Life Science

It is generally thought that the inactive X chromosome (Xi) in female cells is silenced through methylation of CpG islands. This paper demonstrates that on a global level the Xi is actually hypomethylated and the active X is hypermethylated. I haven't made it all the way through the paper, but it seemed controversial enough to post now.

This paper reveals that smelling nutrients shortens the life-span extending effects of caloric-restriction in fruit flies. Although caloric restriction to increase life-span is not common practice right now in humans, it is interesting to think that smell could be involved in determining how long we live.

This article proposes a novel model for regulating organ size. It also describes the differences between organ size regulation in pancreas and liver. I'd be interested to know what a person with more stem cell bakground than me thinks of this paper.

The current issue of Cell is a review issue all about epigenetics and chromatin. Lots of reviews, but it looks like an easy way to get up to speed on this hot field.

UCSF BMS Journal Club paper presented on 2-15-07.

UCSF BMS Journal Club paper presented on 2-15-07.

This cool paper shows cell-to-cell transmission of retroviruses in living cells for the first time, and they have cool movies to prove it. Even if you don't read the paper or care about retroviruses, check out the great movies in the supplemental materials.

This news feature is a must read for anyone doing cell culture work. It outlines the serious problem of cell line cross-contamination, and discusses the serious problem of mischaracterized cell lines. I was completely shocked at how common this problem is, even in the NCI-60 cell lines! Be sure to read the other two stories that it links to.

A new gene-based microarray diagnostic for breast cancer, called MammaPrint (yes, that's really the name they chose), was just approved by the FDA. This test will compete along with Genomic Health's Oncotype DX. The FDA is now determining whether these types of diagnotics should be regulated like medical devices, including extended clinical trials. While it seems like they should have more oversight, such trials could add a decade or more for such predictive tests to hit the market.

This paper in the latest issue of Cancer Cell describes the interplay of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and p38. They do some nice experiments showing this interaction, but they jump around between different cell types. I am working on something related to this work and metabolism, so I thought I would pass this article along.