Take a Look: NCBI Epigenomics Sample BrowserOctober 26, 2010Our friends at the NCBI clued us in to one of their newest free tools that should prove to be a big help to anyone wanting to sort through next-gen sequencing data from epigenomic studies. NCBI’s new Sample Browser, located on its Epigenomics page, lets users search, access and analyze sequencing data from various publicly […]
The miRNA Trade Deficit in CancerOctober 25, 2010Balancing imports and exports can be a tough task for any entity. It turns out cancer cells have a major issues when it comes to exporting pre-miRNA between the nucleus and cytoplasm that can have a pretty nasty impact on cellular homeostasis. miRNA expression profiles in tumors typically show a down regulation of miRNA expression. […]
miRNA Sponges Making a Big SplashOctober 15, 2010A few years back synthetic miRNA decoys, nicknamed “miRNA sponges”, were developed as an innovative new way to inhibit miRNA activity by bumping up the number of miRNA targets to “soak up” a specific miRNA. Now recent reports are popping up showing evidence that naturally occurring miRNA sponges have been around all along, we just […]
miRNAs Host New Variety ShowOctober 5, 2010If variety is the spice of life, then miRNAs are a bowl of 3-alarm Texas chili. A new study in the journal RNA used NextGen sequencing techniques to reveal that miRNAs show quite a bit of sequence variety, even within individual miRNA species. The research, conducted by Lik Wee Lee and colleagues at the Institute […]
Who Says Dnmt1 is Only a Maintenance Methyltransferase?October 5, 2010While investigating the in vitro activity of DNA methyltransferases on annealed oligonucleotide substrates, Australian researchers recently found that murine DNA methyltransferase I will quite happily methylate non-CpG sites in DNA bubbles. Jason Ross and Peter Molloy from the CSIRO, in collaboration with Japanese researchers from the Institute for Protein Research in Osaka, observed a high […]
miRNAs Go with the FlowSeptember 23, 2010Many of us dread the inevitable needle prick at the doctor’s office to draw blood, not to mention even more invasive diagnostic tests (colonoscopy, anyone?). Wouldn’t it be easier if we could just spit or pee in a cup, and from the spectrum of miRNAs in the fluid, our doctor could tell us whether or […]
In the Dark Lanes of the Library, Beware of miRNA Sequencing BiasSeptember 9, 2010Advanced sequencing techniques have enabled the characterization and discovery of miRNAs to explode like an Icelandic volcano. But no matter how fancy your sequencing box is, the quality of your data still relies on the strength of your miRNA library preparation protocol. A group of curious scientists from the Beijing Genomics Institute and the Chinese […]
Silencing of Ultraconserved ncRNAs Is Not So Golden in CancerAugust 31, 2010If you live near a construction site, are listening to one half of a cell-phone conversation in a movie theater, or stuck on an airliner next to a fussy infant, then for you silence may indeed be golden. But, for certain ultraconserved non-coding RNAs, transcriptional silencing can lead to a cellular uproar. A new article […]
Mecp2, miR-212 Keep Cocaine Addiction In CheckAugust 18, 2010Anyone who’s ever seen an episode of Celebrity Rehab knows that addiction is a very complicated issue, and as scientists recently found out, even the molecular basis of addiction is no simple matter. A group led by Paul Kenny at Scripps Florida studied cocaine use in rats that were allowed to dose themselves with the […]
Protein Methylation: The Other Epigenetic RegulatorAugust 13, 2010While epigenetic mechanisms like DNA methylation and chromatin remodeling get most of the attention, more is being learned everyday about other important mechanisms that are just now starting to get their share of the limelight. In this article contributed by John Aletta at CH3 Biosystems, he explains how protein arginine methylation is also a key […]
