Call with Arjun Raj

Today we call Dr Arjun Raj from UPenn to discuss cellular heterogeneity: how seemingly similar cells might be very different from each other if looked at closely. We also talk about scientific method and training; guidelines for scientist at any stage.

Please listen.

To learn more about Arjun Raj's work, visit his lab website.


Citations:
Stochastic mRNA synthesis in mammalian cells
Raj et al., PLoS Biol., October 2006.

Half dozen of one, six billion of the other: What can small- and large-scale molecular systems biology learn from one another?
Genome Research, October 2015.

Top 10 signs that a paper/field is bogus

Call with David Matus

We interview Dr David Q. Matus to discuss how studying a single cell within a simple worm informs us about cancer metastasis and might help with developing better treatments against the disease.

David recently started his own lab in the department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Stony Brook University in New York. As a post-doc in the lab of Dave Sherwood at Duke University, Dave studied the anchor cell in the worm C. elegans. The anchor cell invades by breaching the basement membrane; a process very similar to what is used by cancer cell for metastasis. David found interesting link between cell cycle and the invasion behavior. His study suggests a requirement of cell cycle arrest for membrane invasion. This interesting link could be one reason why chemotherapy, which is directed towards killing dividing cells, fails to destroy all cancer cells. Metastasizing cells due to their inhibition of cell cycle, escape chemotherapy. Understanding the properties underlying invasion could lead to developing better compounds targeting the spread of cancer cells.

Please listen.

To learn more about David, visit his lab webpage.



Citations:
Invasive Cell Fate Requires G1 Cell-Cycle Arrest and Histone Deacetylase-Mediated Changes in Gene Expression
Matus et al., Developmental Cell, October 26, 2015.

Cell division and targeted cell cycle arrest opens and stabilizes basement membrane gaps
Matus et al., Nature Communications, June 13, 2014.

December Journal Coverage

Our first Podcast!!!!

Every month we will try to assimilate interesting articles into 30 minutes of irritating and boring podcasts, full of pedantic erudite words spoken in flat monotonous tones, and comprising unnecessarily long sentences. 

This week, extended SIM(Betzig lab) and Cs-corrected cryo-EM(Stark Lab) will be discussed by Mainak. Sumeet will then talk about cardiomyocytes- recent advances and the controversies. Samata will end today's session with her discussion on the Segal lab paper on developing personalized nutrition.

Please listen to it :)




Speaker Citations:
Mainak Mustafi
Extended-resolution structured illumination imaging of endocytic and cytoskeletal dynamics.
Li et al., Science.
Structure of the E. coli ribosome–EF-Tu complex at <3 Å resolution by Cs-corrected cryo-EM
Fischer et al., Nature

Sumeet Pal Singh
No Evidence for Cardiomyocyte Number Expansion in Preadolescent Mice
Alkass et al., Cell
Cardiomyocytes Replicate and their Numbers Increase in Young Hearts
Naqvi et al., Cell
Cardiomyocyte Cell-Cycle Activity during Preadolescence
Soonpaa et al., Cell

Samata Chaudhuri
Personalized Nutrition by Prediction of Glycemic Responses
Zeevi et al., Cell.