A TAD of Disruption Shows the Importance of BoundariesJune 1, 2015If you’ve ever seen a polydactyl cat you might (understandably) live in fear of cats with thumbs. If we want to prevent the takeover by our feline friends we need to understand the cause of this limb anomaly. Luckily, researchers led by Stefan Mundlos have done just that by asking if 3D chromosome structure data […]
Could Chromatin Organization be the Key to Eternal Youth?May 13, 2015For thousands of years great men such as Alexander the Great and Ponce de León have searched far and wide in their search for the fountain of youth and the hope of eternal life. But where they previously failed, an enterprising group of scientists may have now just succeeded! A report published recently in Science […]
Twins Team Up to Help Unravel DNA Methylation in SchizophreniaMay 12, 2015While they can’t see through lead or stop bullets with their chest, twins do have a superpower of their own – when it comes to unraveling the complex genomic and epigenomic changes underlying diseases and disorders. In their latest adventure monozygotic twins are helping to understand the DNA methylation changes associated with schizophrenia. The epigenomics of […]
A TET-Ã -TET Between SIRT6 and 5hmC Controls Embryonic Stem Cell FateMay 12, 2015With many political parties fighting it out for influence in the UK general election last week, it is nice to see the spirit of cooperation alive and well in embryonic stem cells. In their latest study, Raul Mostoslavsky and colleagues show that two giants of epigenetic regulation, histone acetylation and DNA hydroxymethylation, team up to […]
6mA Makes the Grade as a Eukaryotic Epigenetic MarkMay 12, 2015There’s no denying that we love DNA methylation, so we are delighted to learn of another form of DNA methylation that has come on the scene as an epigenetic mark. N6-Methyladenosine (6mA or m6A) refers to the methylation of adenosine at its nitrogen-6 position, as opposed to 5mC and related oxidative marks (5hmC, 5fC, 5caC) that occur on […]
