Inside Job: dCas9 Hijacks Endogenous Chromatin Machinery to Modulate Gene ExpressionNovember 22, 2019In the newest spy movie hitting theaters this month, undercover agents sneak inside the innermost sanctum of fortress walls to hijack nuclear weapons…err nuclear machinery to upregulate gene expression. Spoiler alert, we’ll even reveal the agents’ identities: it’s catalytically dead Cas9 (dCas9) with a small molecule associate, teaming up to complete the mission. While other […]
Deciphering the Warburg Effect: The Metabolic By-product Lactate Modifies HistonesNovember 14, 2019Like the energy drink cans and protein bar wrappers that litter the table after an epic writing session, by-products generally represent undesirable items created during the generation of a more desirable object. Recycling can put some writing by-products to further use, and studies have now highlighted that biological by-products derived from cellular metabolism can also […]
CpH DNA Methylation Steps Out of the CpG Shadow During Brain DevelopmentNovember 4, 2019DNA methylation and CpG sites just go together, so in fact well that sometimes we forget that DNA methylation can happen in other cytosine contexts too! With new advances in sequencing technologies, non-CpG methylation is stepping out of the shadows and being seen for the important role it plays. DNA methylation is particularly important in […]
Histone Hangover: Alcohol Metabolism Actively Alters Acetylation in the BrainNovember 4, 2019We’ve all been warned — from our teachers, our parents, or from outrageous college movies — if you overindulge with booze you may not remember much the next morning. Now, exciting new research shows that an alcohol metabolite can alter our brain’s histone acetylation and can mix up memories at the molecular level. Neurons make […]
Single Cell Analyses Reveal How Epigenetic Drift Makes Stem Cells Age Badly!October 28, 2019While cheese and wine (and whisky!) all get better with age, the human body fares less well! Although partaking in too many culinary delights hardly helps, studies have established the reduced number and activity of stem cells as a cause for the age-related deterioration of various tissue types. With this in mind, a talented team […]