The Powerhouse Of The Cell Is At It Again! Mighty Mitochondria Modify DNA Methylation and MortalityNovember 24, 2020If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell. Adding to this prowess is a new finding showing that the amount of mitochondrial DNA impacts nuclear DNA methylation and gene expression, ultimately influencing mortality and cardiovascular disease. While we’ve seen how mutant mitochondria can influence histone […]
How I Met Your Mother: DNMT3A from Mom Leaves its Mark on Dad’s Genome in the Early EmbryoNovember 24, 2020While stories of Mom meeting Dad often leave their mark on a family, and sometimes a nation, the plot has now thickened thanks to new findings showing that Mom’s DNMT3A leaves its mark on Dad’s genome in the early embryo. DNA methylation in the male germline undergoes massive changes during preimplantation. High paternal DNA methylation […]
No Biopsy? No Problem! – Detecting Pancreatic Cancer from Cell-Free DNA 5hmC ProfilingNovember 13, 2020Want to detect the development of pancreatic cancer and improve patient outcomes but don’t have any tissue biopsies? An exciting new epigenetics study that employed liquid biopsies to detect 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) on circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) to allow the early detection of pancreatic cancer now says: “No Problem!” Researchers at Bluestar Genomics (San Diego, CA, USA), […]
Turning the Spotlight on Extraordinary Epigenetics ContentNovember 13, 2020Our sponsors help keep the lights on, the Wi-Fi humming, and our epigenetic content flowing to your screens each week. And while we may be a tad biased, we want to turn the spotlight on the range of highly useful and always educational epigenetics content from these websites that you should check out! Dovetail Genomics […]
Special Multiomics Feature: Combinatorial DNA Methylation and Chromatin Assays Serve Up New InsightNovember 9, 2020Combinations of old favorites can be even tastier than the sum of their parts. Who doesn’t leave peanut butter and jam, chips and dip, and DNA methylation and chromatin assays? While they sound appetizing, those last two aren’t quite as easy to get together. Many assays have been developed in the past to combine ChIP […]
Long-Sperm Effects: THC and Nicotine Have A Lasting Impact on Bivalent Chromatin and Autism GenesNovember 4, 2020While some fathers planning a family may be left in a bivalent state when deciding about smoking cannabis or nicotine, new research has cleared the air. THC and nicotine both prime an autism spectrum disorder profile in sperm through altering DNA methylation within bivalent chromatin states. In their seminal paper, researchers from the lab of […]
Low-Pass WGBS of Newborn Dried Blood Spots: A Methylome-Wide Role for the RUNX1 Super-Enhancer in Down SyndromeOctober 23, 2020While collecting blood spots may seem like a hobby best left for a TV serial killer like Dexter Morgan, a novel low-pass whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) approach has shown that newborn dried blood spots are more than just a trophy. Their entire methylome can be assayed to answer enticing epigenomic enigmas. DNA methylation array studies have […]
X Marks the Spot for Neurodevelopment in the Autism Spectrum Disorder Cord Blood MethylomeOctober 19, 2020Every good pirate knows that X marks the spot on their treasure map, but what’s one to do when it’s surrounded by the dangers of uncharted territory? Thankfully, when it comes to the unexplored regions of the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) DNA methylome, whole genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) has illuminated the way to the X chromosome […]
Epigenetic Cross-Talk: Histone H3K36 Methyltransferases Shape Sex Differences in Germ Cell DNA MethylationOctober 7, 2020Why did the DNA methylation cross the road? To cross-talk to the histone methyltransferase on the other side! In the epigenetics, cross-talk is how different marks “talk” to each other during development and is still something of mystery. NSD1 and SETD2 encode enzymes that chemically modify H3K36me2 and H3K36me3 respectively. Germline mutations in these genes […]
Racing Against the Epigenetic Clock: PRDM8 and Premature AgingOctober 5, 2020Scientists are always working against the clock, and recently, a team led by Wolfgang Wagner (RWTH Aachen University, Germany) used their ever-evaporating time to explore a potential link between telomere shortening and epigenetic clock acceleration in premature-aging associated bone marrow failure syndromes and describe a new disease biomarker! Patients with premature aging and difficult-to-diagnose bone […]
