Mechanosensitive DNA Methylation Keeps the Flow GoingJune 12, 2014Going with the flow is a sound strategy unless, of course, something is disturbing that flow. Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University have shown that when blood flow is disturbed (d-flow) there is a responsive stream of gene expression changes triggered by mechanosensitive DNA methylation. Lead author Jessilyn Dunn shares that “It was […]
ChIP Shows Cas9 Can Miss the MarkJune 10, 2014Staying on target has always been the CRISPR/Cas9 claim to genome editing fame, leading to incredible breakthroughs in the application of this bacterial immune system to mammals and as a cure for inherited disease. But now a sharpshooting team from the University of Virginia have used a clever application of ChIP-Seq to show that sometimes Cas9 can cause off-target effects. […]
5hmU: Tet’s Newest Base on the BlockJune 9, 2014While Apple seems focused on reducing complexity, the epigenome just can’t stop increasing it. Researchers from the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich have shown that Tet enzymes oxidize not only the methyl group of methyl-cytosine (mC) but also thymine (T). An analog to the traditional oxidation of 5mC to 5hydroxymethyl-cytosine (5hmC), this case generates hydroxymethyl-uracil (5hmU). By tracing metabolically stable isotopes […]
CTCF Prevents Cancerous LandscapesMay 26, 2014This is the time of year to spruce up the garden, but a recent report has us thinking more about a DNA Methylation landscaper: CTCF. Epigenetic marks have long been associated with cancer and resarchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Seattle) have shown that when the epigenetic groundskeepers (i.e. CTCF) are short handed, the epigenetic […]
lncRNAs Give a Shout Out to Imprinted GenesMay 22, 2014For a while there, it didn’t seem like long non-coding RNAS (lncRNAs) had very much to say on the subject of genomic imprinting. But some new evidence shows that lncRNAs have found their voice, shouting loud and clear as a cross-talk conduit between imprinted regions. Researchers from Hebrew University (Jerusalem) introduced a new concept into […]
