Embryonic Stem Cells and their 5hmC Highwire Balancing ActApril 5, 2011With new tools and techniques to study the sixth base, 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC), reports starting to pour in to shed new light on just what the heck it does. Now researchers in the UK have shown that changes in the relative levels of 5mC and 5hmC in embryonic stem (ES) cells could help tip cells toward […]
DNA Methylation qPCR RemixedApril 5, 2011qPCR is used daily to validate array and sequencing results, but qPCR approaches have yet to dominate DNA methylation analysis the same way they have with other applications like gene expression analysis or genotyping. Things are a little bit more complicated when it comes to the epigenetic mods, but that hasn’t stopped hungry researchers from […]
Chromatin States Get On the MapMarch 30, 2011Deciphering chromatin status across an entire genome must seem like trying to navigate through an Amazon rain forest without a guide. Luckily, new work just published begins the process of creating chromatin state roadmaps to help point epigenetics researchers down the right path. To make that journey a little smoother, a research group from MIT […]
Pull Down a Winner with Abcam Antibody PanelsMarch 29, 2011It’s a big step. It’s stressful. Deciding which antibody will be “the one” in your ChIP applications isn’t easy, but you can relax a bit now as our good friends at Abcam must have sensed a touch of that antibody commitment-phobia within the research ranks, as they’ve just launched Abcam Antibody Panels; a way to let […]
miRNA Mimics Take Imperfect Aim at Gene PromotersMarch 29, 2011Sometimes a perfect match isn’t all it’s cracked up to be – just look at the Hollywood divorce rate. Whether you’re talking relationships or ncRNAs, a few mismatches between partners can still lead to a successful outcome. That seems to be the case for small RNAs that recognize gene promoter regions, as revealed by researchers […]