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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A TAD of Disruption Shows the Importance of Boundaries

June 1, 2015

If you’ve ever seen a polydactyl cat you might (understandably) live in fear of cats with thumbs. If we want to prevent the takeover by our feline friends we need to understand the cause of this limb anomaly. Luckily, researchers led by Stefan Mundlos have done just that by asking if 3D chromosome structure data […]

Could Chromatin Organization be the Key to Eternal Youth?

May 13, 2015

For thousands of years great men such as Alexander the Great and Ponce de León have searched far and wide in their search for the fountain of youth and the hope of eternal life. But where they previously failed, an enterprising group of scientists may have now just succeeded! A report published recently in Science […]

Twins Team Up to Help Unravel DNA Methylation in Schizophrenia

May 12, 2015

While 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 Fate

May 12, 2015

With 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 Mark

May 12, 2015

There’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 Touch

May 5, 2015

Upcycling 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 […]

Catching RNA Polymerases in Action: New NETs for Higher Resolution

May 1, 2015

For a long time RNA polymerases did not get the credit they actually deserve. They have been viewed as muscle-cars at a drag race: Waiting for a start signal to race along the gene only stopping for the finish line. This view, however, has markedly changed with the development of high-throughput sequencing techniques such as […]

Get in the Loop of Antisense Mediated Transcriptional Regulation

April 30, 2015

Long non-coding RNA research isn’t just a load of HOTAIR; since their initial discovery long non-coding RNAs have revealed their importance in regulating the genome. One such insight is the observation that lncRNA express antisense transcripts, which are abundantly found either partially or completely overlapping with transcripts from the opposite strand. These have been shown […]

Finding Epimutations in the Genome Haystack

April 30, 2015

Trying 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 […]

Boosting Transcription with a Little Help from Histone Crotonylation

April 24, 2015

Every auto enthusiast knows that if you want to maximize the performance of your car, you’ve got to have the right parts in the right combination. While sometimes you may have to completely rebuild your engine, other times all you need is to upgrade to the latest system components. In a recent article published in […]