m6Ajor New Function for MicroRNAs in RNA MethylationFebruary 20, 2015It’s no secret that microRNAs are pretty busy molecules. A single microRNA can regulate the expression of several, maybe even hundreds, of transcripts. If that wasn’t enough, researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing now add another function to this packed list of duties: the control of m6A RNA methylation, which is emerging as an […]
Getting started with Chromatin Conformation Capture (3C)February 15, 2015The concept of chromatin contact mapping, or determining the three-dimensional structure conformation and interactions of chromatin domains, is now a reality because of Chromatin Conformation Capture (3C) and subsequent methods born out of that approach. Several new 3C-based techniques have emerged, each with particular strengths and applications, but the sheer variety creates a challenge when […]
New Transcriptional Repressors for Pick ‘N’ Mix Synthetic Gene CircuitsFebruary 15, 2015As a kid there was no greater feeling on a weekend shopping trip than being set loose on the Pick ‘N’ Mix, carefully choosing from the wealth of candy to create the perfect selection. Lucky for you synthetic biology promises the same thrill, by providing a selection of ready-to-roll interchangeable parts to choose from allowing […]
Plant Receptor Re-engineered to Hear “Drought!” From a New SignalFebruary 12, 2015Don’t get me wrong, plants have a lot of things going for them. However, as Groot’s fellow Galaxy Guardians can attest, vocabulary isn’t one of them. It can be hard to communicate with plants, even once you figure out their language. Take the plant abscisic acid (ABA) receptor, PYR1, for example. PYR1 communicates via ABA, […]
Expressed Long Non-coding RNAs Snitch on Tissue-specific EnhancersFebruary 11, 2015Predicting tissue-specific enhancers is a tricky business. While histone marks such as H3K4me1 and binding of p300 are good enhancer predictors, pointing out which enhancers are tissue-specific is more of a challenge. That is, of course, unless you have PreSTIGE – an algorithm developed by the Scacheri lab that identifies tissue-specific enhancers by combining H3K4me1 […]