Grab an Epigenetics Position at Active MotifJuly 21, 2014Our colleagues at Active Motif are searching for a new member for their team in the position of Product Specialist – Europe. If you dig epigenetics, and think you’ve got some business and marketing skills to go with it, then this may be a great fit for you! The crew at Active Motif is great […]
Chromatin Packaging in Embryonic Stem Cells and SpermJuly 16, 2014Fitting all that chromatin into a tiny package is no easy ordeal, especially when pristine nuclear architecture is so crucial to things like cancer prevention. In order to learn more about the chromatin packaging of mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and sperm, a team from the University of Massachusetts Medical School laid out some high-resolution nucleosome and transcription factor […]
Fetal Undernourishment Creates Temporary Transgenerational EffectJuly 11, 2014Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance is one hot topic, and it has long been shrouded in skepticism, but a number of cases and mechanistic insights into transgenerational epigenetic inheritance have helped molecular biology move past the limits of genetic determinism. Now a team from the University of Cambridge show that fetal nourishment results in a transgenerational epigenetic effect, rather than true […]
Reaction Biology Scores NIH Grant for Epigenetic Drug DatabaseJuly 11, 2014Epigenetic databases are one of of our favorite futuristic tools and now a time traveling crew from Reaction Biology Corporation (RBC) land a grant from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) to create an impressive database of epigenetic drug interactions. The team at RBC is undertaking a colossal effort examining a library of 1,400 compounds, including almost every FDA approved drug. […]
Cesarean Alters DNA Methylation in Infant Blood Stem CellsJuly 9, 2014There’s no denying that the process of giving birth is an unforgettable experience for those involved but now it seems the labor of love could also be important for programming an infants development. Researchers from the Karolinska Institutet (Sweden) drop some knowledge about the mechanosensitive nature of DNA methylation and show that birth via Caesarean Section (CS) […]
Keeping Up with the TET Enzyme Family and DNA DemethylationJuly 9, 2014That wacky TET enzyme family is at again, but rather than being caught in some compromising positions with DNA or cheating on Cytosine; this time our favorite enzyme family is slacking off, or as they call it ‘working smart’ and splitting up important active DNA demethylation work. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic provide novel insight into how the TET […]
Targeted Chromatin Capture (T2C)July 7, 2014With great resolution comes great price and manpower requirements, so the demand for a happy medium has remained at large for all those trying to catch some chromatin conformation. New players like Capture-C have stepped up to the plate and now Researchers from the Erasmus University Medical Center (The Netherlands) announce T2C: Targeted Chromatin Capture. Chromosome conformation capture […]
Placental Biomarker Captures Maternal StressJune 30, 2014Stress has a funny way of sneaking up on you, and with the newly understood dangers of stress being transmitted across generations, keeping the drama to a minimum is huge concern for expecting mothers. So, wouldn’t it be nice to have some sort of an early stress warning device? Placental miRNAs have already been used to […]
Going Global with DNA Methylation AnalysisJune 24, 2014It’s human nature to get enthralled by the latest, shiny new technology on the market, but sometimes a more established approach is just as effective. We recently connected with our friends at Zymo Research who point out that for DNA methylation analysis, researchers may not always need all of NGS’s bells and whistles, especially when […]
An Introduction to Epigenetic Editing with Dr. Marianne RotsJune 23, 2014Dr. Marianne Rots, Professor of Molecular Epigenetics and Head of Epigenetic Editing Laboratory at University of Groningen, Netherlands provides an informative overview of the current state of epigenetic editing approaches. Intro to Epigenetic Editing Epigenetic editing exploits the two main characteristics of epigenetics. On the one hand, epigenetic marks are heritable. This means the epigenetic […]