The Epididymosome’s Small ncRNA Payload is Critical to Sperm Maturation and Embryonic DevelopmentAugust 21, 2018A coming-of-age can be beautiful thing. Along with all the exciting responsibilities that accompany maturity comes a celebration in many cultures but perhaps most memorable to all who have been through one are the gifts. Now, it seems that sperm are no exception as during their maturation process they acquire the gift of small ncRNAs […]
A microRNA and Histone Methylation Cascade Links TGF-β Signaling to Senescence and AgingJuly 10, 2018While knowing the start- and end-points of a journey is all well and fine, without studying the route taken, we may miss some exciting opportunities; a drink in an enchanting country pub, a picturesque stroll by the shores of a beautiful lake, or as a recent study has demonstrated, a potential treatment for aging? Let’s […]
Junk Drawer No More: LINE-1 RNA Functions as a Chromatin Scaffold Critical to Early DevelopmentJune 26, 2018Do you have a junk drawer at your house? Perhaps it’s full of old take-out menus, dead batteries, rubber bands, and other purposeless things? Since their discovery, transposable elements, including the LINE-1 retrotransposon, have been relegated to the “junk drawer” of the human genome. At best LINE-1 has been called useless, and at worst it […]
Mammalian MicroRNA Travels into the Unknown Territory of the Nucleus to Epigenetically Silence Gene ExpressionJune 9, 2018While we are accustomed to seeing soccer players stroking a ball up and down grassy white-lined pitches and actors waltzing down the red carpet wearing a sharp suit or a stunning dress, we occasionally read news of these mammalian “celebrities” spending time in what could be deemed “unknown territory”, such as the corner store or […]
Elegant C. elegans Study “Drops” in to Show How Liquid Droplet Formation Mediates Epigenetic InheritanceMay 28, 2018While some studies may appear as drops in the scientific ocean, a drop-dead gorgeous paper on epigenetic inheritance recently made us all drop our guard! Although studies have established transgenerational epigenetic inheritance (TEI) across several generations in the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans and the critical role of non-coding RNAs, we have yet to unravel the […]
Cognitive Benefits of Dad’s Enriched Environment Passed to Offspring Through Sperm miRNAsMay 25, 2018With Father’s Day just around the corner, it’s the time of year we think about how we can “enrich” Dad’s life with power tools, gift cards, and hand-made crafts. But maybe we should be looking into enriching Dad’s cognitive environment because it turns out that he can pass those benefits on. In mice, the environmental […]
Sea Snails Thank RNA-induced DNA Methylation for the Long-term Memories!May 16, 2018Forget everything you know about memories (!) because a new study has turned our knowledge regarding memory formation on its head by showing the ability to transfer memories from animal-to-animal! Current dogma states that learning-induced modifications of synaptic connections underlie the storage of our long-term memory (LTM); however, recent studies have suggested that neuron cell […]
Intergenerational Transmission of Dad’s Diet: Dnmt2 Provides a Big Payload of Small RNAsMay 4, 2018Dnmt2 represents the lesser-known child of the DNA-methyltransferase family, but not because of any lack of pizazz or stage presence, but perhaps due to the lack of detectable DNA-cytosine methylation activity when compared to its more well-known brethren (Dnmt1 and Dnmt3). Instead of modifying DNA, Dnmt2 plays a big role in transfer RNA (tRNA) methylation […]
TERRA lncRNA Tailors a Trimethylation Trio at TelomeresApril 27, 2018A good tailor will make any scientist look presentable in an expensive suit or a glitzy dress (when we escape the confines of a lab coat) and now, the group of Maria A. Blasco (CNIO, Madrid, Spain) describes how long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) tailor our telomeric DNA with just enough trimethylated histones to suit any […]
A Long non-coding RNA Superhero is GUARDIN our Genome from DNA Damage!April 4, 2018Batman swoops through Gotham, Supergirl flies over National City, and the Black Panther keeps his keen eyes on Wakanda; every superhero acts as a guardian of the beloved place they call home, protecting from any number of devious and dastardly threats. Now, researchers from the laboratory of Xu Dong Zhang and Mian Wu (Henan Provincial […]