Mapping mRNA Methylation in the Mouse: From ESCs to the BrainJanuary 23, 2017As Ptolemy and other noteworthy cartographers will tell you, a detailed and up-to-date map is always useful. This navigational tool has guided many intrepid explorers from familiar regions towards the unknown with the promise of discovery and adventure! In the linear world of ribonucleic acid (RNA), intrepid researchers have mapped the locations of the N6-methyladenosine […]
RICC-seq Uses Gamma Rays to Smash out Nucleosome-Nucleosome InteractionsJanuary 17, 2017Gamma rays can give super powers to scientific insight, whether it be PET scans, the Epigenetic Hulk, or nucleosome-nucleosome interactions. While we’ve seen a lot about the primary structure of single nucleosomes and the tertiary structure of large chromatin loops, it seems that the 1–3 nucleosome (50–500 bp) architecture known as secondary structure has been […]
Anti-CRISPRs Provide A Kill Switch For Cas9January 6, 2017The post-holiday party period is always an excellent time to reflect that there can always be too much of a good thing. Whether it’s cookies, champagne, or Bing Crosby, sometimes you just need an off-switch. The same can be true of Cas9 – leaving it turned on after your gene editing is done, or leaky […]
HITI: Gene Knock-Ins for Old CellsDecember 29, 2016Just like kids during the holidays, young stem cells have all the fun with their fancy new CRISPR-themed gene editing gifts, while their older, wiser, more differentiated counterparts keep getting nothing but coal. (Well technically carbon nanotubes, but elementally the same). This neglect is partly the fault of more differentiated cells themselves; stodgy as they are, […]
Copy Number Variation and Environmental Exposure Unwrap the DNA Methylation Storage Box of AutismDecember 29, 2016Preparing for a big event takes a lot of work; whether it be the holidays or developing a brain’s epigenome, keeping a storage box ready to go for the situation just makes sense. In their latest publication, the lab of Janine LaSalle at the University of California – Davis unwrap the epigenetic storage box of […]