Headlines Archives - EpiGenie | Epigenetics, Stem Cell, and Synthetic Biology News

Headlines

Ever get that feeling that you forgot something? Well maybe you did, but it doesn't have to be recent epigenetics research if you scope out our Headlines each week.

Search Articles

LINE-1 Retrotransposons Keep Early Embryonic Chromatin in Line

September 10, 2017

While 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 […]

Targeted and Reversible Chromatin Conformations Crafted by CLOuD9

August 27, 2017

Imagine a world where you could create chromatin loops where and when you want. You’d feel like you’re on cloud nine. Well, get your head out of the clouds, because you’ve got to thank the lab of Kevin Wang at Stanford for targeted and reversible chromatin loop reorganization using deactivated Cas9 (CLOuD9). The CLOuD9 system […]

Single-Nuclei Neuronal Methylomes Single in on New Brain Cell Subtypes

August 20, 2017

Every population has its own unique identity, and behind that is our brain, an organ composed of cellular populations with their own unique DNA methylation identities. However, capturing the true diversity of a population requires the ability to observe each individual in that group and for methylomes that requires innovations in single-cell bisulfite sequencing. In […]

Running in Circles: circRNAs Act as Shuttles for miRNA Cargo

August 15, 2017

Feeling out of the loop about all the different non-coding RNAs being described? Well hold on, because circular RNAs (circRNA) are about to throw you for a loop. Mammalian circRNAs are created by covalent closure of transcribed exons into loops. These circRNAs are highly expressed in specific brain regions, and conserved between mice and humans. They […]

dCas9 Epigenome Editing Toolbox Smashes Histone Methylation Dogma

August 14, 2017

Tools are great for building, but sometimes it’s more fun using them to break things down. While we’ve applied deactivated Cas9 (dCas9) tools to build our knowledge of DNA methylation, this time it takes an entire toolbox to break the connection between histone methylation and gene repression. This constructive deconstruction comes at you from the […]

Genomic Imprinting’s Alternative Choices: H3K27me3 and 5hmC

July 31, 2017

In today’s world, where choices are a plenty, alternative is a fashionable choice. When it comes to genomic imprinting, traditionalists swear by DNA cytosine methylation (5mC); however, sometimes imprinting turns to alternative epigenetic marks. Genomic imprinting is typically driven by 5mC at imprinting control regions (ICRs), where it represses the expression of the marked allele […]

Genome Protection in the Embryo: A Big Role for Small RNAs!

July 27, 2017

It’s not how big it is, it’s what you do with it that counts. Here at Epigenie, we don’t think that size matters, as evidenced by our excitement over studies showing that small RNAs in sperm can mediate huge intergenerational effects related to paternal exercise and diet! Now, a fascinating study from the lab of […]

Exploring the TERRA Incognita of Long Non-Coding RNAs!

July 14, 2017

Decades of diligent exploration in the mammalian genome has led to the discovery that while only around 2% of this base-pair jungle represents protein-coding sequence, over 90% of our genome gets transcribed into RNA species such as long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). However, our knowledge base on many lncRNAs remains in “terra incognita” with scant details […]

Environmentally Reprogrammed Sperm Epigenetically Transmit Behavior Across Generations

July 11, 2017

Life’s full of experiences that often seem like a coin toss. Should you go the gym or feast on some sushi? While the epigenetic mechanisms behind the outcomes of these two events may seem quite different at first, when considering the epigenetics of sperm, it turns out they’re two-sides of the same coin. Intergenerational Effect […]

Down is the New Up: Single Base-Pair Methylome Maps of Cancer

June 29, 2017

Navigating the highly variable features behind the epigenomic basis of cancer is no easy task: What’s up is down, what’s down is up! Thankfully, to aid our quest, the lab of Manel Esteller at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) in Spain has brought forth a map as massive as the DNA methylation changes behind […]