DNA Methyltransferase Teams Up with Long Non-Coding RNA to Police Colon Cancer CellsSeptember 5, 2015Mulder and Scully. Holmes and Watson. If TV and books are anything to go by, then unconventional pairings between the hot-headed detective and their calm and collected partner get results. Now it seems that another unlikely duo work together in the fight against crime of a biological nature. A new study reports that a DNA […]
New Insights into Puzzling Placental DNA Methylation DomainsAugust 14, 2015The human placental methylome was the first normal tissue where partially methylated domains (PMDs) were characterized, found to be developmentally dynamic, and distinct from highly methylated domains (HMDs, methylation >70%). PMDs are a large scale genomic feature with DNA methylation levels that are less than 70% but nowhere near 0% and tend to harbour neuron […]
Epigenetics Drives Genetics Straight Into EvolutionAugust 9, 2015In today’s fast-paced world, quickly adapting to your environment is a game-changer. But genetic determinism cannot fully explain the rapid adaption seen in many species, which has left evolution in a dark age. That is until the enlightening work of Michael Skinner’s laboratory at Washington State University. Their observations on transgenerational epigenetic inheritance have been […]
Lights Out! Sleep Loss Affects DNA Methylation of Circadian GenesAugust 4, 2015 ‘La nuit blanche’. No, it is not a delicious pastry. It’s the French expression for staying up all night and not going to bed until the next evening, which in most cases will leave you pretty irritable. But losing one night’s sleep may affect more than just your mood; a new study by Swedish […]
DNA Methylation Helps T Cells with their Career PathAugust 3, 2015In one of the lower valleys of Waddington’s epigenetic landscape, T cells are confronted with a fatal decision: Become a CD4+ helper T cell and assist your brethren in fighting evil invaders or turn into a CD8+ cytotoxic T cell and do the dirty work. But as in all good fantasy novels, our heroes first […]
