Methylation Maps Pinpoint Epigenetic Differences in Human TissuesAugust 19, 2013It’s easy to get overwhelmed by just how much data an epigenome can hold. It’s hard to decide exactly where to start studying DNA methylation. Assaying every CpG site in the genome just isn’t practical for most researchers and a lot of money is spent on obtaining uninformative data. “Owing to the relatively small fraction […]
Fetal Stress: The Imprinting of GenerationsAugust 13, 2013Stress gets to us all on occasion. Whether it’s the more familiar stress that leads to hair-tearing-out, or some other version like coping with a bully, plants dealing with temperature changes, or even alcohol exposure as a fetus, stress has been shown to have profound effects on individuals down to an epigenetic level. But as […]
RRBS Dives Deep into Zebrafish Brain MethylomesAugust 12, 2013Get ready for the Zebrafishnado! OK, a tornado filled with cute little aquarium fish isn’t nearly as terrifying as a Sharknado, but a whirlwind of new data on zebrafish methylomes did reveal that their DNA methylation patterns are pretty unique compared to other species, including humans. Scientists from New Zealand realized that no one had […]
DNA Methylation Adds Variety to Human PopulationsAugust 7, 2013If variety is the spice of life, then DNA methylation sure seems to be supplying some of the flavor. A new study shows that DNA methylation isn’t just responsible for the differences in individuals, but for variations in populations as well. We’re no strangers to the way that DNA methylation can differ in diseases and […]
Purity By Design – Zymo Research Cleans Up DNA for Epigenetic AnalysisAugust 6, 2013Question the design of your spin column. All spin columns are not created equal, and designs from some other companies may result in buffer retention, even after centrifugation. The buffer carry-over can contain high concentrations of salts, detergents, and other buffer components that are eventually eluted from the column along with your DNA or RNA […]
MeCP2, Rett Syndrome and Getting to Know the Brain with Dr. Adrian BirdAugust 6, 2013Dr. Adrian Bird discusses what MeCP2 has to do with Rett Syndrome, and researchers still have a long way to go towards understanding the human brain. MeCP2, Rett Syndrome and Getting to Know the Brain with Dr. Adrian Bird I think the protein we work on, MeCP2, which recognizes methylated DNA, we knew it recognized […]
Epigenetics goes Viral: Herpes the Histone HijackerJuly 25, 2013By the age of 40 most of us will be infected with human cytomegalovirus (hCMV), which is a human herpes virus. Pretty scary, eh? But fear not, hCMV infections are usually harmless. However, it still posses a significant public health risk as the virus remains the leading infectious cause of birth defects and a serious […]
CRISPRi: The User-Friendly Transcriptional RepressorJuly 25, 2013Usually when you think of the immune system it isn’t at the level of our bacterial friends. But “prokaryotes have evolved diverse RNA-mediated systems that use short CRISPR RNAs (crRNAs) and Cas (CRISPR-associated) proteins to detect and defend against invading DNA elements” This system, also known as the CRISPR/Cas system, is a prokaryotic immune system […]
How Active are Your HDACs? Abcam HDAC & SIRT Activity Assay KitsJuly 25, 2013Based on their booming popularity lately, it seems that histone deacetylases (HDACs) and sirtuins (SIRTs) lead pretty active epigenetic lives. As the experiments continue, there are several reasons why the epigenetics research community would want to keep tabs on what HDACs and SIRTs are doing including: Assessing HDAC or SIRT purification Screening for HDAC/SIRT inhibitors […]
Epigenetics: Damage Control in the Cell with Dr. Jim HaberJuly 25, 2013Dr. Haber discusses how normal cells deal with DNA damage and genomic integrity; and how those systems go awry in cancer cells. Epigenetics: Damage Control in the Cell Well, I work in an area of DNA repair. And what we have come to realize over the last decade is how these repair mechanisms prevent cells […]