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 […]
None Shall Pass! Genome Editing Stops Heritable Diseases in Their TracksMay 4, 2015The scientific world is still reeling from the news of the first genome editing of human embryos to treat genetic disease, as we have reported previously here on Epigenie. Unfortunately, the paper suggested that this strategy may need huge improvement or may never be applicable. However, another recently published study, from the laboratory of Juan Carlos […]
Spray Your Way Free of Cystic Fibrosis with a Gene Editing Nasal SprayMay 1, 2015With allergy season around the corner, you might be turning to nasal sprays to relieve the symptoms. But now Marie Egan’s lab at Yale University have developed a very different type of nasal spray that helps overcome a disorder much more devastating: Cystic Fibrosis. Earlier attempts to correct the F508del CFTR mutation have been undertaken using CRISPRs in […]
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 […]