How You Are Conceived Makes a Difference in Your EpigeneticsJuly 22, 2009Ahem! What we mean is that being conceived in a dish versus the natural way can affect the methylation of your DNA. Previous studies suggested that the less romantic method of putting sperm and egg together in vitro (assisted reproduction technology; ART) resulted in a higher risk of birth defects and rare disorders that involve […]
CLIPped Mouse Testes Reveal Novel Class of Small RNAsJuly 16, 2009Fish with germ cell-specific bait, and you get a new class of RNA. U Penn researchers CLIPped (Cross-Linked and ImmunoPrecipitated) mouse testis extract with the anti-DNA/RNA-binding protein MSY2, and caught a whole bunch of novel ~30 nt RNAs. While about 7% of these were known piRNAs, most came from a distinct class of testicular RNAs […]
NIH Digs into the Diet Movement with New Epigenetics Research GrantsJuly 16, 2009Nowadays it seems like everybody’s on some kind of a diet. Until recently, even public funding for epigenetic research had been leaner than a movie star on the South Beach diet. But with last year’s funding of the Roadmap Initiative and yesterday’s release of grant applications for the study of diet and epigenetics, things are […]
On Your Marks: Antibodies That Should be in Every Epigenetics Researcher’s FridgeJuly 15, 2009Chromatin is a complicated scene. Staying on top of who’s who in residue and degree-specific histone modifications and chromatin modifying proteins is more than a full time job. So, if you’re looking to jump start your investigations and pull down some quick hitting data, you’ll want to consider picking up on some quality antibodies targeting […]
This Hi-Def Methylation Experience is Brought to You by Bisulfite CaptureJuly 15, 2009Even if you don’t have a new flat screen HD TV hanging in your living room, most of us have at least seen the beauty that is HD when strolling through the TV section in the local Wal-Mart or Best Buy. The picture is so crystal-clear that watching a game in HD is just like […]