An Inclusive EWAS Filters Through the Trans-ethnic and Ethnic-specific DNA Methylation Profiles of Kidney FunctionJune 11, 2021Diversity and inclusion are important components of our modern society, and epigenomics is no exception. To build on our knowledge of ethnic differences and similarities, an inclusive epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) of kidney function has come forth to filter the hits. A group led by Charles Breeze (National Cancer Institute) and Nora Franceschini (University of North Carolina) conducted […]
Caffeine Fix Showdown: The Impact of Coffee and Tea on DNA Methylation and Disease RiskMay 27, 2021While a mug of dark roasted coffee can jump-start your day and a cup of fragrant tea may soothe frayed nerves after a grueling session in the lab, a highly-caffeinated new study now shows that these hot beverages also impact human health by influencing DNA methylation. Previous caffeine-fueled studies have provided contrasting views on how […]
Where’s the Cancer Driver? MethSig Cuts Through the Background Noise to Identify Oncogenic Promoter HypermethylationMay 26, 2021As any TikTokker, Zoom presenter, or amateur photographer worth their salt can tell you, sometimes a good background is all you need to make your content really pop. It turns out that the same principle applies when trying to figure out which promoter DNA hypermethylation events drive tumor growth. MethSig, a new algorithm developed by Heng Pan in Dan Landau’s group at Weill Cornell Medicine, improves […]
CRISPRon, CRISPRoff… Two New Tools to Earn You the Black Belt in Hit-and-Run Epigenetic EditingMay 17, 2021Power, accuracy, and stability are the three tenets of hit-and-run epigenetic editing that every aspiring black belt must learn to master. To aid our quest, masters from the dojos of Luke Gilbert (University of California, San Francisco) and Jonathan Weissman (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) have come forth with not only new mantra but also a new set […]
Fortune Telling with EPICOVID – A Novel DNA Methylation Signature that Predicts COVID-19 SeverityMay 9, 2021DNA methylation signatures can function somewhat like a fortune teller’s crystal ball – foretelling those patients with poor prognosis and helping to choose the optimal treatment strategy. By gazing into the crystal ball of the COVID-19 methylome, a fortune-telling team led by Manel Esteller (Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain) and Aurora Pujol (Bellvitge […]
