Sometimes in science there are unexpected threads tying seemingly very different things together. Unraveling the knots in these threads can lead to new insights into important developmental processes and mechanisms of disease. My lab studies epigenomic and transcription factors including a molecule called histone variant H3.3 (more here on H3.3). H3.3 binds to the actual […]
What do sperm have to do with brain tumors? Read More »
I’ve always got stem cells on the brain. What’s on your mind about stem cells? There’s a ton going on so what specifically has got your attention? What are you thinking about? What has you excited? Depressed? Angry? Hopeful? Headlines from the last few weeks: Nuclear transfer ES cells compared to iPS cells Trounson moves
TGIF stem cells on the brain: what’s on your mind? Read More »
Is the new multi-billion dollar NIH Brain Initiative a stroke of madness or genius? For some non-brain researchers scrambling for funding from NIH, it could well just give them a stroke. At the same time as the NIH and Obama are asking for $4.5 billion (yes, with a b) for the new “big science” Brain
Multi-Billion Dollar NIH Brain Initiative A Stroke of Genius or Madness? Read More »
Let’s putting on our “thinking caps”….er, extra brains, get our geek on, and have some fun imagining where stem cell technology may lead us in the coming century. Unhappy with the one brain you have? Wouldn’t it be amazing to have a 2nd one too? A new one? Researchers have grown mini brain-like structures from
What would you do with an extra brain? Read More »
In a first for the field, scientists have used human pluripotent stem cells to grow miniature brain-like structures (brain organoids) in a dish in a lab (see beautiful image of one of these “mini-brains” at left from the paper). This exciting, pioneering feat, accomplished by a team from the Austrian Academy of Science in Vienna
If I only had a brain: brain organoids from pluripotent stem cells Read More »
It has been fascinating in the last year to see the unfolding story of mutations in histone variant H3.3 in pediatric glioblastoma and related tumors. It seems amazing that in just over a year, a whole new area of cancer research has rapidly progressed. As I discussed in a recent post, histone H3.3 is a
Allis lab Science paper on histone H3.3 in pediatric brain cancer Read More »
Why are most brain cancers so difficult to treat leaving the unfortunate patients who suffer from them in dire circumstances so often? The short answer is that we don’t know why. This lack of understanding is like a wall standing between the cures and us for these patients. We have to climb or knockdown this
Brain cancer: why histones including H3.3 are so important Read More »
How often do our preconceived notions make us miss new discoveries as scientists? I fear this happens very often. What got me thinking about closed and open minds was of course inspired by my dog, Elvis. I was walking her very early one morning last week as I often do out here in Davis, CA
Mystery sculpture: how the brain eats up new things Read More »
Why doesn’t the brain fix itself using stem cells the way other organs do? Earlier this week I was lecturing to students here at UC Davis on stem cells. One of the points I raised was that most if not all of our organs have a compliment of stem cells that are there to maintain
Stem cells on the brain: why can’t the brain just fix itself? Read More »
Humans have big brains, right? In fact, they are downright supersized. But is that always such a good thing? As it turns out, no. Size matters, but bigger is not always better for brains at least. When I was in high school, my biology teacher had us do the requisite frog dissection and offered extra
When it comes to brains, bigger is not always better Read More »