RNA Hydroxymethylcytosine Targets the MessengerJanuary 28, 2016A new paper adds another RNA modification to the list already published, but with exciting news for the epigenetics enthusiasts out there… the characterized modification is RNA 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmrC), an important mark previously discovered on DNA. The laboratory of François Fuks at ULB in Brussels decided to look deeper into the presence of 5hmC on […]
Viva in vivo Gene Editing: A Roundup of the Latest CRISPR HitsJanuary 28, 2016Gene editing with CRISPR/Cas9 is here, there, and everywhere. We have seen gene editing in human somatic cells, pluripotent stem cells, and even embryos. However, we should also be looking at CRISPR-based gene editing somewhere else: in a living, breathing human. The question is – where does the current technology stand on the in vivo […]
Casilio: a CRISPR/Cas9 and Pumilio Hybrid for Epigenome EditingJanuary 24, 2016Life is full of challenges, and when that challenge is epigenome editing even a rock star like CRISPR/Cas9 stands to benefit from helping a hand. Epigenome editing with CRISPR/Cas9 involves using a dead Cas9 (dCas9) that confers the precision of the genome editing system without nuclease activity. The standard approach involves utilizing a fusion protein […]
CRISPR Gene Editing Prefers the Naïve Side of PluripotencyJanuary 11, 2016While many across the universe have been pondering over the decision between the light and the dark side of the Force, a more pressing decision confronts CRISPR-based gene editing in stem cells: the primed or the naïve side of pluripotency!? Pluripotent Stem Cells (PSCs), such as human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), human embryonic stem […]
LobChIP: A Single Day ChIP-Seq Library Preparation HackJanuary 9, 2016With the speed and power of today’s high-throughput sequencers it seems that chromatin immunoprecipitation is the ‘limiting reagent’ in your ChIP-Seq reaction. Usually ChIP-Seq immunoprecipitation and library preparation takes 4 or 5 days, but now a talented team from Uppsala University in Sweden bring forth the library-on-beads ChIP (lobChIP) protocol, which wraps that up into […]
