eBook: Aging and EpigeneticsJune 8, 2018This eBook explores various levels at which aging and epigenetics are related. Assembled are summaries of studies exploring specific questions regarding the epigenetic basis of aging and aging-related conditions. They are divided into four chapters: 1. DNA Methylation Epigenetic Clock 2. Anti-aging 3. Alzheimer’s Disease 4. Stem Cells
Elegant C. elegans Study “Drops” in to Show How Liquid Droplet Formation Mediates Epigenetic InheritanceMay 28, 2018While some studies may appear as drops in the scientific ocean, a drop-dead gorgeous paper on epigenetic inheritance recently made us all drop our guard! Although studies have established transgenerational epigenetic inheritance (TEI) across several generations in the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans and the critical role of non-coding RNAs, we have yet to unravel the […]
Cognitive Benefits of Dad’s Enriched Environment Passed to Offspring Through Sperm miRNAsMay 25, 2018With Father’s Day just around the corner, it’s the time of year we think about how we can “enrich” Dad’s life with power tools, gift cards, and hand-made crafts. But maybe we should be looking into enriching Dad’s cognitive environment because it turns out that he can pass those benefits on. In mice, the environmental […]
Keeping it CLASSY with RNA-directed DNA Methylation in ArabidopsisMay 22, 2018There’s many ways to keep it classy, and while the recent Royal Wedding has demonstrated that some families illustrate their style with an eclectic taste for hats and fascinators, the CLASSY family of chromatin remodeling factors has just out-classed them with its chromatin tastes that shape RNA-directed DNA methylation. In Arabidopsis thaliana, RNA Pol-IV triggers […]
Sea Snails Thank RNA-induced DNA Methylation for the Long-term Memories!May 16, 2018Forget everything you know about memories (!) because a new study has turned our knowledge regarding memory formation on its head by showing the ability to transfer memories from animal-to-animal! Current dogma states that learning-induced modifications of synaptic connections underlie the storage of our long-term memory (LTM); however, recent studies have suggested that neuron cell […]