Turning Back the Clock: Epigenetics, iPSCs and AgingFebruary 25, 2011Aging can be a real downer, but for some individuals premature aging is a lot more serious than a few aches and pains the morning after some touch football. Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) is a rare and fatal genetic disorder where the victims speed through aging. It is caused by a point mutation in the […]
5-mC Stabilizes High-Maintenance MethyltransferasesFebruary 16, 2011Many things in life–like diets, exercise routines, and blogs–are easier to start than maintain. The same can be said for DNA methylation. De novo methyltransferases establish DNA methylation patterns in embryonic stem cells, but exactly how somatic cells maintain these patterns is puzzling. Now researchers at the University of Southern California have identified a new […]
Genome-Wide Methylation Sequencing Hits the Fast LaneFebruary 11, 2011Genome-wide DNA methylation sequencing hasn’t been much more than sci-fi reading for most labs. Sure there’ve been some great papers with really slick technologies, but many researchers just don’t have access to them. In many cases, no single lab can handle the complete experimental workflow from sample prep to data management/analysis, requiring collaborations with other […]
MethylC-Seq Delivers First Single Base Resolution Methylation Profiles of iPSCsFebruary 2, 2011There’s always something a bit “off” when you look at aging starlets who’ve had some work done. In the same way, researchers in California and Wisconsin recently found that induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) generated from old somatic cells aren’t quite the same as youthful embryonic stem cells (ESCs)—the epigenetics are “off”. Sure, iPSCs and […]
Watch It: Sensitive 5-hmC Detection in ActionFebruary 1, 2011Hockey, Nascar, 5-hmC analysis…. Somethings are just better experienced in person. So if you’re in the market for pinning down 5-hmC in your studies, you’ll want to check out this short JOVE vid that show’s NEB’s EpiMark™ 5-hmC and 5-mC Analysis Kit tracking down 5-hydroxymethylcytosine levels in mouse Babl/C brain. Watch Video Click to view […]
Take a Bite Out of Cancer with the Epigenetics DietFebruary 1, 2011What’s your idea of a perfect meal? Whether you’re into the In-N-Out burger, fries, and milkshake trifecta, or you’re more of a “cleanse” type, the epigenetics enthusiast in you will be interested in a recent review by Trygve Tollefsbol and colleagues that reveals that certain foods contain ingredients that may prevent and treat cancer. Although […]
First Exon Methylation Gets Last Word On SilencingJanuary 31, 2011Arguments are often won by whoever gets in the last word, and while CpG Islands have made the most noise in the debate over how DNA methylation controls transcription, other gene regions like exons are now chiming in too. The classic model where methylated CpG Islands in promoters shut down transcription of a gene has […]
Single Cell Methylation Analysis: Brought to You by RMSAJanuary 30, 2011As DNA methylation keeps popping up in the discussion of more and more diseases, it’s clear that current analysis techniques can only give us part of the big picture. To help focus on other parts of that picture, a new method has been devised that zooms in on the methylation status of single cells. The […]
Ta-da! Blood Cells Transform into iPSCsJanuary 20, 2011Turning a cell into an induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) is tricky. It turns out that blood cells have an edge—they already epigenetically resemble iPSCs. When U.S. and Chinese researchers poked around the DNA of human CD34+ cells from umbilical cord blood and adult blood, they found that the promoters’ methylation patterns looked a heck […]
Stem Cells Can’t Hold Their LiquorJanuary 17, 2011Growing up, you always hear that drinking alcohol kills brain cells. According to a new report (not to mention a slow recovery from the EpiGenie New Year’s Eve Bash) there’s definitely some truth to that old adage. Researchers at Indiana University looked at alcohol’s effect on neural stem cells (NSCs) during development by running NSC […]
