Salivating Insights into the DNA Methylation Connection in Fetal Alcohol SyndromeJuly 20, 2015Things often show up where you least expect. Whether it’s finding your keys in the freezer, your phone in the couch, English kings underneath a car park, or the secrets of brain development in spit. Sometimes all you have to do is look. Previously, the lab of Shiva Singh from the University of Western Ontario […]
Resistance is Futile: Epigenetic Therapy Makes Cancer Cells DefenselessJuly 9, 2015A team of American scientists have shown that an epigenetic therapy might hold promise for combatting drug resistance in cancer. Cancer cells are masters of drug evasion and adept at using alternative pathways to give them an edge during treatment, complicating many therapeutic approaches. Overcoming drug resistance in cancer cells, would save millions of lives […]
Book Review: Epigenetics – Current Research and Emerging TrendsJuly 2, 2015Edited by Brian P. Chadwick and composed of 17 chapters from thought leaders in academia and industry, this is one text you don’t want to miss. It covers a wide breadth of topics ranging from DNA methylation to Chromatin to ncRNA, with insight from across the tree of life and related human disorders. The perspective […]
5fC is Stable in Mammalian BrainsJune 24, 2015DNA methylation has been undergoing dramatic change lately. 6mA shook things up by showing Cytosine can’t claim all the glory and now a talented team from the UK have shown 5-formylcytosine (5fC) is starting to follow in 5hmC’s independent footsteps. The team profiled 5hmC, 5fC, and 5caC using: in vivo isotope labeling of methionine to penetrate […]
CpH Methylation Gets A Tissue Specific MakeoverJune 15, 2015In the latest show of the power of teamwork we see some of the biggest names in epigenetics join forces to unravel the mysteries of the methylome across different tissues, including the molecular cartographers who tackled the brain and the researchers who brought forth the predictive powers of Epigram. The talented team from the Salk Institute and UCSD have […]
Twins Team Up to Help Unravel DNA Methylation in SchizophreniaMay 12, 2015While they can’t see through lead or stop bullets with their chest, twins do have a superpower of their own – when it comes to unraveling the complex genomic and epigenomic changes underlying diseases and disorders. In their latest adventure monozygotic twins are helping to understand the DNA methylation changes associated with schizophrenia. The epigenomics of […]
A TET-à-TET Between SIRT6 and 5hmC Controls Embryonic Stem Cell FateMay 12, 2015With many political parties fighting it out for influence in the UK general election last week, it is nice to see the spirit of cooperation alive and well in embryonic stem cells. In their latest study, Raul Mostoslavsky and colleagues show that two giants of epigenetic regulation, histone acetylation and DNA hydroxymethylation, team up to […]
6mA Makes the Grade as a Eukaryotic Epigenetic MarkMay 12, 2015There’s no denying that we love DNA methylation, so we are delighted to learn of another form of DNA methylation that has come on the scene as an epigenetic mark. N6-Methyladenosine (6mA or m6A) refers to the methylation of adenosine at its nitrogen-6 position, as opposed to 5mC and related oxidative marks (5hmC, 5fC, 5caC) that occur on […]
Upcycling the Epigenome in the Brain Help Neurons Stay in TouchMay 5, 2015Upcycling is the latest of many green crazes where people keep hold of old furniture and instead of throwing it away, they repurpose it to give new life. It seems that the brain might be doing the same for methylation. It’s been a long held belief that DNA methylation is fixed in differentiated cells, yet there is […]
Finding Epimutations in the Genome HaystackApril 30, 2015Trying to identify DNA methylation mutations with current technologies usually requires a lot of cells, making it a lot like hunting for a needle in a haystack. Getting down to looking at single cells is becoming possible, but requires you to look at the whole genome, making the hunt for epimutations difficult. Recent work from Silvia […]