For our next Journal Club, our summer undergraduate researcher Josh Johnson will present the following paper:
Aurora B dynamics at centromeres create a diffusion-based phosphorylation gradient. Wang E, Ballister ER, Lampson MA. J Cell Biol. 2011 Aug 22;194(4):539-49. PMID: 21844210.
For our next Journal Club, Adrianne Pigula will present the following paper:
A link between mitotic entry and membrane growth suggests a novel model for cell size control. Anastasia SD, Nguyen DL, Thai V, Meloy M, MacDonough T, Kellogg DR. J Cell Biol. 2012 Apr 2;197(1):89-104. Epub 2012 Mar 26. PMID: 22451696.
For Journal Club on Monday, June 25, Connie Peng presented the following paper:
Functional Repurposing Revealed by Comparing S. pombe and S. cerevisiae Genetic Interactions. Frost A, Elgort MG, Brandman O, Ives C, Collins SR, Miller-Vedam L, Weibezahn J, Hein MY, Poser I, Mann M, Hyman AA, Weissman JS. Cell. 2012 Jun 8;149(6):1339-52. PMID: 22682253.
The May 2012 edition of Biowire, a publication of Sigma-Aldrich, includes an interview with David Drubin about the projects in our lab looking at clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) in mammalian cells using zing finger nuclease (ZFN) technology to undertake targeted genome modification. Traditionally, CME has been studied in cells in which fluorescently-tagged components of endocytic machinery are overexpressed using exogenous constructs. Data obtained in many labs using these methods suggested that CME was highly variable. Using ZFN technology, in collaboration with Sangamo Biosciences, our lab recently showed that CME is robust and efficient in mammalian cells. The new results highlight the technical advantages of tagging genes at their endogenous loci, an approach that has been historically limited to genetically tractable organisms, such as the Drubin/Barnes Lab favorite Saccharomyces cerevisiae (budding yeast). Emerging technologies, such as ZFNs and TALENs, however, are now making this sort of precise genomic manipulation possible in animal cells, including human cells, giving us new and powerful ways of studying cellular biology.
Cellular processes should be studied as close to their natural states as possible. I suspect that, as we see more uses of zinc finger nucleases [for tagging endogenous genes], people will find that they have been inadvertently perturbing the processes that they have been studying.
David Drubin (Biowire, May 2012)
For our next Journal Club, Yansong Miao will present the following paper:
An actin-dependent mechanism for long-range vesicle transport. Schuh M. Nat Cell Biol. 2011 Oct 9;13(12):1431-6. PMID: 21983562.
For our next Journal Club, Christa Cortesio will present the following paper:
Distinct and separable activities of the endocytic clathrin-coat components Fcho1/2 and AP-2 in developmental patterning. Umasankar PK, Sanker S, Thieman JR, Chakraborty S, Wendland B, Tsang M, Traub LM. Nat Cell Biol. 2012 Apr 8. doi: 10.1038/ncb2473. PMID: 22484487.
Two weeks ago, we announced that the blog of BioTechniques Journal had selected “Grad School, I Love You (But You’re Bringing Me Down)” as the 2012 “Science Parody of the Year.”
Now I’m excited to announce that the “Lab Comedy of the Year” for 2012 is Vol I: How to Run a DNA Gel (Molecular and Cell Biology Training Video Series). The video stars Nate Krefman (a graduate student in the Drubin/Barnes Lab) and Aaron Welch (a graduate student in Doug Koshland’s lab). The video was filmed and directed by graduate students Brock Roberts (Henk Roelink’s lab) and Robbie Calderon (Krishna Niyogi lab, Plant and Microbial Biology). The video was conceived and produced by Nate. The scientific journal BioTechniques put the “Science Parody of the Year” to a readers’ vote this week on their blog.
The winning video is actually the first in two part series. The second video, Vol II: How do Do a DNA Mini-Prep (Molecular and Cell Biology Training Video Series), stars Robbie and Brock, and was directed and produced by Nate.
All of the videos were produced for an annual funny movie event called MCB Follies held by graduate students in UC-Berkeley’s Department of Molecular and Cell Biology. Look for more of these sort of videos from Nate and other graduate students in the Drubin/Barnes lab in the future.
2012 “Lab Comedy of the Year”:
I’m excited to announce that the “Science Parody of the Year” for 2012 is “Grad School, I Love You (But You’re Bringin’ Me Down).” The song is parody of an LCD Soundsystem song written and performed by Mark Grabiner (a graduate student in Terry Machen’s lab at UC-Berkeley). The video was directed and produced by Nate Krefman, a graduate student in the Drubin/Barnes lab. The scientific journal BioTechniques put the “Science Parody of the Year” to a readers’ vote this week on their blog.
A second song by Nate, “Blue and Yellow,” a parody of a Wiz Khalifa song, was also among this year’s five nominees. These nominations follow on the heals two additional nominations for Nate’s videos “I’m Bringin’ Stickleback” and “Bad Habits (in Lab)” in the 2011 contest. All of the videos were produced for an annual funny movie event called MCB Follies held by graduate students in UC-Berkeley’s Department of Molecular and Cell Biology. Readers can expect to see more of these sort of videos from Nate and other graduate students in the Drubin/Barnes lab in the future.
2012 “Science Parody of the Year”:
Click on the image below to visit the BioTechniques Blog and vote for “Blue and Yellow (FRET)” or “Grad School, I Love You (But You’re Bringin’ Me Down)” for “Science Parody of the Year”:
These videos were produced for MCB Follies in 2011 by a graduate student in the Drubin/Barnes Lab, Nate Krefman. Thank you for your vote, and best of luck to the other nominees!
– Nate