Watch Chromatin “Breathe” in Embryonic Stem CellsDecember 31, 2012This holiday season, we breathed in lots of good smells—the scent of pine trees, the aroma of pumpkin pie, and the unmistakable smoky smell of a roaring fire. Now, researchers say they’ve caught chromatin in the act of “breathing” in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) before they differentiate. The team from California and Italy developed […]
Top Epigenetics & ncRNA Conference Picks for Winter 2013December 27, 2012We’re on the verge of 2013. For those of you who want to up your epigenetics research game and have some fun in the process, we’ve got conferences you should definitely check out. The year starts off a little quiet on the numbers front, but the quality more than makes up for it. January […]
EMdeCODE Deciphers Epigenetic Code, Finds New Role for Old Histone ModificationsDecember 19, 2012With all the “LOL”s, “IMHO”s, and “YOLO”s out there, it’s like we’re all speaking in code. When we get stumped on what these things mean, we can always turn to Google. But what if you want to decipher the hypothetical “epigenetic code?” Well, one researcher has the answer—EMdeCODE, a new algorithm that does just that […]
Hypermethylation in miRNA 26a Provides New Route in Prostate Cancer ProgressionDecember 12, 2012There’s usually more than one right way to get where you want to go. Unless of course, you’re using Apple Maps, then all routes are questionable, but at least have a pretty interface. It turns out there are at least two ways to wind up with prostate cancer, and neither are that attractive—having a gene […]
New and Improved: Multiplexed Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing (RRBS)December 7, 2012These days, we’re all about multi-tasking—talking on our cell phones while placing our cappuccino order at Starbucks and tweeting about it all on our tablets. In that same vein, researchers report an optimized protocol for multi-tasking (well, technically “multiplexing”) reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) for ramped-up DNA methylation data. RRBS is great, churning out methylation […]
The Daily Rhythms of Transcription and the EpigenomeDecember 7, 2012We all have a daily routine. For much of the EpiGenie office staff, that includes getting out of bed, brushing our teeth, going to work, grabbing a coffee, clocking a few hours on Facebook and complaining that there aren’t enough hours in the day. Now, researchers say that transcription and epigenetic modifications in mouse liver […]
Low Cell ChIP-SeqNovember 28, 2012Chilly, wintry temps have us longing for palm trees, sandy beaches, and the limbo call of “How low can you go?” Researchers in Norway and Germany have the answer—and a new ChIP-seq method that allows them to analyze genome-wide DNA-protein interaction data for samples that have very few cells, without culturing (which could alter epigenetic […]
Epigenetic Drift in Stem CellsNovember 28, 2012Living for a while in a new environment can have a big effect on how you dress, talk, and act. Just listen to Madonna’s British accent. Likewise, taking bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) out of the body and into the in vitro cell-culture environment can change them—but not necessarily for the better. In order […]
MNase-Seq Produces High Resolution Nucleosome Positioning MapsNovember 27, 2012Nucleosomes don’t have GPS, so how do they know where to go? Are they haphazardly strewn across the genome or is there some logic to it? Researchers now say they have some answers. They found that DNA sequence and DNA-binding proteins play roles in determining where nucleosomes end up, and that most nucleosomes are more […]
Lentiviral Vectors Can Cause Epigenetic ModificationsNovember 20, 2012Stem cell programming has been buzzing the last few years and with recent work suggesting that epigenetic and ncRNA factors are manipulative enough to star in TV drama, we expect the excitement to continue. But according to a recent report, researchers may need to keep close tabs on how the very methods they use to […]