Architectural Woes Prompt Age-related Problems Thanks to Genes Lacking CpG IslandsJanuary 20, 2022As cracks to walls and beams can lead to an old house coming apart at the seams, the architectural alterations associated within an aging nucleus can prompt degenerative processes at the cell and tissue level. While any good architect can identify and help to sure up the problematic elements bringing down the house, the blueprints […]
scAge – A Single-cell DNA Methylation Clock Details Epigenetic Aging and RejuvenationJanuary 10, 2022With the new year comes a fresh start, but does the aging epigenome of each one of our cells share this sentiment? To help get your new year off to the right start, a new program known as “scAge” allows the determination of the age of single cells via DNA methylation and reveals insight into […]
A Suite of New Tools to Solve Single-cell Epigenetic EnigmasDecember 23, 2021Welcome explorers of the epigenome! Are you looking for new tools to help answer the toughest of epigenetic enigmas? Then check out this suite of single-cell methods papers from technologically-talented teams led by Aviv Regev (Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard) and collaborators. inCITE into How Transcription Factors Shape In Vivo Gene Expression A collaboration […]
Automated Chromatin Profiling Platforms Autopilot Patients to the ClinicNovember 22, 2021From human-free supermarket check-outs to autopiloted cars, the modern world is rapidly moving towards automation. In the most recent advance, a rabble of robotic researchers has applied related technological tricks to epigenetic assays to “autopilot” high-throughput chromatin profiling and provide a clinical tool that may support optimized treatment choices in leukemia patients. Specifically, a technology-driven […]
KLF4 Condensation Gets Your Epigenome in Shape with the Help of DNA MethylationOctober 18, 2021While juices and shakes may be nothing but a fitness fad for those looking to get into serious shape, liquid-liquid biomolecular condensation has washed away previous paradigms by highlighting its vital role in gene regulation and chromatin organization. Now, a rather fit new study has described how biomolecular drop-like condensates of the reprogramming factor KLF4 […]
Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance of Horizontally-transferred Memories Goes ViralOctober 4, 2021While research into the transgenerational epigenetic inheritance went viral long ago, a new “social media” platform powered by horizontal transfer has taken “going viral” a bit too literally. In their retweetable new article, researchers from the lab of Coleen T. Murphy (Princeton University, New Jersey) now demonstrate that virus-like particles (VLPs) support horizontally-transferred memories and […]
scSPRITE Adds a Twist to Single-cell Genome OrganizationSeptember 27, 2021Are your single-cell chromosome conformation capture experiments looking a little flat? Is your Hi-C data missing that “pop”? Well, don´t fret; a new study serves up a refreshing twist on a popular technique – scSPRITE – that will put some fizz back into your single-cell genome organization research! While bulk profiling provides an averaged read-out […]
CRISPR-EChO Amplifies the Sound of Silent ChromatinSeptember 6, 2021Hello heterochromatin, my old friend; CRISPR has come to edit you again; And echo in the sound of silence. As reported in a resounding new study, CRISPR-EChO comes at you from the lab Stanley Qi (Stanford University, California) and amplifies the sounds of silent chromatin. Following on from avant-garde studies describing CRISPR-GO and CasDrop, which […]
Supersizing Crops by Demethylating RNA – A New Way to End World Hunger?August 23, 2021While supersizing meals has helped to expand the waistlines of many a human “couch potato,” a seriously sumptuous new study has established that RNA demethylation induced via the expression of the human RNA demethylase FTO in potatoes results in a supersizing that could help end world hunger. The transformation of exogenous and endogenous genes has […]
Single-cell Multi-omics of the Immune Response to VaccinationJuly 26, 2021A recent viral study revealed that SARS-CoV-2 infection alters chromatin accessibility in our all-important immune cells to facilitate immune memory – but does the same apply to vaccination? To answer this somewhat flu-mmoxing question, a flu-id force of epigeneticists led by Bali Pulendran (Stanford University, California) utilized single-cell multi-omics to explore the effects of influenza […]
