Put Your DNAm in a Bind with Clontech’s EpiXplore™ Methylated DNA Enrichment KitJuly 19, 2010Poor DNA methylation enrichment can really leave you in a tight spot when it comes to downstream analysis, so why not turn the tables and put your samples in a bind? Before you begin your next methyl-profiling experiment, make sure you have a solid methylated DNA enrichment kit, like the EpiXplore™ Kit from Clontech, handy […]
Genes Weigh Their Alternative Promoter OptionsJuly 8, 2010It’s always nice to have options, but nowadays there are often so many choices that you can drive yourself crazy making a decision, just ask LeBron James. A recent Nature paper shows that even genes need a little input from DNA methylation when they consider using alternative gene promoters. Joseph Costello at UCSF and colleagues […]
Triplex Oligos Enable Targeted DNA MethylationJuly 8, 2010There’s a new tool out there, and it’s made for all of those researchers out there who have ever pointed to a bit of genomic sequence and wondered, “what would happen if that promoter CpG was methylated right there?” A new technique detailed in the latest issue of Bioconjugate Chemistry can help answer questions like […]
EZH2: Cancer Villain or MDS Hero?July 7, 2010EZH2 takes a lot of abuse, and is often labeled as a dreaded oncogene , but like a movie villain who redeems themselves in the end, the histone methyltransferase isn’t all evil. According to two new papers published simultaneously in Nature Genetics, EZH2 may in fact function as a tumor suppressor in some blood cancers. […]
HIV miRNA Evolution at Lighting SpeedJuly 1, 2010The HIV reverse transcriptase is known to have a notoriously high error rate. In fact, if your office photocopier was that sloppy, you’d probably end up doing your own version of the classic copier-smashing scene from the movie Office Space. But the shoddy workmanship of HIV’s genome-copying enzyme actually benefits the virus by allowing it […]
