Fortune Telling with EPICOVID – A Novel DNA Methylation Signature that Predicts COVID-19 SeverityMay 9, 2021DNA methylation signatures can function somewhat like a fortune teller’s crystal ball – foretelling those patients with poor prognosis and helping to choose the optimal treatment strategy. By gazing into the crystal ball of the COVID-19 methylome, a fortune-telling team led by Manel Esteller (Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain) and Aurora Pujol (Bellvitge […]
DNA Methylation Signature Defines a Second Neurodevelopmental Disorder Associated with SRCAPApril 27, 2021Sometimes the only way to tell who’s who is with their signatures. It turns out that epigenetic signatures can tell one disorder from another, and even help find new ones. Chromatin remodelers play important roles in neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Pathogenic genetic variants in many of these genes cause specific NDDs. These are often associated with […]
Meet the Escape Artists of X-Chromosome InactivationApril 22, 2021While an escape from the zoo sounds newsworthy on its own, the addition of X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) makes it irresistible for our news crew. An exciting new epigenetic effort has captured the exceptional XCI escape artists across eutherian mammals. XCI is a dosage compensation mechanism in females that results in the inactivation of one of […]
Methylation’s Moonlighting Mysteries: DNMT3L’s Divergent Roles in Down SyndromeApril 12, 2021By daylight, DNA methyltransferase 3L (DNMT3L) takes on the modest role of a catalytically inactive but stimulatory binding partner for its more popular methyltransferase siblings (DNMT3A and DNMT3B). But, when the sun goes down, DNMT3L gives new meaning to protein moonlighting. DNMT3L is located on chromosome 21, which has made it a prime candidate for the Down syndrome […]
A “Batty” New Epigenetic Clock Provides Clues About Healthy AgingApril 8, 2021Are you cuckoo for clocks, dotty for DNA methylation, and avid about aging? Well, a “batty” new study of epigenetic aging in certain long-lived winged mammals has just added to the zoo of clues about epigenetic age by providing a bat epigenetic clock. Specifically, an ardent team of researchers led by the levels heads of […]
From Single Molecules to Single Cells: NanoMethPhase and scMspJI-seq Upgrade DNA Methylation Mining MethodsApril 2, 2021Mining the DNA methylome can provide a treasure trove of biological insight, and two new whole-genome DNA methylation sequencing methods have come along to fuel a technological gold rush. NanoMethPhase and scMspJI-seq break new ground in phasing allele-specific methylation (ASM) and generating strand-specific single-cell methylomes. By applying these novel approaches, the talented teams dig deep into complex DNA […]
Stat3 is a Mitochondrial Mastermind Behind Metabolic Control of DNA Methylation in Naïve Stem CellsFebruary 15, 2021We’ve seen that mitochondria can modify nuclear DNA methylation, but until recently, the identities of the masterminds behind how the powerhouse of the cell can affect epigenetic change in the nucleus have remained classified. Although Stat3 is most notably recruited by LIF to activate the pluripotency gene network in the nucleus, we also know that LIF […]
Not Your Mother’s Mary-Jane: CBD Messes with the Prenatal Mouse Brain DNA MethylomeFebruary 8, 2021The times sure have changed since Woodstock ’69. Instead of having to hide their stash from the nearest authority figures, cannabis enthusiasts have been given the greenlight by the recent legalization of cannabis products across the globe. In fact, studies suggest that cannabidiol (CBD), the non-psychoactive compound in cannabis, can be helpful in treating anything […]
Big Things Come in Small Packages: Nanobodies Enter the Epigenetic Editing RingFebruary 4, 2021While we have seen many contenders for the title of heavyweight champion in the epigenetic editing ring, the adage “big things come in small packages” has taken on a new meaning. Nanobodies, or single-domain antibodies, demonstrate that featherweights can pack an explosive epigenetic editing punch by using their opponents’ momentum against them. Researchers led by […]
Sperm Throw “Three-pointers” to Ensure Transgenerational Epigenetic InheritanceJanuary 26, 2021In the game of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, many labs have been searching for a slam dunk. Now, in a game-changing new article, ballers from the laboratory of Michael K. Skinner (Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA) provide a play-by-play of how teamwork between non-coding RNA expression, DNA methylation, and histone modifications allows rat sperm to […]
