An Inflammatory Microclimate Seeds a Super-enhancer That Drives TumorigenesisNovember 7, 2022While microclimates shape environments along coastlines and urban jungles, this phenomenon isn’t restricted to macroscopic landscapes; now, a new study provides evidence that inflammatory signaling from the tumor microenvironment (TME) alters the epigenetic landscape by inducing the formation of a super-enhancer (SE) that drives tumorigenesis. An environmentally-friendly team led by Ramon E. Parsons (Icahn School […]
An Eerie Epigenetic Disguise Helps SARS-CoV-2 Avoid Anti-viral ResponsesOctober 25, 2022Every avid trick-or-treater aspires to have the perfect Halloween costume; now, a spooky study has revealed how an unwanted guest – SARS-CoV-2 – dons an epigenetic disguise to help this virus trick its way past host defenses to infect human cells! A fearless team led by Erica Korb (University of Pennsylvania, USA) knew that SARS-CoV-2 […]
RT&Tag Maps the Fleeting World of Chromatin-associated RNAsOctober 25, 2022Between the vast lands of DNA and proteins lies the ephemeral and dynamic world of chromatin-associated RNAs, a less-explored but utterly critical domain of the eukaryotic nucleus. Thankfully, RNA-focused researchers can now turn to a tagmentation-based profiling technique (“RT&Tag”) to map the landscape of regulatory chromatin-associated RNAs to aid this quest. In their fascinating study, […]
Single-Cell Spatial and Multimodal Upgrades to ATAC-Seq Speed Up Your Chromatin InsightsOctober 9, 2022Need to get swiftly up to date with recent advances to the assay for transposase-accessible chromatin with high-throughput sequencing (ATAC-Seq) technique? Well, slow down and read on for the latest single-cell spatial and multimodal updates to your chromatin toolbox! Our first study gives us a quick lowdown on Spatial-ATAC-seq, a technique to capture spatial chromatin […]
Placental Proxies: A Shared DNA Methylation Profile Between cffDNA and BrainSeptember 27, 2022When you’re looking to access the latest and greatest publications, your VPN is the proxy you need. But now, there’s a new proxy in town to help with your quest for neurodevelopmental epigenetic information: Placenta and the cell free fetal DNA (cffDNA) that originates from it. A dynamic duo of papers from the lab of Janine LaSalle (UC Davis […]