DNA Methylation Adds Variety to Human PopulationsAugust 7, 2013If variety is the spice of life, then DNA methylation sure seems to be supplying some of the flavor. A new study shows that DNA methylation isn’t just responsible for the differences in individuals, but for variations in populations as well. We’re no strangers to the way that DNA methylation can differ in diseases and […]
Epigenetics goes Viral: Herpes the Histone HijackerJuly 25, 2013By the age of 40 most of us will be infected with human cytomegalovirus (hCMV), which is a human herpes virus. Pretty scary, eh? But fear not, hCMV infections are usually harmless. However, it still posses a significant public health risk as the virus remains the leading infectious cause of birth defects and a serious […]
CRISPRi: The User-Friendly Transcriptional RepressorJuly 25, 2013Usually when you think of the immune system it isn’t at the level of our bacterial friends. But “prokaryotes have evolved diverse RNA-mediated systems that use short CRISPR RNAs (crRNAs) and Cas (CRISPR-associated) proteins to detect and defend against invading DNA elements” This system, also known as the CRISPR/Cas system, is a prokaryotic immune system […]
Vitamin C in Media Critical for ES Cell 5hmCJuly 24, 2013Whether its pop culture (like the ongoing royal baby mania) or cell culture, there’s no denying the enormous impact that ‘media’ has on our life. In fact, new evidence shows that a little Vitamin C in cell culture media can influence mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells, like typical pre-teens, to undergo a blastocyst-like identity crisis. […]
Placental miRNAs Predict Infant BehaviorJuly 18, 2013Many parents consider their children’s behavior to be a bit of a mystery, (just ask anyone who has shared a plane ride with an unruly toddler) but new miRNA research hints that it may soon be possible to predict your child’s behavioral traits by a simple non-invasive test right after birth. A fortune telling team […]
Disrupting DMNT1’s Cancerous InteractionsJuly 9, 2013It seems like almost every gene examined today has it roots in cancer, and epigenetic mechanisms haven’t missed the invite to that party. But with all these players comes an overwhelming heterogeneity that has troubled researchers looking for a cure ever since cancer was described as an epigenetic disease. Some research groups have tried out […]
Turn by Turn Navigation of DNA Methylation Maps in the Human Brain Now AvailableJuly 9, 2013Whoever claims cartography is a lost art hasn’t visited the Salk Institute lately. The cliffside research palace in La Jolla is home to a number of ambitious researchers who’ve been busy the last few years mapping every nook and cranny of the epigenome. Most recently, a team of clever researchers led the charge on mapping “genome-wide composition, […]
It’s a Histone-Regulate-Histone World Out ThereJuly 9, 2013The central dogma has taken quite a beating thanks to epigenetics rule-bending ways. With all the cross talk and looping going on it’s hard to tell who’s the boss these days. In their recent review, Mahajan and Mahajan from the Moffit Cancer Centre in Florida discuss the implications of their latest finding (Nature Structural & […]
The Epigenetics of Stressed-Out PlantsJuly 2, 2013Stress is something that we’re all familiar with. A number of landmark studies on the effects of stress have been done in mammals. But it turns out that our cousins-from-another-ancestor don’t have dream lives either. Life is tough out there for a plant; you’re limited to one location where the conditions can change drastically over […]
The Darkside of Epigenetic PlasticityJune 26, 2013Sure, genes get mutated in cancers, but the epigenome gets messed-up too. In fact, two researchers argue in a recent review that a “dysregulated epigenome” that’s too plastic and flexible could itself lead to cancer. Andrew Feinberg and Winston Timp, both from the Center for Epigenetics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, wrote the […]