Epigenetic Fountain of Youth Found in Worms?October 26, 2011We recently came across a hot new article that even the mainstream media has been all over. Stanford University researchers found that longevity can be passed down through generations without using DNA sequence to do it. The study found that C. elegans worms with certain histone modifications leading to increased longevity were able to pass that long […]
RNA Demethylation in ObesityOctober 19, 2011In news more surprising than the rise of the Occupy Wall Street movement, researchers have unearthed a novel mechanism in which RNA demethylation is mediated by, of all things, the obesity related protein FTO. FTO is a well-established target of obesity and diabetes researchers, but its function has so far been elusive. At least it […]
Shhh! RNAi Silences Yeast Heterochromatin As Cells DivideOctober 18, 2011It’s too bad that a little RNA interference (RNAi) won’t quiet down those noisy neighbors, but apparently it does the job quite well on yeast heterochromatin. Researchers from Cold Spring Harbor report that RNAi helps promote the silencing of heterochromatin during DNA replication (“S” phase), and they figured out how it all goes down in […]
Melt Away the Stress with miR-34October 12, 2011Every day there’s so much to stress about: Will your next big experiment be a success? Can you get your grant application in on time? How can Lady Gaga possibly outdo her last awards show outfit? Apparently, mice have stressful lives, too, and a recent study suggests that a particular miRNA, miR-34, might help them […]
Born to Lose: Histone Mods Tag Stem Cells for DNA Methylation of miRNA Loci in CancerOctober 12, 2011It’s usually not hard to spot when things seem like they’re destined for failure. Like you ne’er do well cousin, or an American car from the 80’s. Other times, closer examination is required to find the seeds of a problem. That’s what it took for scientists to uncover how some harmless embryonic stem cells (ESCs) […]
