EpiGenie Guide: RNA Immunoprecipitation (RIP) and BeyondJuly 10, 2013RNA binding proteins (RBPs) play important roles in many cellular and disease processes, together with their DNA binding brethren, they compromise almost one quarter of annotated human genes. The tools used to understand when and where these proteins bind and interact with RNAs in the cell have lagged behind those for protein-DNA interactions, although they […]
The Darkside of Epigenetic PlasticityJune 26, 2013Sure, genes get mutated in cancers, but the epigenome gets messed-up too. In fact, two researchers argue in a recent review that a “dysregulated epigenome” that’s too plastic and flexible could itself lead to cancer. Andrew Feinberg and Winston Timp, both from the Center for Epigenetics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, wrote the […]
Webinar: Lighting up the Dark Matter of the Genome – Unravelling the Roles of Non-Coding DNA in Disease and DevelopmentJune 26, 2013Dr. Marcel Dinger, PhD discusses some of the most recent findings that shed light on non-coding RNAs in the genome. **this webinar is no longer available** Abstract Approximately 98% of the human genome comprises noncoding DNA, the function of which is largely unknown. Intriguingly, more than 85% of single nucleotide polymorphisms identified to be associated […]
Keeping Up with Live Cell DNA LoopingJune 25, 2013The reality TV era has made voyeurs of us all. So it makes sense that we’d want to take a peek inside live cells too. Now comes a report of a new method that shows, for the first time, DNA getting loopy inside live E. coli cells. Johns Hopkins University Med School researchers say that […]
DeepSAGE Digs up Expression Differences in 3’ EndsJune 24, 2013It isn’t always a good thing to get the end of something, but researchers say that by grabbing onto 3’ ends of transcripts and tagging them, DeepSAGE digs deep, getting low-level transcripts and getting new info on their “back-ends.” That could be important for figuring out exactly how gene expression changes with disease. “It was […]
HDAC-Glo™ Brightens up HDAC Activity ScreeningJune 21, 2013Histone Deactylase (HDAC) researchers have been clamoring for more sensitive and reliable HDAC assays in order to generate the high quality data that previous techniques don’t always deliver. The HDAC-Glo™ I/II Assays and Screening Systems from Promega aim to shine new light on the matter with highly sensitive assays that ditch the old, troublesome false […]
Application Note: Automated Bisulfite ConversionJune 14, 2013Unlike more mainstream assays, bisulfite conversion approaches have been dependent on manual manipulation of spin plates and columns or have been of limited throughput. By adapting the clean-up of bisulfite converted DNA to a magnetic bead based procedure and coupling it to the Freedom EVO® platform, Zymo Research has opened the door to high-throughput bisulfite […]
Free Short Course: Epigenetic Control of Gene ExpressionJune 7, 2013If you’re new to the field or just want to brush up on an aspect of epigenetics that you don’t follow that often, Dr. Marnie Blewitt from the University of Melbourne, Australia is hooking you up with a free, six-week crash course. This course will cover the principles of epigenetic control of gene expression, how epigenetic control […]
Epigenetics: Getting to Know the Readers and the Writers with Dr. Jerry WorkmanMay 31, 2013Dr. Jerry Workman shares some of his thoughts on the next steps in digging into biochemistry of epigenetic mechanisms to understand what’s reading and what’s writing. Epigenetics: Getting to Know the Readers and the Writers I think the most exciting aspect about epigenetics at this time is the potential it provides for some fantastic […]
Free Protocol Guides: RIP and iCLIPMay 23, 2013So you’ve been following RIP and CLIP over the last couple of years and you’ve seen what researchers can do with these methods. Now it’s time to roll up the sleeves and put the pipette in action. The kinds folks over at Abcam have some nice protocol guides to help you get fastracked to RIP […]