DNA Methylation and Diet: You Are Also What Your Father AteDecember 17, 2013Freud famously blamed mothers for nearly everything, and when early epigenetic studies indicated that you are what your mom (and grandma and great-grandma) ate, it seemed to back him up. But when it comes to complex traits and environment, a new report from scientists at McGill University (Montreal) found that a father’s diet shapes a child too. […]
Webinar: Covering all the Bases with Genome-Wide 5-mC and 5-hmC SequencingDecember 17, 2013Covering all the Bases with Genome-Wide 5-mC and 5-hmC Sequencing By Dr Keith Booher, PhD. Manager of Epigenetic Services at Zymo Research Abstract: There is an ever-increasing appreciation for the remarkable ability of epigenetic modifications, such as the methylation of cytosines in DNA (5-mC), to respond to environmental cues and influence gene expression in biological […]
Tet1 Demethylation Wipes the Genomic Imprinting Slate CleanDecember 12, 2013The mechanisms surrounding genomic imprinting has always been a bit of black-box, especially when it comes to the erasure of paternal methylation patterns. A recent study led by Yi Zhang at the Boston Children’s Hospital has made a breakthrough in our understanding of imprinting, showing that Tet1 is a major part of the clean-up crew […]
Promega SIRT-Glo™ Assays Illuminate the Search for SirtuinsDecember 11, 2013Sirtuins (SIRTs) sure seem to getting around. These energetic class III HDAC enzymes have their fingerprints on everything from Alzheimer’s to Inflammation, generating enough spotlight (and even a little controversy) to make even Kanye West a feel little jealous. Promega’s new SIRT-Glo™ Assays and Screening Systems are the latest tool to help researchers study the […]
Zymo Research and Active Motif Get Props from JournalistasDecember 11, 2013Our sources report that some good friends, and fellow epigenetics advocates have been getting kudos from the scientific press. Both Zymo Research and Active Motif each garnered some well-deserved recognition recently for their contributions to the field of epigenetics research, and we thought it was only right to join in on the praise. Zymo Research […]
Spotlight on Emerging RNA Methylation Analysis TechniquesDecember 9, 2013Taking cues from ultra-talented entertainers like Justin Timberlake, methylation is out to prove it’s possible to be successful in more than just one medium. Recent research has found that methylation can pull off its’ gene expression regulatory magic at the level of RNA too. And no, we’re not talking about other RNA modifications, like 6-methyladenosine […]
Long Intergenic Non-Coding RNAs, One of Life’s Bare EssentialsDecember 4, 2013If you were forced to choose a few bare essentials for a lengthy stay on a deserted island, most of us would choose items like some great tunes, a favorite book, or a loved one, but some new research points out that lincRNAs ought to be considered too, since a clever crew at Harvard has recently […]
lncRNA Gets Classy: Chromatin Signatures Distinguish SpeciesDecember 4, 2013Everyone wants to be judged based on their own merits, and not just what group they happen to be a part of. With the help of a talented crew from the University of Oxford, lncRNAs have just been given a wonderful holiday gift to help them break free of their one-size-fits-all stereotype; two distinct classes […]
Modifying Our View of Histones with Dr. Jerry WorkmanDecember 3, 2013Dr. Jerry Workman discusses the questions surrounding the preservation of histone marks, and the balance between histone turnover and transgenerational inheritance. The Dynamic Histone Code I think one of the most exciting things for me that’s being approached in the field more recently is how are histone marks preserved? We talk about these things carrying […]
The Loose Ends in the Chromatin-Transcription Relationship with Dr. Steven HenikoffDecember 3, 2013Dr. Henikoff discusses some of the gaps in our understanding of transcription and chromatin that still need to be filled in. The Unknowns of RNA Polymerase-Nucleosome Interactions Well, you would think with so much work done on the relationship between transcription and chromatin, the fact that there’s so many meetings on it and all. We […]