CRISPR Live-cell Imaging Captures CLINGing ChromosomesMarch 28, 2018An old teddy bear with an eye missing, a dog-eared children’s book, or a ragged musty-smelling blanket; we all “cling” on to certain treasured objects, although we usually wish to keep them secret from the world! However, this isn’t the case for researchers from the laboratory of John Rinn (Harvard University, Cambridge, USA), who have […]
Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance of a Trio of Epigenomic Changes Induced by DDTMarch 27, 2018DNA methylation has long been the shining star of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance work, with other mechanisms signing backup. But now, the solo act has now become a trio, with histone modifications and non-coding (ncRNA) stepping into the limelight. For an in utero exposure to be truly transgenerational, and not an intergenerational effect, it must impact […]
Embrace Your Age! Age-related H4K16ac Gains Protect Your Brain from Developing Alzheimer’s DiseaseMarch 19, 2018In our quest for the fountain of youth, we often find ourselves attracted to anything that will fight off the signs of aging. But now, the first genome-wide analysis of a specific histone modification in the brains of human patients affected by Alzheimer’s disease (AD) demonstrates that we should embrace the epigenetic changes that come […]
Cutting Through the Epigenetic Complexities Linking Aging and TumorigenesisMarch 16, 2018Writing your first grant proposal? Optimizing that tricky Western blot? Programming an old PCR machine? Only a few things are more complex than our current understanding of the epigenetic links between aging and tumorigenesis, but this has not stopped a few valiant labs from doubling down and busting a few paradigms while they are at […]
Epigenetics Meets Cartography: Precision Mapping of Single Nucleosomes and LinkersMarch 14, 2018While we’ve asked before how nucleosomes find their way to the right spot on DNA, sometimes we’re left staring at sea monsters in the most tantalizing unexplored areas on our genome-wide maps. When it comes to nucleosomes, positioning is everything since it affects DNA accessibility for replication, repair, and gene expression. In order to understand […]
