SIMPLE-seq Collaborates Chemistries to Report Single-Cell 5mC and 5hmCFebruary 20, 2024Collaborations work best when team members’ abilities complement each other. That’s what makes SIMPLE-seq work so well—it’s a simple, easy combination of two methods that complement each other to provide both 5-methylcytosine (5mC) and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) datasets in one experiment in single cells and molecules. Continuing on the recent theme of methods that report both 5mC […]
Relax and Let NanoSPA Analyze m6A and Ψ RNA Mods for YouFebruary 20, 2024We could all use a spa day once in a while, so light some lavender-scented candles, take a deep breath, and let NanoSPA analyze the RNA modifications in your samples. This new nanopore sequencing analysis pipeline provides data on both N6-methyladenosine (m6A) and pseudouridine (Ψ) modifications at the same time, reducing stress and saving time. Instead […]
TIME-Seq Flies When Constructing Cost-Effective Epigenetic ClocksFebruary 19, 2024If time drags and money disappears when looking at DNA methylation-based epigenetic clocks, you are “in time” to hear of a newly described efficient and cost-effective bisulfite sequencing approach! Time flies – but money does not – with “tagmentation-based indexing for methylation sequencing” or TIME-seq! An on-time team led by David A. Sinclair (Harvard Medical […]
GEMS Makes the m6A RNA Modification Shine in Living CellsFebruary 5, 2024Unlike DNA or histone methylation, knowledge about N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification of RNA is a little cloudy. It’s involved in some cancers and other diseases, but we don’t know as much about its expression in living cells. Now, a new method called GEMS makes m6A shine bright like a diamond for drug discovery and delivery of […]
SSSavi: Savvy Epigenome Editing with Diverse, Orderly TeamsDecember 12, 2023Bringing in the right combination of people with different perspectives and abilities can take a team to new heights. And just like that savvy diverse team, a new epigenome editing tool called the Spy-Snoop-Sun-Avi (SSSavi) system recruits diverse effector molecules in an interchangeable and orderly way to understand how combinations of DNA and histone modifications […]
DNA Methylation Analysis Shows How Cannabis Exposure Increases the Risk of Adverse Health OutcomesDecember 11, 2023Do not risk missing a new paper describing a recent trans-ancestry epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) highlighting the significant health risks of recreational cannabis! In a fascinating new study, researchers now reveal that cannabis exposure can impact DNA methylation levels at specific regions independent of cigarette smoking to increase the risk of adverse health outcomes. Risk-averse […]
Messing Up Methylation: Formaldehyde is a Targeted Bull in a China Shop November 27, 2023Just like a bull in a china shop, formaldehyde (FA) was thought to damage almost everything it bumped into. But new research shows that it’s a lot more targeted, and it really likes proteins involved in DNA methylation. Sure, FA can preserve brains in jars, but it’s most often used in consumer products like glues and […]
A Super-specific Epigenetic Editing Strategy Silences Disease-associated Dominant MutationsNovember 22, 2023Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a “super” new study that combines the strength, ability, and ingenuity of epigenetic editing to shut down our nemesis – the disease-associated dominant mutation – while leaving the innocent bystander allele unharmed! Epigenetic superheroes led by Albert Jeltsch (University of Stuttgart) aimed to battle their […]
The Brain Cell Census: A Deeper Epigenomic Understanding of the Mammalian MainframeNovember 13, 2023If you have epigenetics on the brain like us, concentrate your mammalian mainframe on the recently published marvels on the brain’s epigenome from the NIH’s Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative – Cell Census Network (BICCN). Recent work brought together under the guise of the Brain Cell Census now reports on the examination […]
Differential Methylation Data Are Quick, Easy, and Inexpensive with FML-seqNovember 7, 2023Sometimes you just want to get straight to the point. Along those lines, FML-seq (fragmentation at methylated loci and sequencing) cuts to the chase by providing a quick look at differential methylation data without the labor and expense of other approaches. Granted, some methods like whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) tell you where every methylation event is, […]