Features

Features

EpiGenie Features call out new Methods, provide Insights into emerging trends, or sometimes just share technical tips from the experts in our community.

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The Epigenetic Clock – From Deep Space to Deep Learning

December 30, 2020

As the year comes to its end, our epigenetic clocks keep on ticking, and hot new DNA methylation-based studies keep rolling in. Here, we gaze into two deeply interesting studies that take us on an epigenetic journey from deep space to deep learning by reporting how space travel can influence epigenetic aging and how neural […]

C.elegans Studies Worm into the Fundamentals of Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance

September 21, 2020

While a “bird’s-eye view” of a topic can often provide colossal insight, the opposite perspective can sometimes be just as useful! Recently, two fascinating studies of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance have taken a “worm’s-eye view” of this research area to deepen our understanding of this complex mechanism in the model nematode worm C. elegans. C. elegans […]

Micro-C and Single-Cell Hi-C Provide Macro Chromosome Conformation Insights

April 11, 2020

Genome-wide chromosome conformation capture analyses, such as Hi-C, have provided us with snapshots of the large-scale spatial architecture of mammalian genomes, describing chromatin compartments, topologically associating domains (TADs), and CTCF– and cohesin-mediated chromatin loops in many cell types. However, the resolution of Hi-C-based protocols, limited by the size and uniformity of chromatin fragmentation, represents a […]

EpiGenie Guide: Chromatin Shearing

March 6, 2020

ChIP-Seq has transformed the field of epigenetics, providing unprecedented resolution and coverage for surveying protein- DNA interactions. Powerful, high-throughput sequencing is credited with most of the benefits, but there’s a lot more that goes into ChIP-Seq than sequencing. Chromatin shearing is one of the first critical steps in the ChIP-Seq workflow. Depending on your approach, […]

MeCP2 on the Brain: Repressing Transcription of Long Highly Methylated Genes

December 17, 2019

It seems that everyone has MeCP2 on the brain – as evidenced by its starring role in two new Molecular Cell papers – but it’s in your brain too! The MeCP2 protein is essential for neuronal function and consistent with this, loss-of-function mutations in MeCP2 cause the neurodevelopmental disorder Rett syndrome. Unfortunately, because MeCP2 acts […]

A Perfect Harmony: Orchestrating Joint Chromatin Conformation and Methylome Mapping in Single Cells

October 7, 2019

If a better understanding of gene regulation is music to your ears, then tune in for the latest developments in single-cell epigenomics. It is well established that both DNA methylation and higher-order chromatin structure play crucial roles in development, differentiation and disease, and there are readily available technologies for both (whole-genome bisulfite sequencing and chromatin […]

Webinar: The Epigenetics of the Exposome and Aging – Paul G. Shiels

October 2, 2019

Don’t miss this great webinar detailing some of the latest discoveries about the role of epigenetics in aging. Aging results in a gradual and progressive loss of physiological functions and physical abilities over time. Overcoming the growing burden of age-related issues is one of the greatest challenges facing modern society. These issues are leading to […]

The Tn5 Transposase Takes Single-cell ChIP-Seq to the Next Level

September 18, 2019

It’s never good to see someone lagging behind the rest, but while stepwise developments to single-cell chromatin immunoprecipitation and subsequent parallel sequencing techniques (ChIP-seq) have led to gradually improved yields and increased sensitivity with reduced numbers of cells since the first report of a single-cell ChIP protocol, we still lack widely-applicable and low-cost methods to […]

Existential Epigenetics: Deciphering the Where, the Why, and the How of m6A and m6Am mRNA Methylation!

July 26, 2019

Can we break the speed of light? Is the universe infinite? What is the answer to life, the universe, and everything? At least two of these questions have fascinated physicists and philosophers for decades, but the questions weighing heavy on their minds of the existential epigeneticists among us relate to something a little different: the […]

ChIP 101: Beginner’s Guide to ChIP Assays

July 24, 2019

Become a ChIP Assay Expert! The chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay is one of the best ways to study the association of DNA-binding proteins with chromatin and the localization of histone modifications throughout the genome. But ChIP assays take time to master. Our friends at Active Motif have put together this free ChIP 101 eBook that […]