If you’re underperforming at work, you might end up with a rejected paper, failed experiments, or an angry boss. However, this isn’t so bad when compared to how mutated DNMT3A underperforms in its role as a DNA methyltransferase, since that can result in a pathogenic overgrowth known as Tatton-Brown-Rahman syndrome (TBRS). Despite DNMT3A’s known role […]
- Aging
Enhancer Hypomethylation in Alzheimer’s Disease Brain Paves the Way for Cell Death
When it comes to understanding the epigenetics of aging, Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) has enhanced our knowledge in countless ways. This neurodegenerative disease has taught us to embrace healthy aging, and some surprising players have emerged from the examination of DNA methylation. Studies have uncovered a role for enhancers in AD; however, investigations into the consequences of DNA methylation at these […]
Reactivating “Fossil” Enhancers from Embryonic Development in Adult Tissues
The Jurassic Park movies got the whole world excited about resurrecting dinosaurs from fossilized DNA, but more recent findings that the half-life of DNA is only 521 years mean that dream is science fiction. So, while the finer details of dinosaur genomes may be lost in the fossil record, new work has dug up epigenomic […]
Inflammation in the Information Age: Multi-Tissue Chromatin and Transcriptional States of Mammalian Aging
We’re living in the information age―the age of supercomputers, big data, and machine learning―and the epigenetics field is capitalizing on these capabilities. New research from the lab of Anne Brunet at Stanford University harnesses the power of the ‘information age’ to provide insight on the ‘inflammation age’―that is, changes in the epigenetic landscape that lead […]
eBook: Aging and Epigenetics
This 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