Bringing in “Young Blood” Persistently and Systemically Slows Epigenetic AgingAugust 22, 2023Be it a football team, a book club, or an epigenetics lab, bringing in “young blood” can seriously improve quality in the short term, but does this effect endure? Now, a heterochronic parabiosis study reveals that long-term exposure to young blood induces persistent slowing of DNA methylation-based epigenetic aging and extends healthy lifespans in mice! […]
Altered Chromatin Accessibility Shows Why Aging Stem Cells Don’t Know if They’re Coming or Going!August 13, 2023Once young and carefree, the passing years creep up on us all and bring so many responsibilities and places to be that we don’t know whether we are coming or going! A busy new study shows that the chromatin accessibility and gene expression alterations that occur during aging impact neural stem cells (NSCs) in much […]
Histone Serotonylation Helps Neurons and Astrocytes Collaborate to Kick up a Stink!July 19, 2023We all have those seemingly innocent friends who end up causing trouble when they meet. Now, a study has revealed that astrocytes and neurons – generally the best of buddies – employ an epigenetic mechanism involving histone serotonylation when they get together and “kick up a stink”! A floral-smelling “bunch” of researchers headed by Benjamin […]
HiRES Lets You See Chromatin Structure and Transcription Clearly—At the Same TimeJuly 10, 2023To see clearly, sometimes you just need a good pair of glasses or contacts. Now, Dong Xing’s lab (Peking University) has combined single cell Hi-C and RNA-seq to get a “Hi-RES” picture of chromatin and gene expression from the same cells simultaneously. Sure, separate Hi-C and RNA-seq data from different cells have been combined before, but […]
Dnmt3bas Is Inactive Dnmt3b’s Nemesis, Keeping Its Levels Low via Transcription and SplicingJuly 10, 2023The main character of many movies has a memorable nemesis who can’t help but try to bring them down and get in their way. Now, it turns out that the nemesis of the inactive Dntm3b isoform may just be development’s best friend. Before differentiation, Dnmt3b transcript levels are kept low, but get a boost at differentiation. […]
DNA Methylation Alterations Highlight Drivers of Aggressive Metastatic TumorsJuly 3, 2023The identification and early detection of events driving the metastasis of primary tumors may help identify therapeutic targets and patients that respond to specific therapeutics. Now, an epigenetic study focused on the spread of colorectal cancer to the liver reports DNA methylation as the spark driving metastatic events. Roadworthy researchers led by Euan J. Rodger, […]
Single-cell Epitranscriptomic Mapping of m6A from Small Samples with picoMeRIP-seqJuly 2, 2023Most successful epitranscriptomics studies rely on large amounts of input sample; however, huge findings may also reside in the smallest of specimens, such as zygotes or embryos. Now, a study provides exciting in vivo insight into these microcosms by describing the development of an epitranscriptomic mapping technique for single-cells and rare cell types. While traditional […]
X Chromosome vs. Autosome – m6A Helps to Level the RNA Stability Playing FieldJune 26, 2023While the single transcripts from the X chromosome may have a tough time competing with the one-two combination from their autosomal counterparts, heavy-hitting new findings now demonstrate that the m6A RNA modification lends a hand and levels the RNA stability playing field. The N6-methyladenosine RNA modification (m6A) recruits YTHDF proteins to reduce modified RNA stability […]
eBook: Chromatin & Gene ExpressionJune 14, 2023Gene expression is regulated by a range of factors, but ultimately begins with chromatin – it’s structure, configuration, activation, and “openness”. All of these factors can be dynamically regulated by epigenetics. In this eBook, we bring to your attention some of the most interesting articles in chromatin biology and gene expression, from practical methods to […]
Single-Molecule Methylation Profiles of Cell-Free Cancer DNA—Without Playing GamesJune 14, 2023Sometimes, you have to jump through a lot of hoops to get what you want. Hanlee Ji’s lab (Stanford) must be tired of playing those games because they’ve developed a direct single-molecule methylation nanopore sequencing approach for cell-free DNA (cfDNA) that doesn’t involve bisulfite conversion or even PCR. And yet it works on nanogram or […]