Eyesight from the Blind: DNA Methylation Causes Cavefish Eye DegenerationJune 11, 2018While we are no strangers to the role of epigenetics in environmental adaption, the lab of Brant Weinstein at the National Institute of Health (Maryland, USA) has brought forth an example of environmental adaption so extreme that it provides profound insight into eye degeneration and blindness. The talented team chose to examine the Mexican tetra […]
SPRITE: A Refreshing New Approach for Identifying Higher-Order Genomic StructureJune 11, 2018Are you looking for a refreshing new nuclear organization assay this summer? Well look no further than SPRITE, it will quench your thirst for a better DNA conformation assay. There are a lot of methods for assessing higher-order DNA structure, but they mostly fall into two categories: proximity ligation and in situ imaging. Proximity ligation […]
Mammalian MicroRNA Travels into the Unknown Territory of the Nucleus to Epigenetically Silence Gene ExpressionJune 9, 2018While we are accustomed to seeing soccer players stroking a ball up and down grassy white-lined pitches and actors waltzing down the red carpet wearing a sharp suit or a stunning dress, we occasionally read news of these mammalian “celebrities” spending time in what could be deemed “unknown territory”, such as the corner store or […]
eBook: Aging and EpigeneticsJune 8, 2018This eBook explores various levels at which aging and epigenetics are related. Assembled are summaries of studies exploring specific questions regarding the epigenetic basis of aging and aging-related conditions. They are divided into four chapters: 1. DNA Methylation Epigenetic Clock 2. Anti-aging 3. Alzheimer’s Disease 4. Stem Cells
Cognitive Benefits of Dad’s Enriched Environment Passed to Offspring Through Sperm miRNAsMay 25, 2018With Father’s Day just around the corner, it’s the time of year we think about how we can “enrich” Dad’s life with power tools, gift cards, and hand-made crafts. But maybe we should be looking into enriching Dad’s cognitive environment because it turns out that he can pass those benefits on. In mice, the environmental […]
Keeping it CLASSY with RNA-directed DNA Methylation in ArabidopsisMay 22, 2018There’s many ways to keep it classy, and while the recent Royal Wedding has demonstrated that some families illustrate their style with an eclectic taste for hats and fascinators, the CLASSY family of chromatin remodeling factors has just out-classed them with its chromatin tastes that shape RNA-directed DNA methylation. In Arabidopsis thaliana, RNA Pol-IV triggers […]
Sea Snails Thank RNA-induced DNA Methylation for the Long-term Memories!May 16, 2018Forget everything you know about memories (!) because a new study has turned our knowledge regarding memory formation on its head by showing the ability to transfer memories from animal-to-animal! Current dogma states that learning-induced modifications of synaptic connections underlie the storage of our long-term memory (LTM); however, recent studies have suggested that neuron cell […]
C. elegans Histone Memory of a Tropical VacationMay 14, 2018Most of us wouldn’t mind taking a tropical vacation, and we’re all likely to snap a few selfies to capture vacation memories. While the humble Caenorhabditis elegans may lack the latest phone and accompanying selfie stick, it makes up for it with epigenetic memory of warm weather vacations. More specifically, worms raised at higher temperatures undergo […]
Snord116 Keeps DNA Methylation’s Circadian Rhythm Ticking in the BrainMay 10, 2018Sunrise, Sunset. The tempo of a day can quickly pass us by while filling our brain with all epigenetics has to offer. But whether our brains are aware of it or not, with each sunrise and sunset comes a rhythmic genome-wide DNA methylation profile. To gain insight into exactly what makes our brain’s rhythmically tick, […]
EpiTOF Histone Modification Analysis Reveals How Aging Cells Grow Apart!May 9, 2018Some say that all babies look the same – small, warm bags of tears and mayhem – with significant differences only appearing as we grow older and grow apart from our newborn brethren (and sistren!). Our burgeoning epigenome may react to aging in a very similar manner, with age-related losses and gains of DNA methylation combining […]