Genome Protection in the Embryo: A Big Role for Small RNAs!July 27, 2017It’s not how big it is, it’s what you do with it that counts. Here at Epigenie, we don’t think that size matters, as evidenced by our excitement over studies showing that small RNAs in sperm can mediate huge intergenerational effects related to paternal exercise and diet! Now, a fascinating study from the lab of […]
Exploring the TERRA Incognita of Long Non-Coding RNAs!July 14, 2017Decades of diligent exploration in the mammalian genome has led to the discovery that while only around 2% of this base-pair jungle represents protein-coding sequence, over 90% of our genome gets transcribed into RNA species such as long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). However, our knowledge base on many lncRNAs remains in “terra incognita” with scant details […]
Environmentally Reprogrammed Sperm Epigenetically Transmit Behavior Across GenerationsJuly 11, 2017Life’s full of experiences that often seem like a coin toss. Should you go the gym or feast on some sushi? While the epigenetic mechanisms behind the outcomes of these two events may seem quite different at first, when considering the epigenetics of sperm, it turns out they’re two-sides of the same coin. Intergenerational Effect […]
“Drop” Everything for the New Liquid Model of Heterochromatin Domain Formation!June 30, 2017The field of epigenetics tends to be very “fluid” with new studies and paradigm shifts seemingly the norm! Now two new studies in Nature have described a new liquid model for the formation and function of silent chromatin domains known as heterochromatin. The predominant view of heterochromatin formation and function tells us that repressive epigenetic […]
Down is the New Up: Single Base-Pair Methylome Maps of CancerJune 29, 2017Navigating the highly variable features behind the epigenomic basis of cancer is no easy task: What’s up is down, what’s down is up! Thankfully, to aid our quest, the lab of Manel Esteller at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) in Spain has brought forth a map as massive as the DNA methylation changes behind […]