TERRA lncRNA Tailors a Trimethylation Trio at TelomeresApril 27, 2018A good tailor will make any scientist look presentable in an expensive suit or a glitzy dress (when we escape the confines of a lab coat) and now, the group of Maria A. Blasco (CNIO, Madrid, Spain) describes how long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) tailor our telomeric DNA with just enough trimethylated histones to suit any […]
Transposons and DNA Methylation Learn to Get AlongApril 26, 2018A lot of things just don’t mix well, dogs and cats, oil and water, and as most geneticists would agree, transposons and DNA methylation. DNA methylation is the mortal enemy of transposon activity; across the tree of life it has a conserved role silencing transposable elements from plants, to algae, to vertebrates. This suggests DNA […]
dmrseq Powers-Up Whole-Genome Bisulfite Sequencing AnalysisApril 16, 2018In our modern world, power is everything. Whether it be political, social, or even statistical, humankind always thirsts for more. While political and social power may be a little beyond our scope, a new bioinformatic package has come forth to power up your ability to detect differentially methylated regions (DMRs) from whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) […]
Classification Conundrums: DNA Methylation and Central Nervous System TumorsApril 13, 2018It’s human nature to categorize the world around us. From the earliest taxonomic classification defining us as Homo sapiens, we’ve grouped dogs by breed (pugs, bulldogs, retrievers), wines by grape (merlots, chardonnays, pinot noirs), and of course, cancers by origin (gliomas, melanomas, sarcomas). You can order a DNA test for your dog, or ask the […]
Don’t Blame Mom, Thank Her! Extra Maternal Care Creates a Stress Resilient Epigenomic Profile in the Developing BrainApril 10, 2018Stress is something we are all too familiar with. When it comes down to a stressful situation, it seems that there are almost two types of people: those stricken by anxiety and depression, and those who keep on walking on as if nothing has happened. But what shapes such a distinction between people? One contributing […]
