It’s All in the Phylum: Lessons on Epigenetic Lineage From an Ancient RelativeDecember 6, 2018You won’t find amphioxus listed as close relative on 23andMe, but this humble invertebrate chordate may have paved the way for the successful vertebrates we’ve become. Although amphioxus split from the vertebrates over 500 million years ago on the phylogenetic tree, it still can offer some clues as to how vertebrates acquired such unique and […]
Stella is the Star that Prevents Aberrant DNA Methylation During OogenesisDecember 4, 2018The mammalian zygote is a platform for a multi-act show of dramatic rises and falls in DNA methylation. However, new research suggests that backstage, in the developing oocyte, resides the real star of the show: Stella. Stella oversees the complex choreography of DNA methyltransferases and the supporting cast to make sure the right cues are […]
Getting Personal with Your Blood Methylome: Continuous DNA Methylation Monitoring Anticipates DiabetesNovember 19, 2018In our futuristic world, personalization is a standard. While your watch, phone, and laptop, may be accentuated by personalizations that keep tabs on you, your methylome may not be so lucky. Thankfully, the research group of Michael Snyder has broadcast some insight of the most personal nature from their lab in the city of the […]
Twins R A Help for Studying Methylation in Rheumatoid ArthritisOctober 9, 2018If you think the best thing about being an identical twin is pulling off great pranks in school, think again. Identical (monozygotic) twins can also use their powers for good. The lab of Jane Worthington (University of Manchester, UK) has harnessed the power of twins to examine DNA methylation in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). Because RA […]
Colossal New Roadmap Study Provides Single-Chromosome View on Sequence-Dependent Allele-Specific MethylationOctober 7, 2018Colossal, gigantic, mammoth, immense; none of these adjectives appropriately describes the amount of research carried out or curated by the National Institute of Health Roadmap Epigenomics Mapping Consortium, whose final goal is to produce a public resource of human epigenomic data to drive forward basic biology and disease-oriented research. As part of this research, scientists […]
Egg-ceptional Role of Retrotransposon Transcription in Depositing DNA MethylationSeptember 25, 2018What do the mammalian genome and an old storage unit have in common? They’re both full of so-called junk. But unlike your aunt’s box of glass figurines, the junk in the human genome has turned out to have a lot of value. Most the “junk” in the human genome arose from retrotransposons. Long terminal repeat […]
Forget a Moment on the Lips, DNA Methylation Disruptions from a Night Without Sleep Could Mean ‘Forever’ on the HipsSeptember 20, 2018While staring at the alarm clock isn’ta great way to catch a healthy night’s sleep, the lull of our circadian rhythm most certainly is. The circadian clock keeps our cells and their epigenomes in shape by maintaining synchrony with the day, and now new findings from the lab of Christian Benedict at Uppsala University (Sweden) […]
Separating Cellular Best Buddies to Understand Epigenetic Dysregulation in Alzheimer’s DiseaseAugust 6, 2018Much like Laurel and Hardy, Bert and Ernie, and Pinky and the Brain, neurons and glia are firm friends and are seldom encountered in isolation. The more numerous glia support and protect their neural chums, helping them to conduct nerve impulses; however, their close companionship and disparate numbers can lead to analytical problems! Research into […]
Chill Out with Dad: Sperm DNA Methylation Changes in Response to Paternal Cold ExposureJuly 31, 2018When you think of the ideal place to live, most of us yearn for the tropics. But it turns out there may be some extra benefits to living in a cold climate (and not just lower rent!). New research from an international collaboration led by the lab of Dr. Christian Wolfrum at ETH Zurich may […]
Epigenetic Teamwork Makes the Stem Cell Dream Work!July 30, 2018Many years before the beginning of the Common Era, the ancient Greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle first exclaimed that the “the whole is more than the sum of its parts”. Now, collaborative research led by Wei Li and Margaret A. Goodell (Baylor College of Medicine, Texas, USA) that sought to describe the interplay of epigenetic modifiers […]