Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma’s Trouble with Histone ModificationsJuly 27, 2011They say it’s the quiet ones that you have to watch out for. Canadian researchers may have had that in mind when they pondered the genetic causes of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Through some extra digging (and sequencing), they uncovered several mutant genes that had remained hidden until now, including some that have roles in histone […]
H3K27me3 Conjurs Epigenetic Memories of Winters PastJuly 26, 2011With temperatures soaring above 100°F in many parts of the U.S., it can be awfully hard to remember what last winter was like. But thanks to histone modifications, many plants have a built-in memory of cold periods—which is important for flowering. Plants not only remember that they went through a cold period, but they also […]
7th & 8th Bases Found On the Road to DemethylationJuly 25, 2011Just how many DNA bases can there possibly be? It was a pretty big deal when the 6th base, 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) was found in 2009, and now the same University of North Carolina team has discovered two more cytosine analogs to bring the total to eight…for now. In the uproar over 5-hmC, researchers were sent […]
ENCODE and Roadmap Epigenomics Antibody Validation DatabaseJuly 19, 2011Many epigenetics techniques and projects rely on high-quality antibodies, but not all commercial antibodies perform well enough to get the job done. On top of that, there’s no uniform standard, or easy steps to fully validate a good antibody. With help of the Park lab at Harvard Medical School, there is now a place that […]
DNA Methylation Shifts in Early Immune DevelopmentJuly 19, 2011How can you know if something’s changed, if you didn’t see what it looked like to start with? That was the idea behind a new study that profiled DNA methylation in the immune development of youngsters. With more and more focus on environmental causes of immune diseases, and their epigenetic links, Australian researchers decided to […]