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Loop it like cohesin

Chromatin, the combination of DNA and protein that resides within our nuclei, takes on a variety of forms. These forms vary depending on the type of cell, the stage of a cell’s cycle and environmental conditions. Techniques to pinpoint regions of chromatin contacts within a nucleus have provided great insight into nuclear organisation and the […]

Welcome to The Sheekey Science Show!!

Hey everyone! Realised I haven’t posted on here in a while…. The reason why is because I started a YouTube channel “The Sheekey Science Show”, where you will find the same great content (:D) but in video format! https://www.youtube.com/c/TheSheekeyScienceShow

Superheroes may be fiction, but is there a future for superfoods?

Now, those of you familiar with my favourite quote from the 2000 film “Miss Congeniality” will surely remember how Cheryl misinterprets this question. The thing is I would too. My perfect date would be fresh with a soft and chewy texture. In my case, I refer to the fruit. But not only do dates […]

Life in the lab as a present-day Victorian

This summer I went back in time, literally, although only by ~8 hours, as I jetted off to Victoria, BC in the South-West of Canada to spend 10 weeks working in Dr John Burke’s lab at the University of Victoria. The lab focuses on understanding the regulation of proteins involved in lipid signalling and use […]

Could memory editing become mainstream?

Do you remember, the 21st night of September? Do you remember the lyrics? Or would you want to forget ever hearing this song? (I hope the latter isn’t the case). Well, the science of memories continues to be of great interest and has played major roles in a variety of pop culture, whether through memory […]

A weight loss drug targeting the mRNA demethylase, FTO?

Now maybe it’s the fact I ate too many hot cross buns and crème eggs this Easter, or because it vaguely relates to some exam topics and so can count as revision, but I found myself reading about a drug that reduced the body mass of mice. Yep, this new study by Peng et al. […]

Do your genes dictate whether you’re a morning person?

Make a YouTube video on how you wake up at 5 am and all the positive impacts it can have on your life and you are guaranteed to get views. Many of the current videos have millions of hits. Did you know Mark Wahlberg wakes up at 2.30 am*!? Now, whilst I am not denying […]

Slow and steady wins the race: uniting eEF2K, translation and lifespan

Out of all of Aesop’s Fables that I know, which I have now realised isn’t that many, “The tortoise and the hare” was always my favourite as a kid. Whilst the fable has been interpreted in different ways, I always took it to mean that slow and steady wins the race. But what race are […]

He who MUST be named: The #CRISPRbabies 4 months on

I think I first came across the news on Twitter. It must’ve been a Monday morning as I was scrolling through my home page. At first I thought this can’t be true. I laughed at how ridiculous the news was. But my laughter soon changed to concern as I began to learn more of the […]

“Mean Girls” meets Biochemistry – which protein ‘clique’ are you?

If I learnt anything from watching the 2004 film “Mean Girls”, it is that where you sit in the cafeteria is crucial. Okay, whilst not entirely true, the film explains how at high school, everyone fits into different cliques and these dictate the group of people you sit with at lunch; you have your Freshman, […]

Exploiting the endogenous: An ADAR way to edit RNA by only adding oligos

Genome editing, with its permanent modification of DNA, necessitates that the editing is conducted both safely and efficiently. An alternative mechanism, that could be both reversible and dose dependent in terms of percentage editing, is to edit at the RNA stage. However, this precise RNA editing faces similar safety and efficiency requirements if it is […]