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 […]
Upcycling the Epigenome in the Brain Help Neurons Stay in TouchMay 5, 2015Upcycling is the latest of many green crazes where people keep hold of old furniture and instead of throwing it away, they repurpose it to give new life. It seems that the brain might be doing the same for methylation. It’s been a long held belief that DNA methylation is fixed in differentiated cells, yet there is […]
Catching RNA Polymerases in Action: New NETs for Higher ResolutionMay 1, 2015For a long time RNA polymerases did not get the credit they actually deserve. They have been viewed as muscle-cars at a drag race: Waiting for a start signal to race along the gene only stopping for the finish line. This view, however, has markedly changed with the development of high-throughput sequencing techniques such as […]
Get in the Loop of Antisense Mediated Transcriptional RegulationApril 30, 2015Long non-coding RNA research isn’t just a load of HOTAIR; since their initial discovery long non-coding RNAs have revealed their importance in regulating the genome. One such insight is the observation that lncRNA express antisense transcripts, which are abundantly found either partially or completely overlapping with transcripts from the opposite strand. These have been shown […]
Finding Epimutations in the Genome HaystackApril 30, 2015Trying to identify DNA methylation mutations with current technologies usually requires a lot of cells, making it a lot like hunting for a needle in a haystack. Getting down to looking at single cells is becoming possible, but requires you to look at the whole genome, making the hunt for epimutations difficult. Recent work from Silvia […]
