Twins R A Help for Studying Methylation in Rheumatoid ArthritisOctober 9, 2018If you think the best thing about being an identical twin is pulling off great pranks in school, think again. Identical (monozygotic) twins can also use their powers for good. The lab of Jane Worthington (University of Manchester, UK) has harnessed the power of twins to examine DNA methylation in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). Because RA […]
Colossal New Roadmap Study Provides Single-Chromosome View on Sequence-Dependent Allele-Specific MethylationOctober 7, 2018Colossal, gigantic, mammoth, immense; none of these adjectives appropriately describes the amount of research carried out or curated by the National Institute of Health Roadmap Epigenomics Mapping Consortium, whose final goal is to produce a public resource of human epigenomic data to drive forward basic biology and disease-oriented research. As part of this research, scientists […]
Not Just Monkey Business: circRNAs are Dynamic in the Aging Non-Human Primate BrainSeptember 28, 2018While we tend to grow out of monkey business and running in circles as we grow older, exciting new profiles of brain circular RNA (circRNA) dynamics during normal aging have emerged thanks to these two youthful tactics. This insightful research into non-human primates comes from the groups of Jiali Li (University of the Chinese Academy […]
Recycling: Keeping the Planet Green and the Histone Modification Landscape Pristine!September 22, 2018Recycling represents one of the most important strategies to keep the planet clean and green for generations to come. Used paper, metal, and plastic and other assorted detritus generally encounter a second use, but can we recycle the histone proteins that help to package our DNA and maintain cell-type-specific transcriptional programs? A lean, clean, and […]
Forget a Moment on the Lips, DNA Methylation Disruptions from a Night Without Sleep Could Mean ‘Forever’ on the HipsSeptember 20, 2018While staring at the alarm clock isn’ta great way to catch a healthy night’s sleep, the lull of our circadian rhythm most certainly is. The circadian clock keeps our cells and their epigenomes in shape by maintaining synchrony with the day, and now new findings from the lab of Christian Benedict at Uppsala University (Sweden) […]
