The Daily Rhythms of Transcription and the EpigenomeDecember 7, 2012We all have a daily routine. For much of the EpiGenie office staff, that includes getting out of bed, brushing our teeth, going to work, grabbing a coffee, clocking a few hours on Facebook and complaining that there aren’t enough hours in the day. Now, researchers say that transcription and epigenetic modifications in mouse liver […]
Low Cell ChIP-SeqNovember 28, 2012Chilly, wintry temps have us longing for palm trees, sandy beaches, and the limbo call of “How low can you go?” Researchers in Norway and Germany have the answer—and a new ChIP-seq method that allows them to analyze genome-wide DNA-protein interaction data for samples that have very few cells, without culturing (which could alter epigenetic […]
MNase-Seq Produces High Resolution Nucleosome Positioning MapsNovember 27, 2012Nucleosomes don’t have GPS, so how do they know where to go? Are they haphazardly strewn across the genome or is there some logic to it? Researchers now say they have some answers. They found that DNA sequence and DNA-binding proteins play roles in determining where nucleosomes end up, and that most nucleosomes are more […]
One Step ChIP with Abcam’s EpiSeeker ChIP KitNovember 20, 2012Antibody companies like Abcam run a ton of ChIP experiments, so they’re all too familiar with the amount of variability that can lurk in every step of the ChIP protocol. So what’s the safest way to reduce variability and get consistent results? Reduce the steps of course; and that’s exactly what the EpiSeeker ChIP Kit […]
This Stem Cell Reprogramming is Made Possible with Generous Support from Histone H3.3October 30, 2012Some people dress up their pets in clothes so that they will look more like their human owners. Turns out, a similar thing happens in the nuclear transfer process to make stem cells. Jerome Jullien and colleagues in 2012 Nobel laureate John B. Gurdon’s lab (along with a number of other great researchers in France […]
GC Content and CpG Islands Keep Chromatin Open for TranscriptionOctober 30, 2012The word “island” conjures up images of a tropical paradise with a sandy beach and a sunny sky—a nice place to hang out. In a similar way, CpG islands turn out to be nice places for Pol II to hang out without worrying about pesky nucleosomes getting in the way, according to researchers in France […]
Three Ways to Get Intimate with Epigenetic MarksOctober 24, 2012The days of dealing with regional estimates of epigenetic marks like histone modifications and DNA methylation are just about behind us. That’s right, the maps that lie ahead will be less Thomas Guide and more GPS. Drs. Gabriel Zentner and Steve Henikoff recently took some time off from being all-star cancer researchers and pulled together […]
Histone Variant H2A.Z Plays in Active and Repressive ElementsOctober 9, 2012In this election season, few people are on the fence about their choice for U.S. president. But histone H2A.Z seemingly votes on both sides of the transcription —hanging out at active regulatory elements and at repressive ones. Researchers in Boston figured out how H2A.Z does this, and it may have to do with the different […]
New Apps: Interactive Epigenomic Data Browser and DNAm Data ToolkitsOctober 4, 2012Apple may have bombed their latest Maps integration, but the Epigenome mapping consortia out there are making it look easy by pumping out datasets by the server full. So it only makes sense that there needs to be robust software to help researchers make sense of it all. Two new papers in Genome Biology offer […]
Webinar: Early Life Determinants of Mental Health – Epigenomic Mechanisms with Dr. Patrick McGowanOctober 3, 2012Dr. Patrick McGowan discusses the impact early-life events can have on our epigenomes in this recorded webinar. This webinar is brought to you with support from Porvair Filtration Group. Check out their line of innovative ChIP kits and reagents at chromatrap.com Abstract Human epidemiological studies and studies of animal models provide many examples by which […]
