Aspirin and lncRNA Team Up on TumorsMarch 1, 2016Over 100 years ago, the founder of chemotherapy, Paul Ehrlich, coined the term “magic bullet” to describe an ideal therapeutic agent used to target disease, such as cancer. Since then, we have assessed many different anti-tumorigenic compounds, although we are only beginning to understand just how some of these bullets hit their target. This understanding, […]
MeRIP-seq, N1-methyladenosine (m1A), and the Expanding EpitranscriptomeFebruary 23, 2016There’s no denying that understanding a new language can be tricky. Without a complete alphabet, the most important messages can be lost in translation. When it comes to complex languages, the epigenome is no exception. There are a number of RNA base modifications involved in post transcriptional regulation, including pseudouridine (Ψ) and 5hmC, and there’s […]
Towards Blood DNA Methylation as a Pan-Cancer Surveillance ScreenFebruary 5, 2016Early and less tedious cancer diagnosis can prevent future complications and improve patient outcome, however past studies have revealed that the markers of most cancers are as unique as snowflakes. An enticing solution for this heterogeneity would be to screen for any type of cancer using one detection system to ‘rule them all’. Differential DNA […]
DNA Methylation and Transcription Data from Single Stem CellsJanuary 28, 2016Ever wanted to be able to do two things at the same time? Like work and have a social life? Eat pizza and still fit in your new purchases? Pat your head and rub your belly? While these highly important combinations remain almost impossible (at least for the EpiGenie staff), a stellar cast of scientists […]
Stress Accelerates Epigenetic AgeingDecember 18, 2015The epigenetic clock has developed faster than the iWatch: it can predict biological age from select CpGs, which when compared with chronological age, gives a metric known as Δ-age. The greater the difference, the greater the acceleration of epigenetic age, which indicates variation in the rate of senescence between people. To understand this variation and […]
Epigenetic Diversity Teams Up with Genetics to Explain Complex PhenotypesDecember 4, 2015If epigenetics has taught us anything, it’s that genes are not our destiny. Even though aberrant patterns of epigenetic marks have been caught at the scene of the crime in many disease states, we know relatively little about their natural variation and how this influences human health. That may be about to change however with […]
DNA Methylation and SNPs Interact to Shape Neurodevelopment and Schizophrenia RiskDecember 4, 2015While epigenetic marks drive traits on their own, their complex influence on phenotype can also be caught in an intimate tango with underlying sequence. One way to characterize this association is by studying DNA methylation quantitative trait loci (mQTLs), which are SNPs in the genome that influence DNA methylation. Previously, the Lab of Jonathan Mill […]
Enhancers Shape the Fetal Landscape of Dynamic Developmental DNA MethylationNovember 29, 2015Waddington’s epigenetic landscape is a classic metaphor for the role of epigenomics in development. In it, a cell becomes increasingly committed to a certain developmental trajectory as it acquires marks that poise it for later development. Massive efforts have been undertaken to chart this unexplored landscape and discover the buried treasures of development. Much has […]
CRISPR-Enhanced Enhancer MappingNovember 29, 2015Enhancers are hugely important regulatory regions of DNA that control gene expression. New techniques are telling us a lot about enhancer structure and function, but the study of enhancers could still use some enhancement. Enhancers are currently defined by what they look like (local DNA methylation, histone modifications, and chromatin availability) or by pulling them […]
Bisulfite FREEway Provides Route to the Lost Oxidized Derivatives of DNA MethylationNovember 16, 2015When navigating complex environments, it’s always handy to have a good map. Although the human epigenome project has been pretty good at mapping the complexities of 5-methyl cytosine (5mC), and more recently 5-hydroxymethylation (5hmC), other oxidative derivatives of 5hmC, 5-formylcytosine (5fC) and 5-carboxylcytosine (5caC), have remained relatively uncharted terrain. Researchers from North Carolina and Active Motif […]