cas9 Technology for Editing Genes in Haematopoietic Cells and MiceJuly 29, 2014Presented by: Dr Marco Herold, Laboratory Head, Molecular Genetics of Cancer Division, The Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research Abstract: The CRISPR/Cas9 technology provides an easy and rapid way to edit genes in vitro and in vivo. Initial experimental strategies utilized a transient transfection approach to modulate genes in vitro, but this proved […]
Chromatin Packaging in Embryonic Stem Cells and SpermJuly 16, 2014Fitting all that chromatin into a tiny package is no easy ordeal, especially when pristine nuclear architecture is so crucial to things like cancer prevention. In order to learn more about the chromatin packaging of mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and sperm, a team from the University of Massachusetts Medical School laid out some high-resolution nucleosome and transcription factor […]
Cesarean Alters DNA Methylation in Infant Blood Stem CellsJuly 9, 2014There’s no denying that the process of giving birth is an unforgettable experience for those involved but now it seems the labor of love could also be important for programming an infants development. Researchers from the Karolinska Institutet (Sweden) drop some knowledge about the mechanosensitive nature of DNA methylation and show that birth via Caesarean Section (CS) […]
Keeping Up with the TET Enzyme Family and DNA DemethylationJuly 9, 2014That wacky TET enzyme family is at again, but rather than being caught in some compromising positions with DNA or cheating on Cytosine; this time our favorite enzyme family is slacking off, or as they call it ‘working smart’ and splitting up important active DNA demethylation work. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic provide novel insight into how the TET […]