Recent studies reported here at Epigenie have identified N6-methyladenosine (m6A) as a highly dynamic RNA modification that influences all aspects of RNA biology. Furthermore, an interesting study in mouse and human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) has indicated a role for N6-methyladenosine in the switch between ESC pluripotency and differentiation. Cool stuff indeed, but whate regulates N6-methyladenosine deposition […]
- Pluripotent Stem Cell
Towards Bioprinting Organs with Human Stem Cells
Printing has come a long way since the days of Johannes Gutenberg and his famous press. Nowadays, we are printing plaster casts for broken bones, replacement parts for space stations and now, a new study shows us that we are well on our way to be able to print human organs. This version of printing, […]
CRISPR Hack Enhances Stem Cell Differentiation
From horses in the farmyard to yeast in beer production, human beings have a long history of putting nature’s gifts to work. This can also be said of CRISPR technology, which utilizes a Cas9 DNA endonuclease and a guide RNA to target and destroy specific DNA sites. Nature had intended a role for CRISPR in bacterial […]
Stem Cell Reprogramming – Leaner, Quicker, Cheaper, Better
“More for less” is a phrase that generally gets most people excited, and scientists trying to make induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are no exception. The reprogramming of somatic cells to generate iPSCs aims to bring patient-specific cell replacement therapies to the masses, but the process currently suffers from obstacles common to new technologies – […]
Mass-tering the Stem Cell Reprogramming Process
Chaotic, uncoordinated, and seemingly without rhyme or reason…no, it’s not the daily stampede towards the barista for your first coffee of the day; rather it’s the words used to describe the early stochastic phases of reprogramming differentiated cells into induced pluripotent stem cells. To bring a little order to the chaos, researchers from the laboratory […]