The Epigenetics of Stressed-Out PlantsJuly 2, 2013Stress is something that we’re all familiar with. A number of landmark studies on the effects of stress have been done in mammals. But it turns out that our cousins-from-another-ancestor don’t have dream lives either. Life is tough out there for a plant; you’re limited to one location where the conditions can change drastically over […]
The Darkside of Epigenetic PlasticityJune 26, 2013Sure, genes get mutated in cancers, but the epigenome gets messed-up too. In fact, two researchers argue in a recent review that a “dysregulated epigenome” that’s too plastic and flexible could itself lead to cancer. Andrew Feinberg and Winston Timp, both from the Center for Epigenetics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, wrote the […]
Keeping Up with Live Cell DNA LoopingJune 25, 2013The reality TV era has made voyeurs of us all. So it makes sense that we’d want to take a peek inside live cells too. Now comes a report of a new method that shows, for the first time, DNA getting loopy inside live E. coli cells. Johns Hopkins University Med School researchers say that […]
HDAC-Glo™ Brightens up HDAC Activity ScreeningJune 21, 2013Histone Deactylase (HDAC) researchers have been clamoring for more sensitive and reliable HDAC assays in order to generate the high quality data that previous techniques don’t always deliver. The HDAC-Glo™ I/II Assays and Screening Systems from Promega aim to shine new light on the matter with highly sensitive assays that ditch the old, troublesome false […]
Epigenetics: Getting to Know the Readers and the Writers with Dr. Jerry WorkmanMay 31, 2013Dr. Jerry Workman shares some of his thoughts on the next steps in digging into biochemistry of epigenetic mechanisms to understand what’s reading and what’s writing. Epigenetics: Getting to Know the Readers and the Writers I think the most exciting aspect about epigenetics at this time is the potential it provides for some fantastic […]
Epigenetics in Stem Cells TimelineMay 7, 2013Epigenetics and stem cells go hand in pipette. These two research areas have seen explosive growth so we thought we’d highlight some of our favorite highlights.
SCANning Single Molecules to Pinpoint Co-Occurrence of Epigenetic MarksApril 24, 2013Just because two people live on the same street doesn’t necessarily mean they live that close to each other or in the same house, yet that’s what you often have to assume when using ChIP to detect epigenetic modifications. Either that, or you have to use tons of sample and/or a labor-intensive method to figure […]
Global Chromatin Dynamics Key in Stem Cell DifferentiationApril 5, 2013Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are experts are keeping their options open, and now a scientist reports how—it turns out that Oct-4 keeps chromatin in the right state to maintain pluripotency. In a single-author paper, Xuejun Parsons, who is at the San Diego Regenerative Medicine Institute and Xcelthera, lays it all out. She’d developed a […]
Chromatin Modifications in EnhancersMarch 20, 2013Enhancers serve as distal regulators of gene expression, but insights into the precise mechanisms of enhancer chromatin modifications are still lacking. In this recent review, Calo and Wysocka summarized various enhancer-associated modifications and propose how these modifications regulate enhancer activity during development. Here are some of the key topics discussed: The Enhancer Chromatin Landscape Enhancers […]
The 3D Genome: A Review into Genomic Organization and its Key PlayersMarch 20, 2013Our genome is not linear. Nope, it’s a three-dimensional labyrinth of regulatory nooks and crannies . Gibcus and Dekker recently published this free review that looks at the spatial hierarchy of genomic organization and how it modulates gene expression. This is a great resource for those of you looking to beef up your understanding of […]
