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 […]
miR 126 Sponges: The Gift for the Stem Cell Researcher that has EverythingNovember 20, 2012The gift giving started bit early this year for the stem cell community as an international team of researchers shared key findings that could transform clinical applications of human blood stem cells. They wrapped up miR-126 binding sites in lentiviral vectors and put a serious smack down on miR-126 activity in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). […]
This Stem Cell Reprogramming is Made Possible with Generous Support from Histone H3.3October 30, 2012Some people dress up their pets in clothes so that they will look more like their human owners. Turns out, a similar thing happens in the nuclear transfer process to make stem cells. Jerome Jullien and colleagues in 2012 Nobel laureate John B. Gurdon’s lab (along with a number of other great researchers in France […]
GC Content and CpG Islands Keep Chromatin Open for TranscriptionOctober 30, 2012The word “island” conjures up images of a tropical paradise with a sandy beach and a sunny sky—a nice place to hang out. In a similar way, CpG islands turn out to be nice places for Pol II to hang out without worrying about pesky nucleosomes getting in the way, according to researchers in France […]
Deals: Cash for Pubs and Anti-Fail Antibodies from EMD MilliporeOctober 30, 2012Looking for a way to get that iPhone 5? Tired of paying for those lame shipping charges on product orders? Sick of “validated” antibodies falling short? Check out these deals from our friends at EMD Millipore that target all these pain points. Anti-Fail Guarantee EMD Millipore’s highly validated antibodies are guaranteed for quality performance. If […]
5-hmC Sequencing on a BudgetOctober 30, 2012Whether you’re the head of a lab, household, or leading a country, budgets are a reality. Like those old jeans you can’t seem to donate, they seem to get tighter every year. So when slick, new methods surface that tackle some tough challenges like single nucleotide resolution 5-hmC profiling, researchers’ excitement is quickly tempered by […]
Epigenetic Regulators (miRNAs, lncRNAs) Get Regulated EpigeneticallyOctober 20, 2012With Halloween coming up, perhaps it is fitting that the authors of two recent papers describe a “tangled web” of epigenetic regulations. In one paper, researchers suggest that DNA methylation and perhaps other epigenetic modifications disrupt long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) activity. In the other paper, a different team shows that DNAm messes with the miRNA […]