Prolonged Exposure to Life Alters Your DNA MethylationAugust 18, 2009“What a drag it is getting old…” We’ve always wondered how the Rolling Stones are still rockin. A little luck? Alien intervention? Genetics maybe, or is it something else? While most aging partiers are busy worrying about looking cool and fitting in with the Lindsey Lohans of the club scene, it turns out they should […]
Famine, Conception, and MethylationAugust 13, 2009Over the years many celebrities and well doers worldwide have drawn our attention to those in need of aid and nourishment. Whether you attended Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh (not likely given the median age our audience), or remember singing along with Lionel Richie to the multi-platinum “We Are the World,” single (more likely) or maybe […]
RNA Pol II: The Hardest Working Polymerase in EpigeneticsAugust 13, 2009Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: new research shows RNA Pol II is a key player in an epigenetic mechanism. Lately, RNA Pol II seems to be in the headlines more than the Jonas Brothers, only with fewer screaming, teen fans. Recently we featured a paper suggesting that non-coding tiRNAs are formed through […]
Vidaza® and Entinostat Combo; A Potential Lung Cancer TherapyAugust 6, 2009Some things always seem better in combos: beer & pizza, SpongeBob & square pants… Soon, we may need to add Vidaza® & entinostat to that list. At the recent American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, researchers from Johns Hopkins Medical Institute and the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute reported that the combination of Vidaza® (5-azacitidine) […]
Mir-143 Slacks Off, Leaving DNMT3A To Run Wild In Colorectal CancerAugust 6, 2009We like to think of epigenetics in terms of distinct areas like chromatin, DNA methylation and non-coding RNA (heck, we’ve even divided up the EpiGenie website that way), but more and more evidence is blurring the lines and showing us how these overlap. A recent publication from researchers at The Chinese University of Hong Kong […]
True Biomarker: DNA Methylation Steps up in Non-Invasive Prenatal DxAugust 5, 2009With the raging success of Twilight and True Blood, the masses of entertainment junkies out there have joined a well-established movement in the scientific community to make the most out of blood. There are a ton of potentially useful biomarkers floating around in our veins and the non-invasive sampling process has made blood a crowd […]
Patience is Key to RNA Pol II Relationship with NucleosomeJuly 30, 2009here’s been lots of buzz about nucleosomes and RNAs lately. In fact, just last week EpiGenie reported that transcription initiation RNAs (tiRNAs) might be formed as RNA Pol II hits a nucleosome and backtracks. Nucleosomal post-transcriptional mods can cause RNA Polymerase II to pause or abort, while others can kick transcription into high gear. But […]
Chromatin’s Flex in Restricted Calorie DietsJuly 23, 2009Starve a mouse and its aging processes slow to a crawl. Same thing goes for yeast and beast alike – the effects of calorie reduction (CR) on longevity are conserved throughout the eukaryote evolution. The benefits of caloric reduction in mammals have grabbed the headlines of mainstream media routinely in recent years. The July 10th […]
How You Are Conceived Makes a Difference in Your EpigeneticsJuly 22, 2009Ahem! What we mean is that being conceived in a dish versus the natural way can affect the methylation of your DNA. Previous studies suggested that the less romantic method of putting sperm and egg together in vitro (assisted reproduction technology; ART) resulted in a higher risk of birth defects and rare disorders that involve […]
CLIPped Mouse Testes Reveal Novel Class of Small RNAsJuly 16, 2009Fish with germ cell-specific bait, and you get a new class of RNA. U Penn researchers CLIPped (Cross-Linked and ImmunoPrecipitated) mouse testis extract with the anti-DNA/RNA-binding protein MSY2, and caught a whole bunch of novel ~30 nt RNAs. While about 7% of these were known piRNAs, most came from a distinct class of testicular RNAs […]