RNA On-Demand: Direct–zol™ From Zymo ResearchAugust 17, 2011The boom in RNA research has made the need for quality RNA samples climb faster than the price of gasoline. Unfortunately, RNA isolation techniques haven’t matched that trend, forcing researchers to spend hours on laborious methods to get the amount and quality of RNA they’re looking for. So, not only is top-notch RNA in demand, […]
RNA Pol II Calls the Shots in Random Monoallelic ExpressionAugust 15, 2011Just because two things ultimately do the same thing doesn’t mean they’re equivalent. Take Facebook and MySpace, for example. Researchers from the University of Washington say that imprinting and random allele-specific expression have two very different mechanisms, even though the outcome—only one of the two alleles of a gene is translated—is the same. H3K9me3 and […]
Microfluidic qRT-PCR Unlocks Single Cell miRNA SecretsAugust 12, 2011Recent headlines tell us that the average American lives in a household of 2.62 people, chows down too many potato chips, and thinks that the “Dirty Dancing” remake is a bad idea. But averaging over populations obscures the often highly variable characteristics of individuals, and the same is true for cells. To get a better […]
EpiGenie Stem Cell Epigenetics ReviewAugust 4, 2011We’re big fans of stem cell research, the vast potential it represents and the close connection it has to epigenetics. Apparently we aren’t alone either, judging by the avalanche of top-notch papers that regularly cross our monitors. We’ve even give serious consideration to launching another site just to be able cover the area properly (StemGenie, […]
A Beginner’s Guide to ChIPAugust 3, 2011Do you lay awake at night reflecting on how much you want to get started with ChIP, but stressed that you don’t know where to start? Who doesn’t? Good thing for you, our friends at Abcam have come to your rescue, so you can rest at ease counting sheep instead. Abcam just published a killer […]