The Hi’s and Lo’s of Cohesin’s Crafty Chromatin ConcertoOctober 18, 2017While solos are the key to some of your favorite tunes, a masterpiece as magnificent as chromatin conformation is hardly the work of a one-man band; instead, it takes an orchestra of histone modifications to complement and counterpoint cohesin´s sonorific solos. Now, a duet from the labs of Francois Spitz (Pasteur Institute, France) and Leonid […]
Gimme Shelterin! – TRF1 Gene Therapy Promotes Healthy AgingOctober 3, 2017One of the eternal anthems by The Rolling Stones proclaims “Gimme Shelter”, but given the band members apparent immunity to aging combined with a new article from the lab of Maria A. Blasco (CNIO, Madrid, Spain), should the song now proclaim, “Gimme shelterin”? The shelterin complex regulates telomerase activity and protects the telomeric regions at […]
CRISPR-Cas9 Embryo Editing…….Of Mice and Men!September 27, 2017Presumably after a day spent in a local tavern instead of writing and editing verse, the famous Scottish poet Robert Burns noted that “The best laid schemes of mice and men, Often go awry”. However, a new study of genome editing in the embryos of mice and men led by Kathy K. Niakan (Francis Crick […]
dCas9-SunTag-DNMT3A Causes a Total Methylation EclipseSeptember 26, 2017While it’s never a great idea to stare directly into the sun, a DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) eclipse brought to you by the SunTag system may just steal your eyes during its totality. This designer epigenome editing system comes to you from the labs of Margaret A. Goodell and Wei Li at Baylor College of Medicine […]
xQTLs Provide Xtra Epigenetic Treasure for GWAS ProspectorsSeptember 25, 2017On any good pirate map, ‘X’ marks the spot for buried treasure. It turns out the same is true in epigenetics: xQTL analysis marks the spot for buried GWAS associations. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been instrumental in identifying single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with human disease. However, finding the biological relevance of such SNPs […]
Caloric Restriction: The Fountain of (Epigenetic) Youth?September 25, 2017With age comes wisdom, and also a changing methylation landscape. These changes in methylation can predict life expectancy, with a subset referred to as the ‘epigenetic clock’. For those of us looking to add more time, caloric restriction has been shown to increase life expectancy and reduce the incidence of age-related diseases. Despite three decades […]
Phthalates Produce Problematic Sperm DNA Methylation in HumansSeptember 20, 2017While plastic is fantastic, the luxury of our synthetic world comes at a price: plasticizing agents can affect our chances of bringing new life into that world thanks to our environmentally-responsive sperm. Phthalates, which are common plasticizing agents, disrupt the endocrine system and are present in food packaging, personal care products such as shaving cream, […]
DNA Methylation Takes a World Tour of Human DiversitySeptember 20, 2017Once a rock star makes it big, they treat the world to a tour. However, DNA methylation, being both an epigenetic rock star and an unbearable diva, has been more than fashionably late to the party! But fear not! DNA methylation has made a comeback with a hit record of scientific insight into human diversity. […]
Running Around in Circles to Understand N6-methyladenosine (m6A)September 10, 2017While most studies on the N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA modification have been on the straight and narrow, the research trajectory taken by the labs of Cosmas C. Giallourakis and Alan C. Mullen will have you running around in circles! More specifically, Chan Zhou and Benoit Molinie (along with their tight circle of friends) sought to discover […]
LINE-1 Retrotransposons Keep Early Embryonic Chromatin in LineSeptember 10, 2017While cocktails and embryonic development usually don’t mix well, a cocktail of three transcription-activator-like effectors (TALEs) has just shaken up our understanding of the role LINE-1 retrotransposons during early embryonic development. LINE-1 activation had been considered a consequence of developmental processes, but now a talented team from the lab of Maria-Elena Torres-Padilla at the German […]