epigenetics

Epigenetics and ncRNA Headlines

Get all the latest highlights from the literature and special features covering trending epigenetics, ncRNA, and gene regulation research.

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Major Psychosis Upsets the Epigenetic Balance of Chromosome 11 in the Brain

May 28, 2019

We always hear about the importance of balance in our lives; work-life balance, balanced budgets, and a balanced diet, but what happens when the scales are tipped? For people struggling with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, an imbalance of dopamine in the brain can lead to delusions or hallucinations caused by major psychosis. Although we’ve known […]

eBook: Cancer and Epigenetics

May 15, 2019

Changes in epigenetic regulation are hallmarks of the transition from normal to cancerous cells. Exploration of the role of epigenetics in cancer has proven to be informative for better understanding both cancer and epigenetic mechanisms. In this EpiGenie ebook, we present summaries of several studies on exploring the role of specific epigenetic processes in cancer. […]

The Emergence of m7G onto the Mammalian Epitranscriptome Scene

May 9, 2019

From Greta Thunberg leading global climate protests to Katie Bouman capturing the first picture of a black hole; sometimes an emerging star can create enormous waves on the world scene. In the realm of epigenetics, the “humble” N 7-methylguanosine (m7G) modification forms the eukaryotic mRNA cap, a structure that regulates mRNA export, translation, and splicing, […]

If You Like Piña Coladas, and tRNAs: Unique Relationships Between tRFs and mRNAs

May 6, 2019

It can be tough to find a significant other that checks all the boxes: smart, funny, and into epigenetics. But if you think your relationship is tough to figure out, just wait until you see the relationship between tRNA derived fragments and mRNAs. New research from the lab of Isidore Rigoutsos (Thomas Jefferson University, USA) […]

Astronomical Findings from the NASA Twin Study on the Effects of Space Flight

May 6, 2019

Identical twins are known for having some pretty out of this world similarities. Picking the same clothes, feeling the other’s pain, and often going into the same careers. The latter is true for Mark and Scott Kelly, monozygotic twins who also both happen to have been trained as astronauts. Twins are a favorite model system […]

Members of the PIWI League Play Important Positions in the Brain

May 3, 2019

It takes a special kind of small RNA to try out for the PIWI team. PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNA) are small, have and adenine at their 10th position, an uracil at their 5’ end, and 2’-O-methylation at their 3’ end. This unique physique helps piRNA work with PIWI proteins to defend the germline against an aggressive transposon offense, but […]

New Epigenetic Clock Offers an Evolutionary Conserved View of Aging Through Ribosomal DNA Methylation

April 27, 2019

With updates and novel iterations to the “epigenetic clock” occurring at a pace faster than our smartwatches, it’s about time a new player emerged in the world of epigenetic clocks. Not only can these specialist timepieces keep track of our chronological age, but they can also tell us how environmental factors affect the pace of […]

Giving Identity to the Masses: Antisense lncRNA Transcription Facilitates DNA Demethylation to Determine Promoter Choice

April 21, 2019

As modern technology develops, we grow increasingly connected with one another while also striving to maintain our individual identities. Although some may blame social media for our desire to be unique snowflakes just like everyone else, exciting new research demonstrates a molecular mechanism for individual neuronal identity in the brain that may just be the […]

The Relationship Between CTCF and DNA Methylation? It’s Complicated…

April 16, 2019

Everyone knows one of those couples who keeps getting together and breaking up, as if they’re trying to decide how much they like each other. Well the chromatin architectural protein CTCF and DNA methylation have one of those relationships, and it just got more complicated! For years, we’ve been trying to decipher whether DNA methylation always prevents […]

Sugar Sticks it to Histones and Causes Problems for Chromatin Architecture

April 15, 2019

Many of us have been lectured by our dentist about eating those delicious, sticky candies. Now, as it turns out, those cavity-causing sugars not only stick to your teeth but can stick to your histones too! Through a non-enzymatic process known as glycation, a glucose group is covalently attached to specific amino acids, which can […]