Exosome miRNAs Tell Liver Damage DetailsJune 18, 2012Sometimes many paths can lead to the same destination, and in the case of liver disease, it’s important for proper treatment to know the exact route that led to problems. New research shows that exosome miRNAs can tell scientists exactly how liver damage was caused. Several things, from chemicals to viruses, can trigger liver damage […]
Ontario Cancer Institute Epigenetic Research PositionsJune 17, 2012News reports tell us how tough the job market is lately, so we’re doing our part for the global economy by posting these two new epigenetic research positions that the Ontario Cancer Institute (OCI) is looking to fill. Who knows? Maybe one of them is perfect for you. Postdoctoral Research Fellow or Research Associates – […]
EZH2, PRC2 Get a Little Guidance From Intronic RNAs to Find Target GenesJune 7, 2012When touring an unfamiliar city or museum, it often helps to have a good guide if you want to see the best sights. Researchers in Spain now report that intronic RNAs, like a well trained herding dog, usher the repressive polycomb complex right to the specific chromatin regions they need to target in order to […]
Epigenetics Book Reviews and Chapter SummariesJune 6, 2012Over the last year EpiGenie has reviewed a couple of the latest epigenetics textbooks for the site. As good citizens of the earth, we of course looked for ways to recycle the books (and the knowledge inside of them) once our writers were done with them. So, we sent our copies out to readers and […]
Conference Trends: Nutrition in EpigeneticsMay 15, 2012Conferences provide an up-to-the-minute look at what’s going on inside epigenetics labs all over the world. By tuning into our conference coverage, we’ve tagged diet and nutrition as an important trend to follow in epigenetic research. Here’s a look at some trendy examples in our Conference Highlights from the last year or so. Differentially Methylated […]
Pregnancy-linked miRNA Cluster in Exosomes May Spark AdenomasMay 9, 2012We’ve all had things come back and haunt us—like our high school yearbook picture (the horror!). Now, researchers in Germany say they hypothesize that the same thing could happen with a chromosome 19 miRNA cluster. These miRNAs appear to dampen a mother’s immune response to a developing fetus, but the researchers think that this “immunomodulatory” […]
Argonaute AGO2 Gives miRNAs a Little Trim Around the EdgesApril 17, 2012Isn’t there always one person in a group of friends who’s a little weird or different? It turns out that AGO2, is a little different from its Argonaute paralogs, AGO1, 3, and 4. Researchers in Singapore are reporting that unlike other Argonautes, oddball AGO2 trims mammalian miRNAs, changing their functions during development. The team knew […]
miRNAs Decide Which Honey Bees Do Which Honey-Do’sApril 17, 2012It seems nobody has been busier than the honey bee lately when it comes to being a model epigenetic organism. (Watch your back c. elegans!) Over the last year or so, we’ve seen how HDAC inhibitors affect the bee caste system, as well as how social cues alter DNA methylation patterns in the brains of […]
Epigenetic Regulation of Gene ExpressionFebruary 25, 2012EpiGenie recently reviewed the epigenetic text book RNA and the Regulation of Gene Expression. Here we give you a small taste of the content found inside with a summary of one of the chapters: Epigenetic Regulation of Gene Expression by Kevin Morris This chapter outlines the fundamental aspects of epigenetic regulation as it relates to […]
Small RNA-mediated Gene ActivationFebruary 25, 2012EpiGenie recently reviewed the epigenetic text RNA and the Regulation of Gene Expression by Kevin Morris. To give you a small taste of the material covered in the book, here is a summary of one of the chapters: Small RNA-mediated Gene Activation by Long-Cheng Li Noncoding RNAs (ncRNA) which, by definition, do not code for […]